Latino Leaders Magazine- January/February 2020

LATINO LEADERS IS A HISPANIC STAR. READY TO SHINE www.latinoleaders.com

PLUS: SEBASTIAN ONTIVEROS

FROM TOYOTA MULTICULTURAL

LOUIS GRETH

FOUNDER BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

TRAMMEL CROW,

A TEXAS ENVIRONMENTALIST WITH A BIG NAME

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CYBERSECURITY HOW A REAL THREAT ON A VIRTUAL WORLD IS BEING SHAPED BY SOME LATINOS.

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ALVARO LUQUE

THE VISIONARY MARKETER BEHIND ONE OF THE BIGGEST MARKET BRANDS AND HOW THEY HAVE FOREVER TRANSFORMED THE CULINARY SCENE IN AMERICA.

CEO OF AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO January / February 2020 Vol. 21 No. 1 PortadaJan-Feb20.indd 5

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THE OTHER MEXICAN IMMIGRATION THE MEXICAN BUSINESS AND COMPANIES THAT HAVE ESTABLISHED A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION AND IMPACT IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.

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MOST RELEVANT COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN 14

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018

FOLLOW US LatinoLeadersMagazine

Javier Lopez de Obeso

Ben Salinas

Ezequiel Vazquez

6 EARTHX- Trammell Crow, Dallas investor and environmental, founded EarthX, an expo focused on raising environmental awareness. The conversations have included Latin Americans as co-habitants of this world and a home to various eco-treasures.

52 LOUIS GRETH- Director of Strategic Partnerships at Walmart, Louis Greth, sat down with Raymond Arroyo to talk about his thoughts on leadership, community, values, family, career, coaching, and legacy.

9 COMERICA- An interview with Mexican Food Specialties CEO, Daniel Gutierrez, and the lessons learned from his family of entrepreneurs.

54 EZEQUIEL VAZQUEZ- DC restauranteur and Co-Owner of Seven Reasons in Washington DC, Ezequiel Vazquez, discusses what it took to build a restaurant from the ground up.

14 COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGINFor the second year, a complete research of the Companies of Mexican Origin that have expanded and are currently operating in the U.S. These companies have invested in the U.S. and have employed American workers. Our goal is to show the positive impact of Mexican businesses on U.S. economy.

30 HEALTH- Some of our greatest allies are our health care providers. In this installment of healthcare, we feature Ben Salinas from Children’s Health.

36 CYBERSECURITY- Keeping our digital identity secure if highly important. When it comes to businesses, it is twice as important to secure assets, finances, client and employee information. We have spoken to various Latino cybersecurity experts that have put into perspective the massive importance of this industry. These Latinos have not only shared their opinions, they have also opened up about their journey to their current position.

55 CARMEN BAMBACH- Prominent and renowned curator Carmen Bambach, works in selecting and creating exhibitions and art pieces that will be showing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Carmen Bambach

IN EVERY EDITION 4-Publisher’s Letter 8- De La Vega on Leadership 10- LCDA 11- Leaders Hub with Joe 56- Cellar

Betty Cardiel

50 TOYOTA- Sebastian Ontiveros, Toyota’s top executive leading their multicultural outreach strategy, began his earlier years working with public officials.

Throughout time, he continued to grow in jobs that expanded and helped cultivate cultures and minorities.

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PUBLISHERS

Publisher Jorge Ferraez

President and CEO Raul Ferraez

Administrative Director Lawrence Teodoro Editor Sarai Vega svega@latinoleaders.com Business Development Manager Cristina Gonzalez cristina@latinoleaders.com Art Director Fernando Izquierdo Editorial Art & Design Carlos Cuevas Luis Enrique González Moisés Cervantes Human Resources Manager Susana Sanchez

A great year has started and is great because this November 2020 Latino Leaders

Magazine is turning 20 years! Stay tuned for some special events and editorial features we’ll be featuring at the start of November and will continue for the entire 2021 year.

Also, 2020 has a great start because of our 2nd feature on Companies with Mexican origin. As we continued our research over the past months, our numbers grew and we have updated most of the information of our index. Worth every single word of reading, due to the relevance this has to all business immigrants from Mexico and how that weighs on the economy.

The cover story with Alvaro Luque and his leadership with Avocados from Mexico brand, is a fantastic story that shows how this company has transformed forever the culinary landscape of America.

For the first time, we also incurred in identifying leaders in Cyber Security. Long known experts and professionals on this sector have interviewed with us and we’re profiling them as pioneers. Andres Ruzo from LinkAmerica was a fantastic advisor, along with other leaders like Yonesy Nuñez from Wells Fargo, and Alberto Yepez from ForgePoint Capital. We anticipate that this feature will become a regular once a year, given the importance and impact that the issue is having all across the spectrum of private and public consumer activity.

And also, our Latinos in Health section features new stories and interviews with leaders in the healthcare and medical services industry. Always adding new ideas, innovators and perspectives to this hot topic.

J&R Ferraez Jorge Ferraez

Jorge Ferraez

Administration and Bookkeeping Claudia García Bejarano Executive Assistant to the Publishers Liliana Morales Digital Media & Design Manager Mia Carrera mcarrera@latinoleaders.com Administrative Assistant & Event Coordinator Paola Aleman paola@latinoleaders.com For advertising inquiries, please call 214-206-9587

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino (ISSN 1529-3998) is published seven times annually by Ferraez Publications of America Corp., 11300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 300, Dallas, TX, 75243, JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020. Subscription rates: In U.S. and possessions, one year $15.00.

Checks payable to Ferraez Publications of America, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Latino Leaders, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA.© 2001 by Ferraez Publications of America Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. The periodical’s name and logo, and the various titles and headings therein, are trademarks of Ferraez Publications of America Corp.

Member of The National Association of Hispanic Publications

Audited by Member of Reg. # 283/01

MEMBER OF SRDS

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Latino Leaders The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino 11300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 300, Dallas, TX, 75243 Phone: 214-206-9587 / Fax: (214) 206-4970

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COMMUNITY EARTHX

EARTHX MAKES ITS WAY TO DALLAS TRAMMELL S. CROW is a Dallas investor and environmentalist.

A self-proclaimed Green Republican who studied economics at Yale, he became an environmentalist at the age of 12. In 2011, he founded EarthX Day Dallas to promote environmental education and solutions by creating a exhibition and festival of ideas that could be put into passion.

Courtesy of

Tell us about EarthX.

EarthX hosts the world’s largest environmental expo, conference and film festival, promoting environmental awareness and impact through conscious business, NGO, nonpartisan collaboration and community-driven sustainable solutions.

In our first year, we had over 38,000 visitors and exhibitors. Last year, we drew more than 177,000 attendees, 4,000 environmental business leaders, 700 exhibitors, and 450 speakers. We also featured 63 films and 49 Eco-virtual reality experiences. Earthx2020 celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day will be held April 22 – 26, 2020 in Dallas and is expected to draw 200,000 concerned business and environmental citizens.

How do you feel EarthX makes a to shine a light on the critical issues facing our difference? planet through interactive experiences and

As a marketplace of ideas, EarthX brings together leaders from across the country and the political spectrum. We take special care to include both Democrats and Republicans, corporations and small businesses, and welcome all with a green story and goals to participate. In fact, we featured former Mexican President Felipe Calderon as our keynote speaker for the Isidro Baldnegro Lopez Banquet last year.

the congregation of leading voices in environmental conservation. National Geographic will host a space for attendees to interact with staff and National Geographic Explorers to learn about the growing single-use plastic issue and understand what they can do to advance solutions. National Geographic Explorers will also take the stage at the expo, conference and banquets throughout the week, and will participate in programming for the EarthxOcean Conference with a focus on ocean plastics.

You announced earlier this year that you’re partnering with the National You mention EarthxOcean – aren’t Geographic Society. Can you tell us there several conferences that make up about that collaboration?

EarthX?

The National Geographic Society shares our Yes. Earthx2020 days will feature a Congress commitment to ensuring a healthier and more of Conferences – EarthxLaw, EarthxCities, sustainable future for all, so we’ve joined forces EarthxEnergy, and EarthxTech4Good, as

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light selection, “The River and the Wall.” I view ecologies of Mexico and the USA and inextricable. The uniqueness of EarthX is that it occur in the center of the North American continent.

In 2019, we also highlighted transnational partnerships like the International Peace Park Project, a Texas-Mexico bi-national park, as well as Mexico’s efforts with sustainable and regenerative ranching, the MAR Reef Emergency, and clean production.

This year, The Mexican Pavilion has grown in the Latin America Pavilion where Latin American countries will present multiple opportunities for green investment. Other Pavilions will include the much-lauded Hemp Pavilion returning from 2019, along with a new Colorado Pavilion, Canada Pavilion, and City of Dallas Pavilion.

What are some of the environmental issues you see for Latin America?

So many Latin American countries are coastal making rising oceans, ocean pollution and its negative affect on ocean life huge issues. Additionally, overall water stress caused by mismatched usage and availability of clean water is having an impact for both coastal and landlocked countries.

