Rooted in culture, driven by impact: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at F5

Roberto RicossaRegional Vice President - Latin America | F5

Culture isn’t just where we come from. It’s the lens through which we innovate, build community, and show up for one another.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, which starts this week in the U.S., offers a dedicated time to honor the rich histories, traditions, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. At F5, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the people whose experiences and perspectives help shape who we are.

One community helping lead that work is F5’s LatinX Employee Inclusion Group (EIG). The group connects colleagues around the world to celebrate LatinX cultures, strengthen belonging, build allyship, and create opportunities for greater visibility and career growth.

That impact extends well beyond Hispanic Heritage Month. Throughout the year, F5’s EIGs create spaces for employees to connect, learn from one another, share their experiences, and bring more of themselves to work.

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting three members of our LatinX community. We asked them about the experiences that have shaped them, the perspectives they bring to their work, and what meaningful allyship can look like year-round.

Meet Rocio Cariño

Rocio Cariño
Role: Senior Account Executive
Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Rocio has been with F5 for four years and serves as a global leader of the LatinX Employee Inclusion Group, helping create community, visibility, and belonging for colleagues around the world.

Tell us about your role at F5 and how long you’ve been part of the LatinX EIG.

I’m a Senior Account Executive and have been with F5 for four years. I joined the LatinX EIG early on to connect with a broader community across F5. Over time, my involvement grew, and today I’m one of the group’s global leaders, helping create that same sense of connection and belonging for others.

Has there been a moment in your career when your background gave you a unique perspective on a project or team challenge?

Earlier in my career, I managed a Mexican-headquartered customer with operations in more than 30 countries. My background helped me balance a global strategy with different perspectives and ways of working across local markets. It taught me that global leadership isn’t about having one culture dominate the conversation. It’s about creating enough common ground for different cultures to move in the same direction.

What advice would you give someone from a LatinX background who is starting or growing their career in tech?

Don’t feel like you have to minimize your background to fit into tech. Your culture, how you communicate, and the perspectives you bring can all be professional strengths. Stay curious, build strong relationships, and don’t wait until you feel 100% ready to raise your hand for the next opportunity.

What is one simple, practical way colleagues at F5 can show allyship to the LatinX community year-round?

Make inclusion part of how you work every day. Invite different perspectives into conversations, credit people for their ideas, mentor or sponsor people from different backgrounds, and listen before making assumptions. Allyship means making sure different voices are not only present but also heard and valued.

Meet Luciana Salles

Luciana Salles
Role: Principal Customer Success Manager
Location: County Cork, Ireland

Luciana has spent eight years at F5 and works with some of our largest enterprise customers across the Nordics. She also helps lead the LatinX EIG community in EMEA.

Tell us about your work at F5 and what being part of an Employee Inclusion Group means to your sense of belonging here.

I’m a Principal Customer Success Manager, but some of the work I’m most proud of has happened outside my day-to-day role. I’m Brazilian, moved to Ireland almost 10 years ago, and transitioned from practicing law to working in tech. The LatinX EIG has reminded me that belonging isn’t about becoming less of who you are to fit in. Our different backgrounds, accents, stories, and perspectives are part of what we contribute.

What’s one thing about your culture or background that you love bringing into your day-to-day work environment?

Warmth and connection. Brazilian culture is very relationship-driven, and I bring that into how I work, whether I’m connecting people through our EIG, organizing events, or working with customers. I’ve learned that being expressive and enthusiastic isn’t something I need to tone down. Those qualities can be strengths, especially in a role built on trust and relationships.

What’s one misconception or overlooked detail about your heritage that you wish more people understood or appreciated?

I wish more people understood how diverse Latin America is. As a Brazilian, there’s also an important distinction: Brazilians are Latin American, but we’re not Hispanic, and we speak Portuguese rather than Spanish. We can share things that connect us without all being the same. Inclusion should give us the curiosity to understand and celebrate those differences.

How do you and your family or friends like to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month outside of work?

Hispanic Heritage Month wasn’t something I grew up celebrating in Brazil, but my family celebrates our Brazilian and Latin American culture year-round. Now that I’m raising my daughter in Ireland, that means Brazilian barbecue on Sundays, Bossa Nova, family karaoke, and stories about Brazil. I want her to grow up knowing the cultures and places that are part of her story.

Meet Stephanie Otero

Stephanie Otero
Role: Business Systems Analyst, Procurement
Location: New Jersey, USA

Stephanie is a Business Analyst within Procurement at F5 and serves as a Global Co-Lead of the LatinX Employee Inclusion Group, helping build connection and belonging across the community.

Tell us a bit about what you do at F5 and what prompted you to join the LatinX EIG.

I’m a Business Analyst in Procurement, working across people, processes, data, and technology to solve operational challenges and make our work more effective.

I joined the LatinX EIG to connect with a community that celebrates our different cultures and experiences. As a Colombian woman, I know how powerful it can be to see people with shared experiences represented in leadership. Becoming a global co-lead has given me an opportunity to help create that sense of belonging for others while learning from the many cultures across our LatinX community.

What’s one value or lesson from your culture that serves as a guiding principle in your work or leadership style?

Community has always been important to me. Success isn’t only about what you accomplish individually, but also how you support and create opportunities for others. That means listening to different perspectives, bringing people together, and making sure others feel seen.

I also grew up with the idea of adelante, or continuing to move forward even when things are difficult or uncertain. That mindset has taught me to be resilient, resourceful, and willing to find another way when the first approach doesn’t work.

What’s your favorite memory or milestone with the LatinX EIG so far?

Two moments stand out: our Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff fireside chat with F5’s CTOO Michael Montoya and a recent Thirsty Thursday that brought all of F5’s EIGs together. Seeing different communities connect and collaborate reminded me of what makes our EIGs so special and the impact we can have when we create spaces for people to come together.

Is there a tradition, meal, saying, or piece of music from your culture that always brings you joy to share with others?

For me, it’s Colombian food and music, especially in December. My family is from Cali and Medellín, so sharing empanadas, buñuelos, or pandebono with Grupo Niche and Pastor López playing in the background brings back so many memories. Food, music, and gathering create an immediate sense of joy and connection, which, to me, is at the heart of Colombian culture.

To discover more about F5’s commitment to its employees, read about how Employee Inclusion Groups foster belonging across F5.

About the Author

Roberto RicossaRegional Vice President - Latin America | F5

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