Inside BNY Mellon: Florecita Carías Mejía on Succeeding in Global Finance 

Florecita Carías Mejía ’08, who studied accounting and business administration as a student, won the Gordon Young Alumni of the Year Award in 2024. She is now senior vice president of custody client services at BNY Mellon, a global financial services company overseeing more than $50 trillion in assets under custody. We sat down with her to ask about her career and being a Hispanic woman in the finance industry.  

What is custody client services at BNY Mellon? What does your team do? 

Custody client services is part of the asset servicing line of business. We work with many types of clients, such as mutual funds, insurances, large financial corporations and investment managers who have accounts with millions of dollars in assets under custody—anything from stocks to bonds to US treasuries to mutual funds—and are investing in the market daily. These companies hire investment managers or manage their own portfolio and instruct us to reflect their investments (buys/sells) on our books for purposes of recordkeeping.  

We also perform trade executions. For example, if a company wanted to invest hundreds of thousands of shares in a big company, our client would send us an instruction to do so, and we then work with depositories to reflect that instruction in the trading market. Likewise, for international trades, we work with subcustodians to facilitate trade settlements.  

What skills do you need to succeed in the finance world? 

Financial industry regulations from the US government and other global governments require third-party companies like BNY Mellon to do exchanges according to strict rules; our clients can’t legally do these transactions themselves. Since BNY is a global company, we have partners from all over the world trying to trade into the American market because we’re a leader in the global economy. So, besides having firm knowledge of finances and how the American market works, I have to constantly stay on top of what’s happening in the global market, as well as politics and regulations around the world.  

For example, when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the US government imposed sanctions on Russia. We had an all-hands meeting to figure out to what extent we could process Russian assets we hold for our clients, if at all. We had to work with our legal and compliance team to stay up-to-date on the latest regulations for this market to ensure we were not putting the company or our clients at risk of any violations. Also, my team at BNY at the time was very client-service focused, so interpersonal communication and the ability to build relationships with investment managers were essential skills, especially for difficult conversations around changing regulations.  

What does a typical day look like at your job? 

Since I started working remotely in 2020, I have taken on a transformation and strategy role within my team. Looking at data trends is the bulk of what I do, because the data shows where BNY is making a difference and where we can improve for our clients. I work closely with colleagues in other areas to collaborate on ways to close gaps, not just for our clients, but also for internal teams who could do their jobs more efficiently if they had the right resources. My job is to identify what those resources are and make them come to fruition.  

Then I work with my team members and other internal teams to come up with better solutions or product ideas. That involves pulling a lot of data and analyzing it, as well as a lot of meetings and conversations about how to best do things. Once they get implemented, we work with the team and clients to help them get used to things. Change is never easy, but if it makes things better for everyone in the end, it’s worth it. 

What advice would you give to women, especially women of color, seeking to succeed in the finance industry?  

The finance industry has changed so much since I started in 2008. I got my first internship at BNY Mellon right after I graduated from Gordon. When I first joined there were only four or five women in my team. Since then BNY has grown, and so has the financial industry. We have many women in financial services, from female CEOs to internal affinity groups that provide tools for women and multicultural employees to be successful.  

That being said, as a minority it is on me to be proactive to seek opportunities. If I keep telling myself, “I’m the only Hispanic person on my team, and this is rough,” and take a victim approach, I’ll get stuck. I learned early on to tell myself, “I can do anything my colleagues can do. Let me take the course, let me learn more, to get myself there.” I need to work toward a position of success; I can’t wait for it to come to me. 

Professional development is a constant must in the world of finance. I always try to seek more education and take courses to understand something new. I joined a mentorship program, and my mentor had a huge impact in helping me navigate the financial industry early on. In my 16 years of experience, I have learned to put in the work to achieve the success I want.