Beyond the impact this has on us as humans – from overfishing to flooding – it’s also severely impacting ocean life through the loss of biodiversity and collapse of ecosystems.

Growing populations like those in Latin America and the resulting increased consumption is also a big strain on the environment. Resources will continue to be depleted as climate change affects weather patterns, levels of precipitation, harvest yields and ecosystems. Look at what deforestation in the Amazon has done to negatively impact its biodiversity.

well as EarthxOcean an Island Resilience Forum. Other scheduled summits include the EarthxFuture500 Summit, E-Capital Summit, Women in the Environment Summit, future 500 our corporate sustainability conference, and the March for Science Youth Summit, each of which appeals to and will give voice to a unique audience with the power to drive environmental progress.

uled to present at the nightly banquets, while a hotly anticipated Latin America Pavilion will be complemented by a Latin America Banquet, emphasizing the importance of extending our dialogue about the planet beyond borders.

Absolutely. We are once again hosting several high-profile evening events that will highlight key sustainability topics and personalities, chief among them is the eco-star-studded EarthxGlobalGala, which celebrates progress, hope, and innovation.

World and corporate leaders are sched-

group or nationality. Last year, we began to focusing on Mexico, which is home to some of the world’s most awe-inspiring eco-treasures. As a close neighbor to the U.S., Mexico shares a more than 1,900mile border filled with natural wonders, as Registration and details for Earthx2020 in showcased in last year’s EarthxFilm spot- Dallas are available at www.EarthX.org.

I’m glad you mentioned the Latin America Pavilion and Banquet, I know the Latino community is a key focus in Last year, as you mentioned, Felipe your programming.

Calderon spoke at one of your banquets, Yes, this planet belongs to all of us as huwill there be banquets again this year? mans, not as members of any one cultural

What should we look out for at this year’s event?

Stop by the Latin America Pavilion to connect with other Latino members of Dallas’ green community in EarthX Cotyrs will be SUNERGON - OIKIA 21 (www. okia21.com) , which promotes, finances, integrates and accelerates sustainable real estate solutions.

Also we have the Hemp Pavilion were we have the Texas Green Star.

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DE LA VEGA ON LEADERSHIP

TODAY’S LIFE CERTAINTIES: DEATH, TAXES, AND CYBER ATTACKS

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f business-wise Benjamin Franklin were living today he might be inclined to add cyber attacks to his list of life’s certainties.

Cyber attacks are becoming the fastest-growing crime in the U.S. and are growing just as fast around the world.

It’s no longer a matter of “if” your organization will be hacked but “when.”

And once you believe in that certainty, the next step is to figure out what you can do to protect your organization.

Staggering figures

The cost of cyber attacks globally is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2025 – up from $3-trillion in 2015, according to Capital Ventures.

Not surprisingly, cyber security spending is also increasing to new levels. It will exceed $1-trillion for the 5-year period from 2017 to 2021, according to the same source.

A number of factors are coming into play in this explosion.

The obvious one is the increase in the number of people connected worldwide via the Internet. Less obvious but equally important is the increase in the number of “things” connected to the Internet: sensors, timers, cameras, cars, and many other devices that populate the Internet of Things.

Another factor is people, whether it’s the individual hacker, an organized group, or a nation state. Even your own people: a disgruntled employee looking for a way to “get even” or a careless and poorly trained one visiting an unauthorized site and, in the process, opening a door for the bad guys to come in and disrupt your operation.

In fact, according to studies like Accenture’s, people-based attacks have increased the most. These include what it calls “malicious insiders,” phishing, and ransomware attacks.

Trust no one

And it doesn’t end here.

According to Ken Thompson, a pioneer of computer science who worked at Bell Labs where he designed and implemented the original UNIX operating system, you can’t trust any code unless you totally created it yourself.

When you consider all these factors, it becomes evident that the old firewall around your IT infrastructure is no longer sufficient. As soon as someone finds a way to penetrate that firewall they have access to your entire systems.

Surviving in today’s environment begins with accepting the belief that when it comes to protecting your digital assets, you cannot trust anybody.

Once you do that, the next step is to build your defenses in such a way that even if someone gets in you can still protect valuable data.

That requires a multifaceted strategy. There are several in the market. One of them is Zero Trust. According to a Mary K. Pratt article in CSO Online, Zero Trust puts in place a combination of elements to provide the necessary security. Things such as multifactor authentication, integrated access management, orchestration, analytics, encryption, scoring, and file-system permissions, among others. It also establishes governance policies such as giving users the least amount of access they need to accomplish a specific task.

Great minds at work

Cyber crime is an unfortunate consequence of the ubiquitous connectivity we’ve come to enjoy both on a business and a personal level.

It’s a reality and it may be the new normal for quite some time.

The key to navigate in this new normal is to have the right protections, the right education for your people, and a leadership team that is engaged and knowledgeable about this issue and that sees it as a business risk, not just as a cyber security risk.

It’s comforting to see great minds working on this challenging issue, including the Latino experts in this field who are featured in this issue of Latino Leaders. We look forward to their guidance so we can run our respective organizations in the safest and more secure manner in this brave new world.

Ralph

1

Accenture: “Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study.” March 6, 2019.

2

“Reflections on Trusting Trust,” by Ken Thompson. Communications of the ACM, August 1984.

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COMERICA CORNER

MEXICAN FOOD SPECIALTIES, INC. Cris Marshall

Courtesy of

Daniel Gutierrez of Mexican Food Specialties, Inc. in Livonia, Michigan has literally grown with his company.

A product of familial entrepreneurs: father, uncle, grandfather, greatgrandfather, Gutierrez listened to stories about the challenges of owning a business, but still knew it was what he wanted to do as well. His father said “you have to work to get the things you want”, “instilling a good work ethic in me”, says Gutierrez.

STARTING AT the age of 12, Gutierrez worked on the weekends cleaning the warehouse and offices. When he was a little older he would stay at his uncle’s house on the weekends and work at his factory, and then return home to work at his father’s business during the week. At the age of 16 he received his driver’s license and began to run a route in his father’s business, Mexican Food Specialties, Inc. Gutierrez had already begun dating his future wife (who he would marry at the age of 21 and have three children, two boys and a girl), and thus started his own paint company at the age of 17, having graduated from high school early. He and a few buddies would paint houses inside and out – but he moved on quickly.

At the age of 18 he worked in real estate and finance as a Spanish-speaking employee on the lender side, moved to the broker side, then went back to his dad’s business to run his own route specializing in delivering “fast” tortillas to the local community. As it is at that age, he and his father didn’t see eye to eye so he went back to wholesale lending and did very well – this was before the financial crisis in 2008.

After another quick venture running a medical company he returned to his father’s business, where he stayed.

At this point, the company had been extremely “retail heavy” in their business in partnerships with Meijer and Walmart. Their product was not a “long shelf life” product and thus was kept in the refrigerated section.

In 2012 box stores became more in line with the acculturation of products and the creation of an “international foods” aisle. Even after going through a packaging redesign and marketing success, they had to come up with a “shelf stable product”, but were a “little late to the game”. Gutierrez’ father had passed away in 2013 during this transition.

By August, 2014 they were completely out of the refrigerated product market in box stores and have now focused on food service. The company has seen great growth in the current path of delivering to their food service customers – and they continue to develop new ideas, such as home delivery direct to customers. Gutierrez stresses that this would not be possible without the support of a good bank – in their case, Comerica. They were able to finance several moves, new freezers and coolers, and lines of credit.

Mexican Food Specialties, Inc. has moved its entire operation twice. Gutierrez says, “Having a partner, like Comerica, for lending – we were able to accomplish that. We have to keep up with changes in the market, changes in our product, and changes in the way consumers want to receive their product. We couldn’t have done that without financial backing. Right now the biggest issue is wanting to get our product into the hands of the consumer quicker – eliminate the middle man. It’s an ever-changing market and we are just trying to keep our product alive.”

Gutierrez advises entrepreneurs just starting out to “just keep at it – keep following your dreams – trust the process – be willing to adapt – if you don’t, you may be out.”

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LCDA

In Collaboration with:

STATES TAKE ACTION ON CORPORATE BOARD DIVERSITY

Kathy Munoz, Vice President, Advocacy and Demand, Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA)

LAURENCE “LARRY” FINK, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, recently told his employees that he is instituting one of the most aggressive diversity programs in corporate America ensuring that, “a bunch of white men”, will no longer be running the world’s largest money management firm. David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, also recently made headlines by announcing a new standard for the investment firm, that they would no longer help companies go public unless they had at least one diverse member on their board.

As investors and shareholders push for more corporate board diversity, across the country, federal and state legislators are taking the lead in creating legislation that addresses this need, drafting bills that require disclosure of board composition based on gender, race, and ethnicity. In November, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019 which “requires certain issuers of securities to disclose the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of their boards of directors and executive officers, as well as the status of any of those directors and officers as a veteran.”

