Leading from the Human

In a context where leadership is undergoing a profound redefinition, female voices within the industry are beginning to make a clear difference: less hierarchy and more listening, and a greater tendency towards connection than control. At VML LATAM, this transformation takes shape in a leadership style that centers on people, not just as talent, but as individuals navigating multiple realities. Victoria Cole, regional CEO, synthesizes this change with a conviction: leading today is, above all, an exercise in humanity.

Victoria Cole, CEO de VML LATAM, una mujer sonriente con cabello castaño largo, vestida con un traje pantalón azul brillante y una camiseta blanca, se apoya casualmente en un pilar blanco. De fondo hay grandes ventanales con árboles verdes y un entorno urbano difuminado. — Image courtesy of PRESENTE magazine

Victoria Cole, CEO de VML LATAM, con cabello castaño largo y una sonrisa, lleva un blazer blanco y una camiseta con patrones rojos, blancos y azules, conversando con un hombre con cabello oscuro y barba, que viste una camisa negra. La imagen, parte de Adlatina, los muestra sentados e interactuando en un entorno interior con un fondo neutro.

Far from traditional models, her approach is built on empathy as a structural tool. As she mentions in a recent interview with Adlatina: "What I don't give up: telling the truth, even if it hurts, empathy, being able to talk things through, whether you agree or not," she maintains. This definition is more than a personal value; it represents a form of management. For Cole, leading involves generating real, even uncomfortable conversations, and building bonds where trust enables better professional versions.

In an environment driven by technological acceleration and artificial intelligence, Cole insists that the differentiator will not be efficiency, but the authenticity of thought. "Artificial intelligence will transform us, but without humanity, there is nothing. Critical thinking is a complementary thought," she affirms.

When you connect with someone, you can also remove judgment and bring out the best, even professionally

Victoria Cole

CEO LATAM

The notion of purpose appears as another central axis: "My purpose today is for people to be well, to do work of which we are all proud, and to give something back to society," she says. This perspective translates into creative decisions – such as more inclusive and representative campaigns – but also into a way of understanding the industry's impact. "Advertising created and perpetuated many stereotypes. How do we now have a more loving, inclusive, and diverse perspective?" she asks, marking a clear stance on brands' cultural role.

In parallel, her personal experience introduces a key dimension to the debate on female leadership: motherhood. Far from hiding it, she integrates it as a constitutive part of her journey. "As long as you put your heart into it, it will be fine," she reflects on that stage, also acknowledging the tensions and guilt that many women experience. From this learning, she promotes concrete policies within the organization, such as extended leave, progressive transition schemes for returning to work, and flexibility models that consider both maternity and paternity.

This logic also extends to organizational culture. Through open conversation spaces, town halls, regional tours, and direct meetings with teams, Cole seeks to build real closeness, even in structures of thousands of people. Her professional journey – marked by difficult decisions, changes of direction, and adverse contexts – also redefines the idea of ambition. "I don't feel like I've arrived anywhere. This is every day," she affirms, in line with new generations who prioritize meaning over structure.

Un escritorio de madera claro y ordenado, con un portátil abierto a la izquierda, un portalápices de cristal con lápices de grafito, y una pequeña planta suculenta en una maceta blanca a la derecha. En el centro, hay un dibujo a color de un niño con cabello castaño y camiseta amarilla apoyado contra la pared blanca, y libros con ilustraciones similares de niños sobre la mesa, sugiriendo la integración de la vida profesional y familiar.

La mirada de las Líderas: lo que todavía incomoda

En el marco de Líderas -iniciativa regional que busca promover y desarrollar el talento creativo femenino, enfocado en el liderazgo y la creatividad emergente dentro de la industria- Montserrat Diaz, (ACD México) e Irene Preciado, (Group Creative Director, México) reflexionaron sobre los aspectos del liderazgo femenino que suelen quedar fuera del relato: las tensiones, las desigualdades estructurales y los costos invisibles del camino. Díaz lo plantea sin rodeos: “la brecha salarial no es un concepto abstracto, sino una experiencia concreta que se arrastra desde los primeros años de carrera. Una diferencia que al principio se relativiza -en nombre de la oportunidad o el aprendizaje-pero que con el tiempo se vuelve estructural, acumulativa y limitante”.

Montserrat Diaz, miembro del programa Líderas de VML, aparece en esta imagen en blanco y negro. Es una mujer sonriente con cabello largo y oscuro y flequillo, y lleva un piercing en la nariz y un collar de cadena. Viste un vestido con textura de mangas largas y tiene una mano en la cadera. El fondo está ligeramente desenfocado, mostrando una vista urbana a través de una gran ventana.

To this unequal foundation is added another silent demand: the constant need for validation. It's not just about reaching leadership positions, but about sustaining them under different pressure. "Proving again and again that you are there by merit, working more hours, feeling guilty for resting, carrying demanding standards that are not always symmetrical. Leadership, in that sense, not only implies responsibility, but also emotional exhaustion that rarely appears in empowerment discourses," she expresses.

Irene Preciado, Directora Creativa de Grupo en México y parte del programa Líderas de VML, aparece en esta imagen en blanco y negro. Es una mujer con cabello oscuro largo y una sonrisa amable, luce una diadema anudada con un patrón y un abrigo oscuro con un broche. El fondo, ligeramente desenfocado, muestra un entorno natural con follaje y un tronco de árbol.

But even within that context, another uncomfortable point is beginning to be named. As Preciado points out, tensions do not always come from external structures: sometimes they are also reproduced among women. "Leaderships that, instead of opening the way, compete, block, or replicate historical logics of exclusion. Naming it is not to divide, but to understand the complexity of the problem. And, above all, to enable another possibility."

Because the flip side of that experience also exists, and it is what is beginning to consolidate as a new paradigm: support networks, real collaborative environments, and a more collective than individual idea of leadership. "When one advances, we all advance," summarizes Preciado, putting into words a logic that redefines success not as a personal conquest, but as a shared construction.

In short, the leadership that emerges does not seek to fit into inherited molds, but to build new ones. More permeable, more conscious, and more human, but also more honest regarding the tensions that still persist.