✨ New Beginnings on My Birthday
August 25 has always marked the day of my birth into life. This year, it also marks the birth of my new journey as an entrepreneur. After nearly a decade of preparation—and in a beautifully serendipitous way—today is the day I close my chapter with ExxonMobil and begin writing a new one.
After 28 incredible years, I step forward with immense gratitude. ExxonMobil has been more than a workplace—it has been a family, a forge, and a launchpad. I am forever thankful for the people, experiences, and opportunities that helped shape me into the leader I am today.
From my early days in Fuels Marketing, Procurement Lubes… to stepping into HR during the ExxonMobil Merger… to my many international experiences from Ecuador that opened the door to the U.S.—each chapter has been rich with challenges, lessons, and triumphs. Along the way, I’ve had the privilege of serving in Chemicals, Upstream, and Headquarters roles, while partnering with extraordinary people whose brilliance and dedication left an indelible mark on me.
One of the journeys closest to my heart was helping build the Service Station Business (CORS) Latin America HR team & operations across 10 countries, and later supporting the divestment of 700 sites in 10 states in the U.S.—together impacting over 12,000 employees and leaders. These moments, along with leading the Guyana HR country startup into Oil & Gas and my time with the Upstream Senior Leadership Team, U.S. Conventional, Guyana Development and Exploration & New Ventures teams, taught me the transformative power of encouragement, acknowledgment, and investing in people’s confidence and capabilities.
Over time, I grew into roles beyond HR: Coach, Mentor, Strategist, and Business Partner—often called the “HR Swiss Army Knife,” or my personal favorite: “If it seems hard and messy, give it to Maritza—she’ll make it happen.” Titles aside, my true joy has always been helping leaders grow leaders, and shaping cultures where people thrive and businesses flourish efficiently and effectively.
Now, it’s time to spread my wings. My mission remains steadfast: to help leaders create leaders and to build energizing cultures grounded in trust, growth, and extraordinary results. The next chapter? Adding a new dimension—integrating AI with leadership and culture to amplify impact, unlock potential, and shape the future.
As I step into this new season, my parting wish for my ExxonMobil family is this: may every decision you make consider not just the business result, but the ripple it creates in your personal growth, your teams, your loved ones, our communities, and our world. For in the end, our legacy is written not in titles or transactions, but in the lives we touch and the cultures we help build.
Here’s to new beginnings, continued growth, and a future filled with purpose, impact, and possibility. 💫
With deepest gratitude, Maritza
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