As this bill joins the many others that are awaiting a vote in the Senate, a number of states have taken it upon themselves to require that corporations, with headquarters in their jurisdiction, take action on board diversity.

California took action first, mandating numbers of women on boards in September

2018 when Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 826 into law. SB 826 is a California law that requires publicly held corporations that are incorporated in California or that have their principal executive offices there, to have at least one female director on their board by December 31, 2019. By the close of the year 2021, California public corporations must have at least one female director if their number of directors is four or fewer, at least two female directors if their number of directors is five, and at least three female directors if their number of directors is six or more.

Since it was enacted in October 2018, SB 826 is credited with adding over 500 women to California public company boards. Unfortunately, mandates that put women on boards do not achieve diversity as ethnic minorities and women of color are left behind, making white women the new face of diversity. LCDA’s research of California board appointments revealed that, in a state whose population is 39% Latino, only 3.3% of the seats were filled by Latinas.

California LCDA Member and Former Secretary of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet, stated, "Collecting resumes, without a commitment to diversity, will not change the color of California boardrooms. It's past time that Latinas had a seat at the table. There is an ample supply of qualified and experienced Latina directors and C-level Latinas from an array of industry sectors. Companies must be committed to diversifying their boardrooms.” LCDA is working with the California Secretary of State, Latino community, elected and business leaders to call attention to the need for ethnic and racial diversity on corporate boards.

Despite legal challenges to SB 826, California’s mandate that boards of directors overseeing public companies include women is catching fire as states including Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts consider legislation to promote diversity.

In Illinois, HB 3394, signed into law by Governor Pritzker in August 2019, requires companies to disclose the ethnicity, race, and gender of their board members. LCDA worked with a coalition of state Latino leaders, including the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement and

Latino Leadership Council to support passage of the law, arguing that corporate transparency regarding the race, ethnicity, and gender of board members would give advocates the information they need to pressure companies to be inclusive, resulting in more diverse boardrooms. The Illinois bill tasks the University of Illinois to grade corporations on their diversity.

New York’s Governor Cuomo signed into law S 4278, authorizing a study of the number of women directors on corporate boards in the state. LCDA has urged the Governor Cuomo to include ethnicity and race in the study that will be conducted by his administration. Currently, Latinas hold only 8 of the 1028 board seats that belong to 93 New York based Fortune 1000 corporations.

Lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts looked to their counterparts in California and introduced legislation that requires public corporations to add women to their boards of directors.

New Jersey is considering identical House and Senate bills, A 4726 and S 3469, mandating the appointment of women on corporate boards of companies headquartered in the state. Pointing to the low number of Latinas appointed to boards in California, LCDA is working with LUPE Fund, Inc., to ask New Jersey legislators to include ethnicity and race in their bills.

Massachusetts legislators have also introduced a variety of bills promoting diversity on corporate boards and in executive suites. LCDA is reaching out to these legislators to advocate for the disclosure of ethnicity and race of public company board members and executives.

Research shows that greater diversity on corporate boards gives companies both a competitive business advantage and sound corporate governance. LCDA supports corporate disclosure of the gender, race, and ethnicity of board members so that communities, stockholders, and investors can better evaluate the companies in their state. The Latino Corporate Directors Association will continue to advocate for transparency in reporting and hold corporations accountable in order to further our goal of increasing the number of Latinos serving on corporate boards.

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LEADERS HUB WITH JOE

TALENT OPTIMIZATION FOR THE FUTURE ECONOMY

BY THE END of the year 2019, your organization established a series of business strategies to pursue for the new year 2020. As a CEO, how do you know that your leadership team is ready for execution and in agreement with the business strategies? According to the 2020 Talent Optimization Report from the Predictive Index, 52% of CEOs who set goals in 2018 didn’t achieve them. This is an alarming stat.

When execs don’t agree on the business strategy, companies can end up pursuing competing goals.

Let’s assume that you fixed your senior team misalignment and the leadership team is ready to pursue its strategies. Are you now ready for execution? What about your employees?

Do you have a people-centric strategy to support your business strategies? Is there a match between employee behavioral drives and the role? Or a relationship match between employee and their direct manager? What about a match of the employee with his/her teammates and company culture?

These four forces, if not managed properly, will result in disengaged employees who do the bare minimum to keep their job. According to Gallup, between 50-80% of the U.S. working population is not actively engaged at work, costing the nation $483 billion to $605 billion per year in lost productivity (that includes the price of absenteeism, workplace accidents, and increased health care costs).

In Jim Clifton and Jim Harter’s book “It’s the Manager” (Gallup Press, 2019), it is suggested that CEOs and CHROs must change and transform the organization’s culture to cope with the changing demands of the future workforce.

CHANGING DEMANDS OF THE WORKFORCE PAST

FUTURE

My Paycheck

My Purpose

My Satisfaction

My Development

My Boss

My Coach

My Annual Review

My Ongoing Conversations

My Weaknesses

My Strengths

My Job

My Life

Global human capital trends indicate the importance of creating an exceptional workforce ecosystem as a key differentiator to compete in the future economy. To gain a competitive edge, companies must not just attract and retain talent, but also develop and engage their employees for the mutual benefit of both the individuals and the company’s strategy. The alignment of business strategies and talent strategies to achieve business results is known as talent optimization.

According to Predictive Index, Talent optimization goes beyond human resources practices, management consulting, and productivity tooling to describe a model that empirically aligns strategy and people practices. It is a framework utilizing quantitative data and analytics so your company can comprehend job requirements, identify the best candidates, understand the team dynamics needed to accomplish business goals, and manage employees in a way that pushes everyone to the top of their game.

It has been said that it’s best when employees connect with the business strategy at an emotional level—directly or indirectly. By collecting and granting access to people analytics such as employees’ behavioral natural drives and preferences, your workforce will increase self-awareness, positive behaviors, and the level of effort/ engagement.

Every business strategy demands results. Whether those results are positive or negative is in the hands of its people.

Talent optimization is a discipline that provides business leaders with a framework and tools to design their culture, roles, and teams to maximize business results. It’s here to be embraced by every employee across the organization.

ABOUT JOE Joe Bacigalupo, MBA, MPEC, ACPEC is a Managing Partner and an Executive Advisor at AlliancesHub International, LLC. AlliancesHub offers Change Management and Strategy Consulting, Talent Optimization and Analytics, Leadership Development, and Executive/ Leadership Coaching services.

www.allianceshub.com info@allianceshub.com 469-287-2086

Source: Jim Clifton and Jim Harter’s book “It’s the Manager”, Gallup Press 2019

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ART

“I am a collector and promoter. It’s my mission and a passion.”

WILLIAM HANHAUSEN William Hanhausen

LATINO ART LEADERSHIP:

WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN FROM IT! 01

LATINO ART is about people, expressions, and social realism. This genre is being challenged by the disregard of the American Latinos coming out of the shadows and the artists that have embedded and reflected their story in their work that dearth an institutional core.

For 243 years, we have suppressed the importance of Hispanic history and for the past 100 or so we have not been aware of the cultural complexity of our Latin-American inheritance.

Now, because of demographics, we are trying to catch-up!

We are an audience eager to learn more and the goal of this space is to help us understand our Latino Art Leaders and the purpose for their communication channel.

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01 Cataclysm / Cataclismo, 1995 01 Marcos Raya in front of “Cataclysm / Cataclismo, 1995” 01 Benito Huerta by Rino Pizzi 02

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Timothy Baler

COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN There is only one word that describes the Hispanic business community in the United States that word is: Wow. With a growth rate that has been nothing short of astronomical in the past fifteen years, so much so that business experts at Claritas to simply pronounce the trend this way: “Hispanic American entrepreneurs are on fire.”

Using data from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce does not Mexican tell exactly why, but the facts are still startling. Since the end of the foreign direct Great Recession (roughly 2006 to 2010) U.S. businesses owned by Mexico was the investment Hispanics has gone from 1.57 million (in 2002) to 3.32 million by United States' 2nd in the United largest goods export 2012 and 4.37 million by 2017. By 2017, these businesses were States has market in 2018. churning out $700 billion in revenue. nearly doubled Source: ustr.gov since 2007.

Does that add up? In fact, it does. Most estimates put the Hispanic population in the United States at 17 percent, while the number of U.S. companies stands a little over 33 million. With Hispanic businesses at 14 percent of all companies, this suggests there is still room for growth of Hispanics in the U.S. business landscape.

One revealing trend, according to Claritas, is shows a slant towards younger business owners in the Hispanic community. More than 70 Nearly 5 percent of Hispanic small business owners are under 45 years of U.S. industries million U.S. consumed age. By comparison, under 40 percent of small businesses owners jobs depend $111 billion on trade with among non-Hispanics are under 45.

Mexico.

At the same time, pointedly, while Hispanics are changing the dollars’ worth of Mexican face of the business landscape, they are also changing the scene inputs. from the perspective of customers. There are now 64 million Hispanics in the United States, which suggests a serious demand for businesses that understand the Hispanic culture.

