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Before Victor Lopez joined MetLife in 2015, he built his career by taking on challenging roles at leading global companies, strategically moving every four years to accelerate his growth and seize new opportunities. His résumé includes tax controller responsibilities at Sony Mobile Communications, international tax expertise at Burger King, regional tax management at Walmart, and a pivotal first role at Deloitte. Lopez’s “four-year itch” was so notable that his future boss even asked him about it when interviewing him at MetLife.
“My former boss always joked that after four years I would break into a cold sweat and have to leave,” Lopez says, laughing. “But obviously something different has happened here, and I’m grateful for that.”
Lopez, vice president of tax for Latin America at MetLife, has found an environment that not only challenges him professionally but also provides the stability and long-term growth opportunities he had been seeking. Over nearly a decade, he has earned two promotions and leaned into opportunities to grow. Over the years, his role has expanded significantly, with increasing leadership responsibilities across multiple countries and teams.
“Once you think you know everything, it’s already over. If you don’t take pride in learning your craft and understanding the ways in which the world is changing, you are taking yourself out of the game.”
Victor Lopez
The Nicaraguan attorney came to the United States early in his career, but he’s truly a man of the hemisphere, having lived and worked in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Iowa City, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York City. Those adjustments weren’t always easy. After practicing law in Nicaragua, Lopez moved to the US to pursue a Master of Law in taxation at Temple University. Later in his career, he passed the IRS Enrolled Agent exam to further strengthen his tax expertise.
Early in his career, Lopez structured and developed the tax practice for Deloitte’s Nicaraguan operations from scratch. In every move since, it’s been about enjoying the process and finding new ways to grow.
“As they say, once you are on a hill, you can see another hill that you’d like to climb,” Lopez says. “My goal was always to end up in New York with a good job and a family. I established that goal a long time ago, adjusted as I went, and tried to enjoy the process as much as I could.”
Lopez has always been willing to go the extra mile for growth, sometimes in a literal sense. While at Walmart, Lopez spent two weeks in Costa Rica, a week in Guatemala, two days in El Salvador, one day in Honduras, and one day in Nicaragua. Through hard work and extensive travel across Central America for a year, he built and organized a regional tax department, establishing a tax manager and team in each country. This team not only handled local tax compliance but also consolidated the USGAAP income tax provision report for Walmart Central America.
After six months of that routine, he asked his boss if he could cut down on traveling a bit. “He told me that it was working, so why stop?” Lopez remembers. “And I was enjoying it at the time. But eventually, I had a wife and child to worry about. I loved everyone at Walmart. They were like my family, but eventually, the time came to move on.”
The job taught Lopez that being willing to go above and beyond for the job would provide growth and development in ways that couldn’t always be quantified. But it was worth it, and he knew it.
“As they say, once you are on a hill, you can see another hill that you’d like to climb.”
Victor Lopez
Today, Lopez is flourishing in a massive organization. The VP has teams in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and other locations reporting up to him, along with outsourced vendors. Working in expanding markets is exciting, frustrating, and always educational. For his own team, Lopez says he encourages a growth mindset that allows for mistakes, which provide a lesson to learn and not repeat.
“Once you think you know everything, it’s already over,” the VP says. “Tax regulations are always changing ever so slightly, and there is always something new to learn. If you don’t take pride in learning your craft and understanding the ways in which the world is changing, you are taking yourself out of the game.”
Lopez stresses being aware of your own weaknesses but focusing more on your strengths. He says that by relying on your strengths, acknowledging your weaknesses, and aligning yourself with talent that can offset those weaknesses, you’re maximizing your self-awareness and development. Awareness of your weaknesses provides an opportunity to growth and improvement.
“It’s always a balance between wanting to improve in areas that you might not be great at and not letting those areas drag you down,” Lopez explains. “The truth is, you’re never going to improve at something that you just don’t enjoy doing at the same speed as something that you really love. You just have to find that balance for yourself.”
Lopez is the summation of flexibility, resilience, and the willingness to take a chance. And he finally seems to be at home at MetLife. The lawyer says his own path isn’t necessarily the right one for those looking to find their own way, but that’s precisely the point.
“Success isn’t about following a predetermined path,” he says. “It’s about embracing change, learning from every challenge, and always striving for growth.”
