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During Women’s History Month 2024, FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation highlighted vice president and chief compliance officer (CCO) Patricia Colombo as a Women Worth Watching 2023 award winner and a featured executive in CIO Views magazine. Colombo spoke about her mentors, her journey from her native Brazil to the United States, and her seventeen-year career under the Fujifilm banner.
One piece of advice in her Q&A stands out: “Being a woman in business can have its challenges, but the sky’s the limit if you dare to take risks and develop your talents. Believe in yourself, rather than paying attention to any limiting beliefs from others.”
Colombo is no stranger to taking risks. Her family emigrated from Italy to Brazil, and she made her own leap to the US after spending nearly a decade working for FUJIFILM Brazil Ltda., Fujifilm’s Brazilian subsidiary. She combines a legal background and an MBA with empathic leadership, cultural awareness, a passion for building inclusive teams, and a commitment to excellence and integrity. Colombo is living proof of just how far someone can go if they don’t let others’ expectations dim their plans for themselves.
She developed her leadership skills early on in her career. Just two years after she began practicing law in 2002, she was leading younger attorneys and interns. “As I took on responsibility, I recognized the need to empower my teams and focus on long-term goals,” she explains. “This shift happened over time in areas like delegating assignments, developing talent, fostering cross-cultural collaboration, and creating opportunities for my team to shine.”
That broader leadership focus can be difficult for attorneys, she explains, because, like her, they love diving into the details and ensuring every task is not only complete but also held to the highest standard. Colombo still has high standards, but she’s learned that the best way to achieve them is to motivate and empower her people.
Her leadership style is rooted in empathy, a quality her grandmother had in spades. Colombo remembers vividly how her grandmother cared for and tended to everyone in her life. She tries to measure up to her grandmother’s memory both at home and at work.
“I’m so excited to be the force that influences that person to be better. It really brings me hope.”
Patricia Colombo
Empathy also requires being well-attuned to different cultures. For Colombo, her regular interactions with US-based colleagues while she was working in Brazil eased her transition to US business culture.
“There were things that I needed to get used to, but the fast-paced culture and direct communication style were both to my liking, because I’m a doer,” Colombo says. “And while there are jokes that I sometimes need explained or baseball rules I need to better understand, my care and concern for my team have shined through over the years.”
But adjusting to a new culture does not mean you should lose your own identity in the process, she emphasizes. If you fully assimilate, you could lose the culture and unique perspective that propelled your hopes and dreams forward.
“Your background and your experience are what brought you here,” Colombo says. “Yes, you need to be open to new experiences and environments, but you don’t want to lose what makes you who you are. That person is special.”
As such, Colombo champions Fujifilm’s diversity and equity efforts, its global diversity and inclusion committee, and its dedication to attracting the best talent around the world. She is a member of Fujifilm’s Women’s Excellence employee resource group, and she is dedicated to leading a diverse team. Seventy percent of her team is women, and her team members come from China, Korea, Central America, and Brazil, as well as across the US.
“Growing up, I was surrounded by strong women, mostly my grandmother,” Colombo says. “She was extremely determined, and she had a passion for life. I think all of that taught me the importance of perseverance and adaptability.”
She brings those lessons learned from her family and her own leadership journey into her passion for mentoring young professionals, especially women who are navigating their own leadership journey.
“Seeing them grow and succeed is incredibly rewarding,” Colombo says. “When I see on LinkedIn that they completed their MBA because I did my MBA, I’m so excited to be the force that influences that person to be better. It really brings me hope.”