Mexican-owned companies in the United States are thriving, as well, supporting more than 123,000 U.S. jobs, according to the Mexican Wilson Center. Companies reaching across the border include auto Mexican entities held parts manufacturing, construction materials, and a gamut of high-tech investment $157 billion in industries, food industry concerns, finance and petrochemicals. The in the U.S. has U.S. equities U.S. Department of State says 80 percent of Mexican exports go to increased 4x and debt. the United States, while one third of U.S. crude oil imports come from since 2005.

Mexico. That represents a lot of dollars crossing the border.

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Source: Wilson Center, Growing Together: Economic Ties between the United States and Mexico

Further, this is a census year, in the United States, which throws a number of curve balls at Mexican companies that need to anticipate where U.S. federal dollars will be spent and how local elections could affect their business. There are 300 federal departments or programs that dole money out to assist local communities with business growth and infrastructure projects, and the census could throw more money towards one community and less towards another. There is more than $1.5 trillion dollars up for grabs, so keeping the eye on where the money goes could be critical for Mexican companies with operations north of the border.

1: Vehicles: US$115.5 billion (25.6% of total exports)

MEXICO’S TOP 10 EXPORTS

2: Electrical machinery, equipment: $81.9 billion (18.2%) 3: Machinery including computers: $75.4 billion (16.7%) 4: Mineral fuels including oil: $29.7 billion (6.6%) 5: Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $19 billion (4.2%) 6: Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $10.6 billion (2.4%) 7: Plastics, plastic articles: $9.5 billion (2.1%) 8: Vegetables: $7.2 billion (1.6%) 9: Articles of iron or steel: $6.7 billion (1.5%)

Businesses supported by Mexican investment in the United States employ more than 123,000 jobs.

10: Gems, precious metals: $6.7 billion (1.5%)

Portfolio Investments U.S based entities held $146 billion dollars’ worth of investments in Mexico.

A 10% increase in employment at U.S. companies’ operations in Mexico leads to a 1.3% increase in the size of the workforce in the U.S.

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN

ASOCIACIÓN DE EMPRESARIOS MEXICANOS

AT THE FRONT OF THE ASOCIACION DE EMPRESARIOS MEXICANOS Bill Peden

Fernando Sepulveda, President of the Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos, leads one of the most important networks for Mexican businesses in the United States.

FERNANDO SEPULVEDA is chairman of the board for the AEM (Mexican Business Association). He has been an inspiration for Mexican business owners for almost two decades. Well before he was elected at the close of 2019, Sepulveda had a history of promoting Mexican run businesses at every local level. It’s this focus on communal strength that has shaped his own business practices since the beginning of his journey. Sepulveda’s success can be measured by the integration of his own businesses in the United States economy, but that is only half of his story.

Fernando Sepulveda sees his fellow Mexican entrepreneurs as more than just a group of business owners. He sees them as leaders. From a young age he too gravitated towards leadership roles, foreshadowing his future. Just 5 years out of college the Harvard graduate founded his first company, Impulsa Business Accelerator in 2003.

As Sepulveda’s business acumen in Mexico sharpened, his drive to expand took him to the United States. Impulsa Business Accelerator opened their initial US operations in 2010. Within a year he and his family moved to Silicon Valley in the southern area of San Francisco. Sepulveda was ready to expand and focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and venture capital. The move was a very natural one for his company. The flourishing area was the entrepreneurial capital of the world and with a large community of Mexican business owners sharing his ideals. Or so Fernando Sepulveda thought.

He was surprised to find out the Mexican business community was barely integrated in the US economy. Fellow entrepreneurs saw each other as competition, rather than resources. Sepulveda knew that Mexican businesses could accelerate economic integration if they could find a way to come together. 4 years later he decided to open up a chapter of AEM in San Francisco. The AEM was founded in San Antonio, Texas and has been a collective voice for Mexican business owners for 25 years. He launched the chapter with the goal of building a strong foundational community and creating an infrastructure for future Mexican entrepreneurs. Now they had a tribe. The AEM gave Mexican businesses a collective voice.

After years serving his local chapter, Sepulveda was invited to join the national board of the AEM USA. However, Sepulveda noticed the strengths the AEM had on the local scale didn't transfer nationwide. The association lacked a global community. He immediately made efforts to bring local chapters together by organizing national annual events.

These forums bridged local chapters, finally creating community. While thanks to Sepulveda and the AEM integration problems were being solved, unforeseen obstacles were just around the corner.

In 2016, newly elected President Trump began questioning the rationality of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Years of progress made in free trade throughout North America could be undone.

Sepulveda and the rest of the AEM board decided to take immediate action. The association's main focus would now be the negotiation and ratification of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Working diligently with supporters in Mexico and Canada, the AEM helped ratify the revised trade agreement at the close of 2019. Coincidentally, just as Sepulveda was promoted to AEM’s chairman.

Fernando Sepulveda wants to remind Mexican business owners that through community, anything can be achieved. He sees his new position as a privilege and an immense opportunity. Marking the beginning of a new period of the AEM. With the focus on building upon the newly ratified USMCA promoting economic integration. It took a common threat and a unified goal to activate his community but now they are stronger than ever. Ready to accelerate, integrate, and dominate. Facing any challenges tomorrow might bring. As a community.

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN

THE COMPANIES Mexican investments in the U.S. have been steadily growing the past years. We have compiled a list of the Mexican businesses

that have invested in operations in the U.S. These businesses not only bring their businesses to U.S. soil but also provide employment to U.S. citizens. Thanks to the USMC that has facilitated a binational relationship between both countries, these companies not only grow within the U.S., but also at a global level.

Company

Industry

Founder

Annual Revenue U.S. Employees

3DRobotics

Software

Jordi MuĂąoz

AirAmbulance

Healthcare Emergencies

Enrique Madrid-Manzo

AlEn USA

House Cleaning Products

Alicia Abaroa

22,200,000

3,000+

Alpek

Chemical Manufacturing

Jose de Jesus Valdez Simancas

6,991,000,000

5,200

Alpek is the leading petrochemical company in the Americas. They also operate one of the largest polypropylene facilities in North America.

Alveni

Interactive Kiosks

Jorge Euran Graham

Arca Continental

CocaCola Bottling and Snack Co.

Arturo GutiĂŠrrez

2,350,000,000

7,500

Arca Continental is the second largest Coca-Cola bottler in America.

32

Created in 2013, AFM was born as the marketing arm of the two organizations that represent the Avocados From Mexico business in the United States.

It was formed as a not-for-profit organization charged with the purpose of coordinating the marketing activities for the Mexican Hass Avocados Importers Association, MHAIA and The Association of Growers and Packers of Avocados From Mexico (APEAM).

50

One of the leading contractors in the southern region of the U.S.

25,000,000

Comments

70 10

Avocados From Mexico

Fresh Produce

Alvaro Luque

Azteca Enterprises, Inc./Omega Contracting, Inc.

General Contractor

Luis Spinola

Barcel USA

Consumer Goods

Don Lorenzo Servitje, Don Roberto Servitje

Bentley Oaks Properties

Commercial Reall Estate Developer and Constructor

Ruben Sanchez Robledo

5,000,000

50

BioGreen

Agriculture

Jorge Oteo

3,200,000

40

Bimbo Bakeries USA

Baking

Fred Penny

Bluewater International Inc

Water Treatment and Purification Equipment

Daniel Munoz

5,000,000

70

Cano Container

Packaging Manufacturer

Juventino Cano

31,200,000

99

35,995,991

Barcel USA is one of the fastest growing Mexican brands in the U.S. and the largest bakery in the world

20,000

He started his business with one machine and three employees. Producer of carton and other material packing and containers

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Company

Industry

Founder

CEMEX

Concrete & Cement Manufacturing

Fernando A. Gonzalez

Annual Revenue U.S. Employees

13,670,000,000

40,000

Comments CEMEX is the second largest building materials company worldwide. It has presence in over 50 countries, making it one of the world's top traders of cement and clink.

Cinépolis is the second largest movie exhibition company in the world in terms of attendance, receiving over 330 million guests annually. Cinépolis operates over 6,500 screens worldwide in 17 countries. In the US, the company has presence in 13 counties across the US under the brands Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas and Moviehouse & Eatery.

Cinépolis USA

Movies and Entertainment

Alejandro Ramirez

Corporativo Ranman

Real Estate Development

Vicente Rangel

410,000

9

DAK Americas

Fiber Manufacturer

Jorge Young

21,900,000

1,600

DC Partners

Real Estate Development

Roberto Contreras

Del Rio Insurance Services, LLC

Financial Services / Insurance

Ricardo Del Rio

150,000

2

Diazteca

Produce Importer

Rodrigo Diaz

12,000,000

1,000

El Pollo Loco

Restaurant

Bernard Acoca

106,700,000

1,500

One of the most important chains in North Mexico.

