VCWoman Achieve 2025 Mentor Spotlight – Fidelma Farinas-Cobas

I was born in Havana, Cuba and grew up in Miami, Florida. I have a degree in History and Literature of Latin America and an MBA in International Business. My professional background includes a variety of asset management, banking and risk management roles in both the international and domestic markets. I am a native Spanish speaker and also speak fluent Portuguese. I love to sing and have trained as a coloratura soprano, and currently I am the cantor at Our Lady of the Ozarks Shrine in Winslow, AR. I have two sons (aged 18 and 13), an Australian shepherd and three cats, and I enjoy reading, attending musical and theatrical performances and hiking in my spare time.

Currently I serve as the Head of Multinational Client Strategy for PNC, a role which I debuted at PNC when our private banking leadership decided to develop a domestic Hispanic segment for high net worth individuals. In this position I support families who live in the US but whose interests range from asset ownership abroad to requiring specialized language or cultural support in order to successfully complete an estate plan and investment strategy. I have continued to develop my management skills in this role as I oversee a team of planning and business development specialists and I also use a wide array of skills from my MBA and CFP to assist in conversations with clients. I have also began to develop more strategic planning capabilities in this role, as I am tasked with bringing the original vision to practice.

I first heard about this group through a colleague at WIFS (Women in Insurance and Financial Services). I recently joined the board of the WIFS because I believe that it is important to support women into industries where they may not have had visible role models or even transparency regarding the opportunities available. As a woman in finance, I know that I have different challenges in being invited into certain rooms where women have not historically had a seat, and I think it’s important that we continue to advocate to have diverse opinions and viewpoints because it in turn will yield better results for those people that we serve. One example I’ve seen several times in my career, is that women tend to outlive their partners. When a woman does not feel heard or listened to by the financial advisor that her husband worked with, it can have a very significant impact in her ability to succeed financially after her husband’s passing. Having more women in this field helps to create more awareness (for both men and women) about what’s important to these clients and how to best serve them throughout all the stages of their financial life. I hope to uncover other industries where this may be the case and to help other professional women to find their voice and become successful in their careers.

Singing, hiking, reading.

Your opinion is valuable – don’t be shy to share your point of view!

My most recent accomplishment was earning my CFP, which I am proud of becomes it continues to cement my knowledge about strategies and tools that can serve our clients.