Lucinda Martinez-Desir: vice president, Market Development: Home Box Office

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, April, 2008 by Judi Jordan

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Lucinda Martinez-Desir is a real New Yorker. In the highly competitive field of TV this is a huge plus. Her earthy personality seems odd for the boardroom, but Lucinda asserts that HBO is the right fit for mavericks and out-of-the-box thinkers.

Lucinda has the enviable and demanding job of Vice President, Market Development, for Home Box Office, overseeing all market development activities, including retail marketing of wireless entertainment services, HBO Mobile and HBO Family, segment marketing/promotions for the African American, Latino and Gay/Lesbian markets. This may sound like a tall order, but Lucinda is from the tough section of Washington Heights, and they don't play there.

"I knew at a very young age that I would have to work hard--there was no choice! I grew up in a really tough neighborhood at a really tough time, when all you had was your moral compass and the voice in your head." That loud voice led her to study at Columbia University, and to excel, as much for her parents as for herself. "I'm the child of two Dominican immigrants who came in the '60's, seeking political asylum at the very beginning of all the Latin immigration. They got their citizenship and worked really hard."

Her parents expected Lucinda "To succeed, and live out my potential for them, so that their sacrifices would not be in vain. You grow up in a Latino home, your choices are: lawyer, doctor and engineer. It's an immigrant thing; there's no tolerance for being an artist," laughs Lucinda. "My Mom's parents were professionals, and she's an X-ray tech. My Dad didn't have that luxury, in terms of education. He worked in maintenance at Radio City [Music Hall]. We got to see all the shows."

With fire in her gut and a will to succeed, Lucinda has proven herself again and again. She joined HBO as an associate manager, Marketing, in 1995, leaving in 1996 to move to Los Angeles. "Initially, I hated Los Angeles. The second time I went back, for Comedy Central, I started to like it, but then I went back to New York for HBO and I've been here ever since." She sounds relieved. A hard core "Manhattanite", she's found a niche at HBO, for sure. She rejoined HBO in 2003 as director, Direct Marketing. In 2005, she was named director, Strategic Partnerships and Emerging Markets. "You know that thing about opportunities and preparation meeting? My success came from education and opportunities coming together."

HBO Latino launched in 2000, and has changed dramatically its original programming. There will be a more direct "Lucinda stamp" on it when they launch in June. "We've acquired lots of new series and original movies."

Asked why she entered the corporate world while being such a free spirit, Lucinda says, "You try to find a fit where you can be authentic, as long as I feel 'heard' I feel that HBO is a corporate company that allows me to feel free. I love the whole idea of shaping perception. Marketing entertainment projects and sales marketing is what I love; I like doing things that make it very clear that that success of the product is a direct result of your efforts."

Although she has dearly been successful thus far, Lucinda admits that there are a few things she would have done differently in her career. "I made a shift from marketing back to sales and back to marketing. Looking back, I wonder if I should have just stayed in marketing. But I'm here now, and that's what counts. Life happens, that's my motto. My instinct has never let me down. It's been the time when I didn't trust it that I regretted it."

For her, the balance between career and family is not a juggling act. "I've got my priorities straight. I'm expecting a second baby in September. You can have it all, just not at the same time."

Her advice for young Latinas is simple, but compelling. "Young Latinas climbing the corporate ladder: be true to who you are, be authentic and don't try to conform to something you're not. Corporate [America] used to mean an almost neutral sort of person, but when you are authentic, people will listen."

Interviewed at her offices in March 2008 by Judi Jordan