3,000

DAK Americas is one of the largest integrated producers of PET resins in the world.

19

Eosis Consulting inc

Sustainable Consulting

Jorge Lopez de Obeso

100,000

1

"Eosis Consulting Inc is an international and Texas based Building Energy Efficiency Consulting firm, specialized in Health and Productivity in Workspace, Solar Passive Design and Energy Modeling with 14 years of experience and 100+ LEED and sustainability registered projects."

ET Institute

International Consuting

Javier Smith

150,000

3

"Export & Trade Institute assists Mexican companies establish their operations and market expansion in the US market."

European Designs

Furniture Store

Jorge Rangel

25

Owners of brands like Roche Bobois, Goyard and other luxury names.

EYM Group

Franchisee

Eduardo Diaz

6,000

Famsa USA

Funiture

Salvador Llanos

2,200,000

18,000

FP & H LLC DBA Fleischmanns Produce

Produce

Jesus Menendez

7,000,000

12

Gabriel Guerra Castellanos

GCYA USA

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

GRUMA

Food sector

Juan Gonzalez Moreno

2B

7,600

Grupo BAL

Various

Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez

10,039,000,000

25,000

24,000

3

Largest Latino franchisee of Pizza Hut in the US, among other Brands.

Founded in July 2015, GCYA USA is a dynamic and growing PR and strategic communications firm headquartered in Dallas, TX. We provide strategic communications advice and advocacy to companies operating, investing in, or exporting to other countries. We help clients address strategic, political and market communications needs, with unmatched market knowledge, extensive regional experience and a deep network of relationships with local businesses, government and media.

Grupo Bal conglomerate owns the world's largest silver producer, Fresnillo.

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN Company

Industry

Founder

Annual Revenue U.S. Employees

Comments Grupo Bocar is leader in the development and production of high quality, complex assemblies produced from aluminum high pressure die casting and aluminum semi-permanent mold castings, as well as injection molded plastic components.

Grupo Bocar/AUMA

Autoparts Manufacturer

Wilhelm Baum

1,900,000,000

6,500

Grupo Kaluz/ Mexichem

Petrochemical, Banking, Industrial

Antonio del Valle

1,843,000,000

3,533

The Holding company for Mexichem a giant petrochemical plus Bayline Bank and some energy operations

Grupo LALA/ Borden Diary

Dairy food Production

Mauricio Leyva Arboleda

350,000,000

33,000

LALA is the largest dairy company in Latin America.

Grupo Salinas

Consumer Finance, Retail, Media, and Telecommunications

Ricardo Salinas

6,000,000,000

90,000

Industrias CH / Republic Steel

Steel

Jaime Vigil

12,400,000,000

Innit

Software Platform

Eugenio Minvielle Lagos

5,000,000

Interamerican Foods Corp. / La Moderna USA

Pasta Manufacturer / Food Industry

Grupo La Moderna

Interceramic Inc.

Flooring

Victor Almeida

International Business Group

Global Business

David Farca

ISGO

Plastic Injection Manufacturer

Ismael Gomez Charles

IUSA

Building Material Manufacturer

Liliana Arcila Esquivel

Kaltex

Textile Distributor

Rafael Kalach Mizrahi

140,000,000

35 117

La Moderna is Mexico's top producer of pastas, cookies, and flours. Recently, they opened a $50 million plant in Texas.

500

Interceramic Inc. is a subsidiary of Interceramic Mexico, one of the largest ceramic tile and related products manufacturer in the world. 40 years of presence in the USA.

6

270,000,000

18,000 Katcon USA, Inc. founded in 2009. Designs, engineers, tests, and manufactures exhaust systems, catalytic converters, thermal insulation and heat shield solutions, light weight body panels. Part of Katcon Global, a Monterrey, Mexico based company operating in China, India, Poland, Luxembourg, Germany, Korea, USA, and Mexico.

Katcon USA, Inc.

Automotive

KATCON GLOBAL

Keller Estate Wines

Winery

Ana Keller

KidZania USA

Theme Park

Xavier Lopez-Ancona

Kuo

Consumer, Chemical, Automotive

Alejandro de la Barreda Gomez

10,000,000

La CosteĂąa

Canned Products

Rafael Celorio

57,800,000,000

La Monarca Bakery

Baked Goods

Ricardo Cervantes/ Alfredo Livas

Both owners attended Stanford Business School, where the idea was initially developed.

La Newyorkina

Food and Bakery

Fany Gerson

La Newyorkina is a bakery that received funding through a Kickstarter campaign.

100+

Mexican businessman buys a winery in Sonoma and names it with his name. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers under family administration.

500

Kidzania is considered one of the fastest growing global edutainment brands in the world.

20,000 La CosteĂąa's presence is currently in about 50 countries.

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN

CROSSOVER CULTURE

GCYA, a Mexico-based marketing agency, expanded north in order to cater to their client’s consumers, a risky business that has proven fruitful and full of success.

GABRIEL GUERRA CEO

Latino Leaders: Can you please talk about the cross over journey from Mexico City to Dallas?

Gabriel Guerra: When we turned 15 as an agency in Mexico, we started exploring expansion opportunities.

Having done a lot of work in Central and South America, the natural jump was into the U.S. market, for a variety of reasons. Many of our Mexican clients are active in that market. There are many U.S. companies that are reaching out to Mexico, coming into Mexico, investing in Mexico, and we have always believed that part of our task is to help our clients navigate different territories, different circumstances, and help them translate their business language from a cultural voice into the language they're augmenting with their consumers.

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LL: Why did you decide to focus on the US market?

GG: The U.S. market is the natural complement to anyone active in Mexico.

The U.S. is the same. About 85% of Mexico is flowing trade. Mexico is the U.S.'s largest trading partner. We share a 2000-mile border. We have millions of U.S. citizens living in Mexico, and Mexicans living in the U.S., and the cross-cultural/ cross-border communication is, I believe, ever more important. We thought that we could show our best if we had a foothold in the American market as well.

Final thoughts‌ GG: After a very rocky start when the current US international administration began and after a lot of uncertainty regarding the 2018 elections in Mexico, we have found that both governments have not only learned how to speak to each other but also that they have reached understanding on many key aspects of the relationship. Trading is the most important, the most obvious one and the passage of USMCA, the successor to NAFTA is a very significant step forward in that regard. But also, population and global missions, population and the fight against organized crime and then the immigration I think puts us in a very positive footing to advance and also represents a great opportunity to companies in Mexico and in the US to take the jump across the border. We have found that not only is the leap not too difficult but that there is a great need for this binational, bicultural cross border approach. We think that this is probably the best time for Mexican companies to be in the US and for American companies to expand their operations into Mexico.

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN Company

Industry

Founder

Annual Revenue U.S. Employees

Comments

Las Tortas locas

Food

RaĂşl Gomez

London Consulting Group

Consulting

Jose Antonio Yuriar

52,000,000

500

Martinez Brands

Importer and Wholesale Distributor of Fine Wines and Spirits

Javier Martinez

3,100,000

6

Metalsa

Automotive

Gustavo A Andres

2,600,000,000

13,500

Mexcor International Wine & Spirits

Alcoholic Beverage Importer/Distributor

Eduardo Morales Villanueva

Mexilink Inc

Imported Good Distributor

Salvador Escalona

9,100,000

55

Mission Foods

Food Production

Juan Gonzalez Moreno

700,000,000

1,000

Nemak

Automotive

Alfa Group

1,000,000,000

3,800

Northgate Markets

Ethnic Products Retail

Miguel Gonzalez

71,800,000

4,000

Nuestro Queso

Cheese

Mark Braun

20,000,000

89

OK Foods/ Bachoco USA

Poultry Products

Trent Goins

270,000,000

3,000

OK Foods is one of the world's largest fullyintegrated chicken producers.

OneTaco

Restaurant

Axel Beverido

2500000

30

Our mission is to replicate the Mexican taqueria in Austin, TX.

Ovando NY

Events

Sandra de Ovando

Mexcor distributes to 46 states in the U.S.

In the US, Mission is the #1 tortilla company in the U.S. They also manufacturer other Mexican products.

Gruma Corporation is the largest tortilla and corn flour manufacturer in the world.

40 LatinBrand started 12 years ago as Persona Communications. They are an integrated marketing firm. They have worked with clients like Pepsi, Manzanita Sol, Frito-Lay, Sabritas, ALDI, Soriana, FAMSA, Circo Hermanos Vazquez, OXXO, Tequila Don Ramon, Almacenes Exito, Farmacias Guadalajara, Wrigley's, Dulces Lucas, uLink, Gamesa, Uniteller, Cinsa, FUD, Bar-S Foods, Century Snacks, Unified Grocers, NestlĂŠ, Sigue Corporation, Quaker, Silk Almondmilk, among others.

