Ilya Espino de Marotta

Ilya R. Espino de Marotta[1] is an engineer best known for leading the Panama Canal Expansion Project as Executive Vice President for Engineering in the Panama Canal Authority.[2] Espino de Marotta was appointed to the role in 2012 and was the first woman in the history of the Panama Canal Authority to hold the role. Espino de Marotta said that some male colleagues questioned her appointment and is quoted as saying, "I wear the pink hard-hat to make a statement that a woman can do this job."[3][4] Marotta describes the Panama Canal Expansion project as "a dream job for any engineer". Alongside responsibility for the physical expansion of the canal Marotta also oversaw other investment projects including, all the construction contracts, new bridges and purchasing. Every month during the expansion phase of the project, she directed a videography team from a helicopter to monitor work on the canal.[5]

Ilya Espino de Marotta
Ilya Espino de Marotta in 2016
EducationTexas A&M Galveston, Universidad Santa María La Antigua
SpousePeter Marotta
ChildrenMarco G. Marotta Espino, Peter A. Marotta Espino, Andrea N. Marotta Espino
Engineering career
DisciplineMarine engineering
Employer(s)Panama Canal Authority
ProjectsPanama Canal Expansion

Education

Espino de Marotta earned a degree in Marine Engineering from Texas A&M in 1985.[4] She earned a master's degree in Economic Engineering from the Universidad Santa María La Antigua (The Old Saint Mary University in Panama City, Republic of Panama) in 1996.[2] Espino de Marotta also studied management at the Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (INCAE).[6]

The Project Management Institute certified her as "Project Manager" in 2007.[6] She is also certified as a licensed public translator.[6]

Career

Espino de Marotta says that her fascination with the water was due in part to her fascination with scuba diving and the work of Jacques Cousteau who was an explorer of the ocean and also pioneered the aqualung.[3] Marotta has worked for the Panama Canal Authority since 1985, where her first role was in the repair workshop on the canal in Colón.[7] She began working as a valuation engineer for the Canal Accounting Division in 1994.[6] In 1998, she became the capital investment program coordinator for the Department of Maritime Operations.[6] Since 2002 she has been involved in the expansion project and in 2007 became executive manager of resources and project control. In 2012, Jorge Luis Quijano suggested that Espino de Marotta replace him as the executive vice president on the Panama Canal Expansion Project.[7]

Espino de Marotta was awarded "Outstanding Woman of the Year" in 2014 by the Panamanian Association of Business Executives.[6] Forbes Magazine included her in its list of the 50 most powerful women in Central America.[8] She was also featured on the cover.[8]

References
  1. McDonnell, Patrick J.; Kitroeff, Natalie (26 June 2016). "Panama Canal's Big Moment". Chicago Tribune. pp. 1–32. Retrieved 3 January 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Speck, Harrison (8 February 2016). "Interview: Ilya Espino de Marotta, Executive Vice President, Panama Canal Authority". The Cornell Policy Review. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  3. Rees, Matt (22 June 2016). "Panama Canal engineer's pink hard-hat is feminist statement". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  4. "Galveston Grad Heads Completed Panama Canal Expansion Project". Texas A&M Today. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  5. Zionts, Suzanne (23 September 2015). "Real engineers wear pink: a profile of Ilya Marotta". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  6. "Empower Women – Ilya Espino de Marotta: a life of challenges". EmpowerWomen. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  7. "Ilya Espino, líder de la ampliación". Revista Ellas | Panamá (in Spanish). 18 August 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  8. "Marotta es la portada de Forbes por las '50 mujeres más poderosas de Centroamérica'". Noticia al Dia Panamá (in European Spanish). 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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