The second annual AL DÍA 40 Under Forty event will serve to highlight and showcase some of the most diverse and impactful young professionals across the Philadelphia region.

At the event, taking place on August 27, 2021, Daniel Bastidas will be one of the 40 honorees. Currently, a Financial Analyst at Kering. 

Daniel Bastidas recently joined Kering in May 2021, after working nearly four years at food manufacturer Leng-d'Or as U.S. finance & administration manager. Prior to that, Bastidas worked as an asset management assurance experienced associate at PwC.

Here are Daniel Bastidas’ responses: 

A constant challenge I've faced in my professional career has definitely been the continuous and non-stop juggling act of being engaged and active in a lot of different ways, through various organizations, often in leadership positions. It has not always been easy, but has allowed me to grow and be more comfortable with the amount of various tasks I can work on at once, and also continuously pushes me and allows me to refine my time management skills. You keep growing by getting outside of your comfort zone. 

Continuously talking about it and finding all areas of the business in which it can be included as part of the business lines' strategic objectives, not just as a goal or something that would be nice to have, but directly tied to objectives linked to compensation.  Sometimes, even if it's not a comfortable topic or does not have a clear starting point.  One important aspect of the discussion is how to establish metrics and data points you wish to collect to track progress and success. Oftentimes without the data or the metrics to track progress, it just continues to be something that is all talk, and no walk. 

Besides the multiple data points on how D&I improves and drives bottom line success and growth, an important reason for a company to really buy-in and embed D&I into the fabric of their cultures, is talent recruitment and retention.  Strong and smart individuals want to work in diverse environments, and that means having diverse individuals at ALL LEVELS. Oftentimes the focus is just in the pipeline, and in more junior professionals, but it has to be at all levels. If middle management and upper management are not diverse, diverse talent will not see themselves being able to grow in the company, because they do not have examples of success or do not get coaching/mentoring in how to replicate past success. Its impact on innovation is also a huge factor!

A big part of being a leader to me, is knowing when and how to take big risks. It is often easy to walk the beaten path, but oftentimes, it is the less traveled roads that test you and allow you to grow outside of your comfort area and get stronger. This can sometimes lead to learning opportunities and failures, but in the end, that will only make you smarter and stronger. Being a leader is really about being comfortable with being uncomfortable all the time, and not being afraid to make mistakes or fail!   

In five years, I see myself running my own business, and being fully in control of how diverse and inclusive it is.