Persona Communications (dba LatinBrand)

Marketing/Advertising

Ignacio Guzman

Pescaderia el Puerto de Guaymas, LLC

Seafood wholesale/ Retail

Irayda Flores

10

Praxis USA

Information Technology and Services

Hector Navarro

2,769

Quaxar

I.T. Services

Leonel Azuela

12

Rassini

Automotive

Eugenio Madero

937,000,000

6,300

Rassini is the world's largest producer of suspension components for light commercial vehicles.

Rotoplas

Integrated Water Solutions

Carlos Rojas Mota Velasco

300,400,000

2,270

Rotoplas operates in 14 countries including the U.S.

Salsas Xochitl

Snacks and Salsa

Carlos Salinas

6,600,000

33

3,000,000

10

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Company

Industry

Founder

Annual Revenue U.S. Employees

Sigma Alimentos

Food Processing

Mario Paez

Sinder

Agricultural Engineering Services & Products

Jose Molina

SMM Sports & Entertainment

Sports

Jorge y Javier Villalobos

5,000,000

4

Sofftek

I.T. Services

Blanca TreviĂąo

500,000,000

6,000

Source Logistics

Logistics and E-Commerce Fulfillment

Marcelo Sada

Square Feet Solutions

Real Estate

Pablo Salazar

Sukarne

Meat Processing

Jesus Vizcarra

Sun Holdings, Inc

Quick Service Restaurants

Sushi Zushi

6,336,000,000

45,000

Comments Sigma operates 70 plants across 18 countries.

Main produce provider for Walmart.

250

Source Logistics has warehouses in a 8 different U.S. cities.

51,500,000

149

One of the top five North American beef companies.

They are present in 13 countries worldwide.

Guillermo Perales

800,000,000

22,000

SunHoldings is the fourth largest franchisee in the U.S.

Sushi Restaurant Chain

Alfonso Tomita

5,000,000

Tapia Brothers Co.

Food Service and Distribution

Frank Tapia

250,000,000

300

Taxco Produce

Food Distributor

Alfredo Duarte

50,000,000

115

TempLabor LLC

Workforce Services

Hector Cruz

The Legaspi Company

Real Estate

Jose de Jesus Legaspi

The Marfa Spirits

Mezcal and Rum Distributor / Importer

Daniel Munoz

The Morris Group

Product Comercialization

Luis Morris

Toff Liners

Auto Components Production

Oscar Martinez

Tortilleria El Milagro

Japanese food restaurant concept originated in Mexico.

The Legaspi Company is a full service real estate company with expertise in the Hispanic market throughout the US. Aside for ownership of shopping centers geared toward the Hispanic consumer, it does econometric studies, consults on expansion of retailers who want to reach the Hispanic consumer base.

500,000

10 500

8,000,000

31 The tortilla company was established over 50 years ago.

Jesse Lopez

Tremec

Autoparts Manufacturer

Antonio Herrera

Triple H

Fresh Produce Distributor

Heriverto Vlaminck

The Morris Group is the largest machine tool distribution network in North America.

25,000,000

113 9

VenturePoint Everywhere Inc

Flexible Office Space

Luis Escobar

500,000

Vitro

Glass Manufacturer

Adrian Cueva

29,000,000

5

Tech-friendly Flexible Office Space to conduct your business everywhere. The only private flexible space profitable in San Antonio with have more than 300 members. Flexible Office Space has clients like Lyft, Office Depot, La Michoacana, Segerdahl Group, USAA. Vitro is one of North America's largest glass producer.

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN FORUM

HOW CAN WE DRIVE MORE MEXICAN BUSINESSES TO ENTER THE AMERICAN ECONOMY? WE ASKED, THEY RESPONDED. ALICIA KERBER PALMA, CONSUL GENERAL OF MEXICO IN HOUSTON “IN HOUSTON, Texas, Arca Continental, a Mexican bottler company with an outstanding track record of more than 92 years, broke ground at the end of 2018 to the first Coca-Cola plant built in the U.S. Also in 2018, Mexican retailer Grupo Comercial Chedraui acquired Texan-based Fiesta Mart, an international food retailer with a focus on the Hispanic segment that operated 63 stores in the Dallas and Houston areas.

As we enter this new decade, exchanges of people and goods between Mexico and the United States are as productive as ever because, together with Canada, our production chains have developed the highest integration ever since NAFTA was signed 25 years ago. So much so that, at plain sight, it is impossible to distinguish whether goods we exchange are Mexican, American or Canadian.

The USMCA’s imminent ratification offers the unique opportunity to build a stronger framework fostering the smooth flow of products and the creation of supply chains that bolster the competitiveness of our businesses in a fiercely competitive international marketplace. A more favorable and certain environment will no doubt allow yet more Mexican businesses to grown and insert their goods and services in the most relevant areas of the American market.”

JAVIER DIAZ DE LEON, CONSUL GENERAL OF MEXICO IN ATLANTA

JORGE MENDOZA YESCAS, CONSUL GENERAL OF MEXICO IN PHOENIX “THE CONSULAR network of Mexico in the United States helps Mexican investors to get in touch with local economic development departments within the U.S., that offer incentives to encourage foreign investment. Also, these departments direct investors to local incubators and accelerators, taking advantage of the regional integration of US-Mexico’s economy.”

“THE CONSULATE General of Mexico in Atlanta is always looking to showcase and further promote business opportunities for Mexican companies in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. At the same time, we are in search of new investments from American private entities to continue benefiting the Mexican economy. The three states gather many successful stories of internationalization of Mexican companies in industries such as concrete, food, telecom, electronics, auto parts, aerospace, and metal-mechanic.

In 2018, total trade between Mexico and the three states added up almost 32 billion dollars. The USMCA will allow us to help more Mexican companies to enter the Southern US market and open new paths of economic cooperation in 2020.”

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JORGE EURAN GRAHAM, VICE CHAIRMAN FOR TEXAS IN AEM “AEM (US-MX Business Association) helps Mexican entrepreneurs and businessmen to grow their companies’ operations or begin new business ventures in the USA by establishing connections with key resources in the region, connecting them with our binational network to find & develop business opportunities and obtain ongoing support from fellow AEM members, industry experts and community leaders.”

JAVIER LOPEZ DE OBESO, AEM- SAN ANTONIO CHAPTER PRESIDENT “LEARN THE basics of doing business in the USA. Insurance agent, attorney and accountant are necessary expenses. Learn how to do business like a US national, don’t expect the US customer/partner to behave as a Mexican businessperson.

Learn how to network. The US market is thirsty for Mexican high-quality products, from technology to specialized services.

Join and be an active member of a chamber or professional organization.”

FERNANDO SEPULVEDA, CHAIRMAN AEM USA “AFTER 3 YEARS of uncertainty, trade and investment, relations between the United States, Mexico and Canada have stabilized thanks to the ratification of the USMCA. This positive outcome was possible in a large degree to the support and very close collaboration between the private sectors of both countries; in this effort AEM played an active and critical role engaging with critical actors on both sides of the border. But the ratification of USMCA is only the beginning of a journey to build a strong and competitive North American Region. USMCA is much more than how much trade and investment flows between the nations, it is about producing and innovating together to compete vis-a-vis with the rest of the world. AEM will continue its efforts to keep the North American agenda moving forward promoting economic dialogue, building bridges for collaboration and eliminating roadblocks for growth through effective advocacy efforts.”

LUIS ENRIQUE FRANCO, CONSUL OF MEXICO IN INDIANAPOLIS “THE MEXICAN Government supports the internationalization of their companies through the Secretariat of Economy, NAFIN (Nacional Financiera) and Bancomext. This support is focused on the specificities and opportunities that the embassies and consulates of Mexico abroad detect in different markets. The kind of supports varies from the advising on how to get into a new market, up to the support through funding mechanisms with some Mexican development banks.”

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO

BINATIONAL LEADERSHIP AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO CEO, ALVARO LUQUE, PLAYS THE POWERFUL LEADERSHIP ROLE IN A BINATIONAL JOINT EFFORT TO MARKET THE AVOCADO IN BOTH THE U.S. AND IN MEXICO.

What do we love to eat in the United States? Hamburgers with ketchup.

French fries with ketchup. Hot dogs and mustard. Pizza with just about anything you can imagine. Lots and lots of cereal. Lots of ice cream. And lots and lots of peanut butter.

Timothy Baler

I

Courtesy

Carlos Cuevas

f this was a foot race, those foods would be leading the pack. However, for the past 20 years or so a dark horse has entered the race, coming on so fast that it seems to have come out of nowhere. It almost has. Up until 1996 and for eighty years prior to that, imports of the avocado from Mexico were banned in the United States. The most common explanation was a fear of pests, but the more obvious problem was a fear of competition, which threatened avocado growers in California and Florida. But the fact is, many avocados from those states were not great sellers, anyway. Avocados languished in the supermarket with few people aware of how to make use of one. The health aspects were relatively unknown. And those who knew about guacamole either didn’t know how to make it or didn’t want to scare their guests by serving it.

The most common use for an avocado prior to 1997 seemed to be extracting the pit and suspending it above some water in a glass to explain plant growth at an elementary school science fair.

