As a girl growing up in San Antonio,
Texas, Sylvia Samano loved and admired
her mother and aunts. But it was her
father's lifestyle she wanted someday for
herself to work outside the home,
travel and achieve in the larger world.
Today as the new president of SBC
Nevada Bell, Samano is living the life
she dreamed about as a youngster.
Samano took the top Nevada job in
August after serving as vice president of
external affairs for SBC Pacific Bell in
the San Gabriel Valley, North Los
Angeles and the Ventura and Santa
Barbara counties region, where she was
responsible for 35 cities and 29 communities.
As president of SBC Nevada Bell,
she directs the company's regulatory, legislative,
governmental and external affairs
activities for the state.
Samano has worked for SBC for 25
years, but in the beginning, she thought
her tenure with the telephone company
would be only temporary. She had just
graduated from North Texas State
University with a degree in communications
when she took a marketing job
with Southwestern Bell in Houston, figuring
she'd do that until the "right" job
came along in television broadcasting.
She soon realized, though, that the right job was with the
telephone company, and step-by-step she began climbing to
more responsible positions, working in marketing, public relations
and external affairs.
"I liked the fact that I never felt stagnant," she says. There
was always something
new to learn,
and she enjoyed creating
strategy and
explaining complex
issues. She even got
broadcasting experience
as an anchor for an in-house SBC videotaped program.
Like most careers, though, hers did not shoot up in a
straight line. She plateued for a while in her 30s and finally
had to examine what she really wanted and decide how to go
after it.
"You need to be clear on what it is you want because if you
don't, life will identify it for you," she says. "You also have to
ask, 'How badly do I want it?'"
One of her toughest career choices was accepting the promotion
to vice president of external affairs in Southern
California. The job was the step up she had hoped to take, but
it meant leaving Texas, where she had lived her whole life.
"I'm one of those pragmatic
people, so I made a pro and
con list," she recalls. Only one
of the cons deeply troubled her
moving away from her
aging mother. "That gave me
great pause."
But then she remembered
how her mother once told her,
"You know if I had to live my
life over again, I'd like to live it
like you." Her mother, a
homemaker who raised seven
children, never had the chance
to travel or go to college or
rise in a career outside the
home. As hard as it was to
leave Texas, Samano says, "I
knew she'd want me to go."
As president of SBC
Nevada Bell, Samano has
plenty on her plate. She is at
the helm during one of the
toughest recessions ever to hit
the telecom industry. She also
is leading the company into
new territory as a competitor
on long-distance service. SBC
Nevada Bell won approval to
offer long-distance in April
after an intense three-year
application process.
Knowing that her team of
employees is counting on her
is a prime motivator and constant
source of inspiration.
"I'm not going to let myself
down, and I'm not going to let
them down."
Samano says taking this job
is one of the best choices she
has made. "I love what I do. I
like the challenge of it."
And she also enjoys the
Truckee Meadows
lifestyle especially
her 10-minute commute
to work. "In
comparison to L.A.,
there is no traffic.
The absence of that
stress is palpable."
Samano is a
member of the
Hispanic
Association of
Communications
Employees of SBC,
Economic
Development
Authority of
Western Nevada, the
Professional Women
of SBC, Nevada
Taxpayers
Association, KNPB
Channel 5, the
Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce of
Northern Nevada
Advisory Board and
the Northern
Nevada Network.
SBC has always
been a strong supporter
of the
Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce, and
Samano is carrying on that
tradition, says chamber president
and CEO Leslie Mix.
"I'm really delighted to
have someone of Sylvia's
caliber
to be representative of
Latinas in business in northern
Nevada," Mix says. "She is
very genuine, and she is highly
qualified for her position."
