Toyota Multicultural
Story by: Chris Marshall
CULTURE SHOCK WITH HIS OWN CULTURE LED TO THIS EXECUTIVE’S MULTICULTURAL CAREER AT TOYOTA
Sebastian Ontiveros is a top executive who leads Toyota Motor North America’s multicultural outreach strategy, but you’d be mistaken to think a love of cars or a career promoting corporate diversity took him there. As he likes to joke, it was culture shock with his own Hispanic culture.
Ontiveros’ multicultural background started when he was born to middle-class parents in London, England. He spent his first five years there before his family moved back to Southern California, first to East Los Angeles and then to the nearby city of Whittier. By his own admission, he lived in an “atypical” Mexican household. His parents’ backgrounds were a mix of various ethnicities, including Native American, Irish, and Mexican-specifically from Aguascalientes but there was not-deep connection at that time to this heritage. While the family broadly observed Mexican traditions, they spoke mostly English and most of their neighbors were third or fourth-generation Americans as well, assimilation had taken place.
Growing up, Ontiveros readily admits he wasn’t much of a scholar. “My focus was on hanging out with friends, not on school,” he says. But at the urging of a friend’s father, he went on to a three-year stint at junior college after graduating from high school passing time with money his parents had struggled to save. “It was then that I realized that my parents had saved money in some kind of savings account for me – and they were not rich people. My grandfather was a migrant worker and my father was a truck driver turned government employee. They had hoped for something better for me and I was wasting it,” Ontiveros recalls. Ontiveros pushed himself to graduate with a 3.5 GPA and transferred to the University of California, Irvine majoring in literary journalism and philosophy.
“IT WAS THEN THAT I REALIZED THAT MY PARENTS HAD SAVED MONEY IN SOME KIND OF SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR ME – AND THEY WERE NOT RICH PEOPLE. MY GRANDFATHER WAS A MIGRANT WORKER AND MY FATHER WAS A TRUCK DRIVER TURNED GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE. THEY HAD HOPED FOR SOMETHING BETTER FOR ME AND I WAS WASTING IT”
By this time, Ontiveros fully embraced what education had to offer. He was “soaking up” learning and obtained a public service fellowship through UCLA in Washington, D.C. The focus of his fellowship was working with a start up non-profit, called C-Forward whose mission was to urge elected officials to include representatives from the non-profit sector in their cabinet so all of their constituents had a voice in policymaking and decisions. During this time and due to Washington D.C.’s high cost of living, he had to spend all his off hours working extra jobs to make ends meet. He worked evenings at restaurants, weekends at events, and nights checking guests into the hostel where he lived.
After learning how to connect non-profit data and research to economic development, politicians with organizations that provide social entrepreneurship and spending time with diverse groups of people in Washington, D.C., Ontiveros realized how much his Hispanic heritage is a part of him. For instance, his Latino looks, and name made people expect him to speak fluent Spanish. He also witnessed the challenges many Latinos face and saw that he could contribute to uplifting the community. After graduating from the University of California, he envisioned his career as liaising politicians with Latinos and went on to work in Southern California Congresswoman Linda Sanchez’s office.
Ontiveros then moved on to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, (USHCC) where he eventually became Vice President of Corporate Affairs.
In his six years at the USHCC, he was able to meet upper management at Toyota. Toyota was working with the USHCC to connect with Hispanic-owned suppliers that would help make its vehicles more “homegrown.” Toyota had implemented a successful Hispanic supplier program at its San Antonio truck plant, so management hoped to do the same at the company’s Dallas/Fort Worth operation.
Seeing Ontiveros’s expertise, the Toyota managers recruited him for his current position with Toyota: National Director Multicultural Business Alliance & Strategy Group, Senior Manager Consumer Engagement. It wasn’t easy for him to leave the USHCC as he enjoyed his role there, but the Toyota position was appealing since it would allow him to develop strategic partnerships with not only Hispanics, but also with the Asian-American, LBGTQ, and Millennial demographics. Ontiveros likes to say that it was culture shock with his own culture that put him on the path to where he is today. +