Not anymore. From a market point of view, the incredible growth rate of awareness and enjoyment of this quietly quenching, tangy, demure and mysterious fruit has hit the U.S. market by storm. Last year says Avocados From Mexico Chief Executive Officer Alvaro Luque, the U.S. imported more than two billion pounds of avocados from the Mexican state of Michoacan, the only state permitted to export to the United States. In that time, from 1997 to today, the number of growers and packers in Michoacan has swelled from about 22,000 to over 30,000 with an astounding 75 percent of those cultivating less than five acres of avocado trees. In the world of increasingly massive corporate farms, the avocado remains an anomaly, representing an agrarian lifestyle that many thought was going away – farmers 26 LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020

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ALVARO LUQUE

AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO CEO

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COMPANIES OF MEXICAN ORIGIN AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO

making a living with small holdings. For, as remarkable as this sounds, avocados in 20 years have flipped what is assumed to be a universal law of supply and demand. While the supply of avocados has jumped by 2 billion pounds since 1997, the price of the fruit has just about doubled, climbing from about 70 cents per pound to between $1 and $2.

There are so many surprises in the story of the modern avocado it would be impossible to include them all here, but the truth is, a group of remarkable marketers has been behind this import success story all along. Today, who doesn’t say football, beer, corn chips and guacamole all in the same breath and who doesn’t complain when a restaurant skimps you on avocado slices in your salad? In so many words: Today, guacamole, tomorrow the world. At Avocados From Mexico (AFM), developers are aware that stunning new avocado recipes are no longer falling on deaf ears. In fact, the market is hungry for them. Avocados for dessert? Why not? The AFM website includes an imaginative line up including avocado with white chocolate, maybe a mint leaf, and raspberry coulis. Avocado cheesecake? Pull up a chair. Avocado with grilled shrimp? Don’t go away. Avocado fajita turkey burgers or avocado breakfast shake – your choice. Avocados in tortilla wraps, avocado nut gingerbread. Avocado with bacon, eggs, fish and peppers. Avocado with basil, poultry or cucumber.

Lovely. This is the fruit that is exotic enough to be a nice surprise on a special occasion, but useful enough to be an everyday staple. What did we do without it? At this point, it’s hard to recall.

In fact, Luque says, market penetration in the United States has reached over 50 percent, making what was recently all but unknown a common treat, but not an everyday item. So there’s room for growth and AFM considers growth their mission. Protect the market, and, Luque says, and watch it grow.

But how did we even get here? Certainly, some fortuitous events marked the creation of AFM, but it took a hardworking staff to grab the bull by the horns and run with it. For an organization that is only six years old and has, to date, a consistent string of high-ranking Super Bowl advertisements to its credit, their story is remarkable. .

The building blocks for AFM began to take form with the eighty-year ban of Mexican avocado imports was lifted in 1997. Limited only to Michoacan avocados, the United States first opened nineteen northeastern U.S. states to Mexican avocado growers, allowing that number to grow in halting steps in 2001, 2004, and 2007, when California and Florida completed the list, allowing imports to every state. Avocados, however, remains a commodity, the same as corn, wheat, apples and oil, which means prices are negotiated on a daily basis. In this case, American importers, who soon tired of the practice of arguing prices with 20,000 Mexican growers and packers, asked their neighbors south of the border to create a trade group, that would represent the Mexican avocado industry. This gave rise to the Association of Mexican Exporters of Hass Avocados (Hass being the most popular cultivar.) In turn, avocado importers formed their own competing trade group, the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association, Both groups, of course, were on opposite sides of price negotiations, but they otherwise shared the same goals.

In fact, they shared the same jingle, the same logo and, all things said and done, the same purpose: Growth of the U.S. avocado market.

"ONE OF THE SECRETS IS TO TAKE THE BEST OUT OF EVERY PERSON I REPORTED TO IN THE PAST AND MAKE SURE I EMULATE THOSE THINGS INTO MY ORGANIZATION."

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In 2013, they created history by merging.

For the first time in U.S. history, two foreign trade associations merged to create on U.S.based company. Avocados from Mexico is that company and, it could be said, the juggernaut they hoped would bring the ancient fruit into the modern age.

You could also say, in effect, mission accomplished. And, of all things, it started with only a staff of six people in 2013. Five months later, Alvaro Luque arrived on the scene.

Born and raise in Costa Rica, Luque has had marketing in his blood since as long as he can remember and a track record to back it up. His specialty is the food industry and this includes a successful rise up the corporate chain of command when he became vice president of marketing for Guma Maseka, the snack and flour brand that is dominant in Latin America.

Luque, who calls Gruma Maseca CEO Roberto Gonzalez Barrera an inspiration and a mentor, worked for the notoriously tough businessman as vice president of marketing in Venezuela, then all of Latin America, then North America in a series of jobs that marked him as a force to be reckoned with.

As luck would have it, Barrera was a huge fan of marketing, as Luque said, he presented a marketing plan to Barrera and others for eight hours straight on one occassion.

Barrera, he said, stayed through the entire eight hours, asking meaningful questions throughout the marathon presentation.

Now, six years after AFM recruited him, Luque has not lost his passion. He wants

to protect the fruit’s market and make it grow with the backing of tens of thousands of small farmers from Mexico. “I think you need to be sure every time you put something in your mouth,” he said, “that has to be more than what you’re tasting. It has to be connected to your heart and to your mind to be able to relate to it.”

Luque calls this 360-degree marketing, leaving no quarter unchecked by making sure every interaction the consumer has with a product promotes the brand.

“Three-hundred sixty degrees gives you a lot of opportunities,” he said.

And what has Luque learned? The secret to being a CEO is balance, he said. The organization needs creative minds, innovators, people who will take a step forward, but it also needs bread and butter worker bees who make sure the daily chores are done – the payroll, the accounting, the human resources part of the business. You also have to be prepared for crisis. “There are so many crisis,” he said. “You have to take care of them.”

Secondly, says Luque, AFM has yet to lose one top-level staff member in the past six years. That’s a 100 percent retention rate among the top staff.

How do you top all this? You keep it going and enjoy the ride. Adweek calls the rise of AFM from nothing to heavyweight Super Bowl ad contender in just six years one of the most remarkable marketing success stories in memory. How do you top that? You top it off with avocados, of course.

"NOW IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BE A LITTLE MORE MATURE IN GIVING THE RIGHT IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A [CORPORATE] CULTURE."

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HEALTH

LATINOS IN HEALTH

In times when our healthcare is compromised, the Latino community needs someone on our side. It is companies like Children’s Health, HoyHealth, and others, that stand next to our families. In another installment of Health, we look into the life of Ben Salinas from Children’s Health, Vice President of Dallas Operations. We also catch up with Jose Aguilar from HoyHealth and talk about the expansion and growth of their telemedicine platform. It is fantastic to have allies that constantly look out for the wellbeing of our community, but also the progress of the Latino talent within the health care industry.

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HEALTH

CHILDREN’S HEALTH

VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY

BENIGNO SALINAS

VICE PRESIDENT OF DALLAS OPERATIONS AT CHILDREN’S HEALTH

When he was a kid, Benigno “Ben” Salinas thought he’d pursue a career in politics and “change the world.”

Instead, Salinas, Vice President of Dallas Operations at Children’s Health, landed in the health care arena. But he’s still trying to change the world.

THE GRANDSON of a Mexican immigrant, his grandfather came to the United States without a high school diploma, searching for a better life for his family. He worked in the automotive industry, while raising Salinas’ father and aunt. Salinas’ father became a first-generation college graduate, earning a degree in mechanical engineering.

“It’s the American dream,” Salinas said. “I think my grandfather would be proud for me to have a voice at the leadership table.

And it happened because of the sacrifices he made.”

Salinas, who oversees outpatient experiences at Children’s Health, is instrumental in collaborating with physicians and staff to break down barriers in areas such as technology and language to help patients receive the best possible care.

During his time at Children’s Health, Salinas has reduced staff turnover in Ambulatory Services from 25 to 14 percent.

“What’s driving that is the culture. It’s transparency. It’s being visible and accessible,” he said. “People join for the mission, but they stay because they enjoy the work they do and the team they work with.”

What led you to work at Children’s Health?

I grew up in Texas and knew after working at Emory Healthcare in Georgia that I wanted to return to my home state. The mission of Children’s Health to “make life better for children” and its reputation as a top medical center aligned with my goals to serve.

Why did you want to pursue a career on the business side of health care?

For several years after graduating from UT, I worked as a disability specialist in Social Security Administration. That’s when I first started working with physicians and understanding medical records.

I decided I wanted to go back to school for my MBA, knowing I’d probably pursue jobs in health care after graduation. I wanted to help people more directly.

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When it came to jobs in health care, why were you interested in Children’s Health?

I intentionally chose to work for a nonprofit organization that has a mission to help the underserved. I didn’t want to be in a for-profit area. Growing up in McAllen, you could see the need all the time for health care opportunities in the Valley.

