LaToya James

I attribute my success to my tenacity and my refusal to ever say "I can't." I also credit the truly great mentors and allies who have helped me chart my course and offered guidance along the way. My family background has played a crucial role as well — I come from an international background where your family name carries real weight, and success is expected, not in the sense of reaching the very top, but in the sense of always striving to be your best. My family's support has meant everything to me throughout my career. They have pushed me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and held my hand through it all. I credit my success to them, as well as to my husband and his family, because no matter how many obstacles I've faced, they have always been there to lift me back up, alongside the professional teams I work with.

The best advice I've received has come from several mentors throughout my career. Early on, my first COO, Gary Bussello, told me when I was fresh out of college, "You can do it. Do not allow anyone to look at you and define you." That advice has stayed with me, and I will never forget him, because he lit a spark in me. Another early mentor, Emetogaz, who served as Vice President of Compliance at HSCSN, always told me, "Never give up, no matter how frustrating it is." She had faced similar challenges as a woman, and I learned a great deal from watching how she navigated her career. Today, I have two strong mentors — Alexis Samwell, my former boss at Cognizant, and my colleague Phil Hosler. The advice they consistently give me, especially on tough days, is, "You're strong. You know it. You're a leader." Sometimes you need to hear that on the harder days, and those conversations have been invaluable to me.

I would tell young women not to hold themselves back by thinking that what they envisioned doing in college is what they have to do for the rest of their career. Your major doesn't define you or your career path. If you're interested in a field but feel uncertain whether you can do it, I'd say try anyway. Draw parallels between what you've already learned and the new opportunity, and let that knowledge help you excel. Don't take no for an answer, and don't accept "it's not for you" as the final word. You have to try things on your own and determine your path from there.

In this era of AI, which is accelerating rapidly and becoming the new operating model, the biggest challenge isn't AI itself or how to implement it — it's how the existing workforce will adapt and elevate themselves to keep pace. It comes down to how individuals already in the industry will upskill to be part of this AI journey. The biggest opportunity in my field right now is how people can elevate their skill sets by understanding, utilizing, and developing AI models so they don't become obsolete. The industry's shift toward AI is happening regardless — what truly matters is how people choose to adapt and grow alongside it.

The values that matter most to me, both at work and at home, are respect, trust, and honesty. I see trust and honesty as deeply connected — when you trust your team and they're honest with you, when you give people a safe space to be honest and to care, and when you respect each other's opinions and allow one another to fail as well as succeed without throwing anyone under the bus to make yourself look better, that's what builds a strong team. That's what I care about, and it's truly how I try to live my life as well.