What are you most proud of that you’ve accomplished at Children’s Health?

We’re always evolving to meet parents where they are today. That means we’re looking at online scheduling. A lot of families miss their appointments because they forget about them, or they’re not able to come last minute. By giving them the opportunity to move the appointment online for a time that works for them, you increase your show rates, which also increases the amount of care that children are receiving.

And then there are all the great sub-specialty programs like foster care that cater to kids who wouldn’t get care otherwise. Children’s Health is a safety net hospital that people turn to when everybody else has failed to get kids the outcomes we can.

“I INTENTIONALLY CHOSE TO WORK FOR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT HAS A MISSION TO HELP THE UNDERSERVED.”

More than 50 percent of patients treated at Children’s Health are Hispanic. How does that impact how you perform your job and the decisions you make?

It’s one of the reasons I wanted to return to Texas. I grew up with a lot of Hispanic culture, foods and holidays that I missed in Georgia.

As far as the patients at Children’s Health, we’re always thinking about them in terms of translation services and making sure Spanish-speaking families get the best care possible.

Much of the care we’re delivering is dependent on a third-party translator for many of these Hispanic families.

And even for families who can speak conversational English, medical terminology can be lost.

We have an obligation to make sure we’re taking care of kids and helping them succeed. That’s always in the back of my mind. These kids are looking for the same chances that my grandfather was searching for when he moved here, and we must make sure we’re giving them the best care so they can have those opportunities too.

What are some of your goals this year for Ambulatory Services?

I want to see us continue to be one of the top-ranked medical centers, and I’d like to see us continue to provide outstanding care to all people in our community. I also want to see us continue to improve the technological translation services we offer. There are a lot of gaps to make electronic medical records a more robust system.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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HEALTH

HOYHEALTH

PRIMARY CARE AT REACH HoyHealth’s Chief Strategy Officer, Jose Aguilar, discusses new technologies and their dynamic approach to healthcare.

LL: What have been the major challenges and obstacles you have encountered?

JA: Our model is a comprehensive approach to solve primary care

access to those who cannot afford their care today. This premise makes it very difficult for traditional Venture Capital firms to embrace our base of the pyramid business model and this has led us to self-fund and follow the angel investor route. We are hyper-focused on crafting partnerships to further our organizational mission because once health care experts see what we have built, they become our advocates and help us integrate into their organizations.

Latino Leaders: Please explain the renovated/augmented basic promise from HoyHealth. LL: Some things never go as expected. What have you done to go around challenges Jose Aguilar: Hoy Health is an emerging Hispanic-owned health tech or overcome the difficulties along the way? company that is transforming how primary care is delivered to JA: I think you need to listen to the market and consumers and underserved populations. The company has created a comprehensive set of digitally accessible, bilingual and culturally relevant cash-based health products that allows any consumer, particularly underserved populations to afford their primary care needs without the support of insurance or a third-party payor (Insurance). Specifically, we offer access to low cost medications, telehealth and remote chronic condition management.

Our mission is to provide quality and affordable access to primary care to all underserved populations around the world.

adjust your products accordingly. We launched what is called an MVP product, a Minimally Viable Product. With feedback from consumers, partners and customers we have been able to strengthen our products and focus on those that are gaining more traction. For example, at the beginning we focused more on our B2C products, but given our strength with our remote monitoring program, we have prioritized our focus on that side of the business as it incorporates all solutions in a model that supports healthcare professional across our operating footprint.

LL: Some time ago you and Mario started HoyHealth as an innovative service for low cost drugs; what is the status today? What advances have you been able to do in your business proposition?

JA: Indeed, at Hoy Health we were able to launch our two low-cost

LL: If HoyHealth keeps succeeding in its goals, how do you see it in 10 years from now?

JA: We expect to be a global company that has operations in the

USA, Latin America, Asia and Africa. We believe our model and approach works everywhere in the world as primary care is pretty medication programs across the USA and Central America; but much the same model everywhere and also everywhere is broken. we expanded our solutions to a comprehensive platform to pro- Remember, 90% of a person’s interaction with the health system is vide underserved communities access to quality primary care. In about primary care. Our platform solves primary care access. these few months, we have been incredible successful in not only launching all our products and supporting our recurring consumers with their healthcare needs. We also have been focused on creating partnerships with key institutions that are helping us reach our core audience. As an example of our growth, we have now presence in the USA, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, more than 50,000 users for our low-cost medication programs across the USA. This has been achieved by the development of a various marketing agreements and partnerships in TX, CA, NJ and Puerto Rico. Our most recent launch has been our HoyDOC product that allows healthcare organizations to monitor chronic patients remotely (Medicare reimbursed) using our turn-key solutions currently available across the USA. 34 LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020

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CYBERSECURITY The course of human history changed after the Internet became mainstream. Thirty years ago, mostly researchers, universities and governments used it; but today, it is an essential part of our life and we use the Internet for communication, entertainment, transportation, shopping, and many other things. We rely on technology for most of our basic needs, but we do not think about the amount of personal information that is stored in computers, smartphones, TVs or any device that connects us to the Internet. Furthermore, we do not question how well-guarded our personal information is when it is stored on someone else’s systems, and sometimes we do not realize the risks and dangers that exist in the cyber world. This is where cybersecurity comes into play.

Cybersecurity is the science that protects our networks, electronic devices, and personal information from unauthorized access and ensures our data and information remains confidential, with integrity, and available when we need it. Recognizing cybersecurity is important and committing to take preventative action against threats are necessary steps to help us be prepared against cyber-risks.

There are many challenges in the cybersecurity industry and the Latino community is making a difference in this discipline. We are bringing experience, MARIO DIAZ creativity, diversity, and a problem-solving attitude to the FINANCIAL INSTITUTION SPECIALIST, FDIC cybersecurity challenges we face on a daily basis. Let’s celebrate all the Latinos in the Cybersecurity Industry who are making a difference in their businesses and organizations and are fighting cyber-risk. Let’s recognize the achievements of the Latino Leaders who are positive role-models and are investing in the future by encouraging diversity in their workplace and mentoring the upcoming wave of Latino Leaders. Let’s support our future generations with concrete actions by reaching out to high school and college students, to encourage them at an early stage in their life and to share our stories so maybe one day they can achieve their dreams and be the next Latino Leaders.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY LINKAMERICA

PROTECTING YOUR DIGITAL IDENTITY CYBERSECURITY TIPS FROM LINKAMERICA EXPERTS Jacob Rivard

Carlos Cuevas

The world around us is changing.

Every month, new technologies enhance our experiences.

From new phones to high-tech gadgets, the frontier of modern advancements pushes us into new territory with every new invention. But with those inventions come a brand new set of risks. Cyber attacks and hacking scams have grown in frequency, putting people of all ages and backgrounds at risk. These attacks can lead to serious cases of identity theft, causing long-term damage that can follow them for the rest of their lives. If left unchecked, something as simple as a password can be the difference between your safety and your banking info being stolen.

What can you do to prevent these problems from occurring? LinkAmerica cybersecurity experts Andres Ruzo and Mariano Nieto have the answers.

Ruzo and Nieto work in the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, helping small businesses to keep their confidential data safe and secure. They devise solutions to address the growing problems of security within the ever-evolving digital world. Keeping their clients safe is their bread and butter. “It’s important to know that this is a problem that will never truly go away. Keeping ahead of any potential threats with advanced security measures is the number one way to keep your personal data and identity safe.”

While it might be easier to think that it would never happen to you, everyone, everywhere is at risk of a cyber attack at any time. If someone manages to gain control of your computer or login info, they can access everything from personal data to social security numbers to addresses and even your bank account. An easy (and safe) way to start keeping your data secure is to create long, intricate passwords only you would understand. The longer their character length, the less likely they will be accessed. A good rule of thumb is to make your passwords anywhere from 12-20 characters long, with letters, numbers, and special characters.

One of the best ways to keep your most personal information safe is by keeping it off things like work computers or devices you use to access public Wi-Fi networks. On a public Wi-Fi network, a potential hacker can find an easier means of accessing the data on your computer, since they can log into the network quicker than they would on your own private network. If you’re unable to keep some of that information from your device, you can download anti-virus software to create an additional line of defense against would-be hackers.

ANDRES RUZO Education: Engineering, Texas A&M Job Title: Chairman & CEO of LinkAmerica Background: Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Andres Ruzo began his career in Houston before moving to Dallas in 1994 to found LinkAmerica. He saw the need for cybersecurity in small businesses and sought creative, innovative solutions that have brought the company into the modern era.

“You don’t really know you’re truly vulnerable until you start looking into your own security measures.” - Andres Ruzo When you use a computer, phone, or any other digital device, you leave a digital “footprint”. This “footprint” shows where you were, how long you were there, what you’ve browsed, and other information about you. This digital trace, along with your search history, the devices you are currently logged into, and the activities you perform connected to the Internet help to build your digital identity. Everyone has a digital identity; it’s important to keep that identity safe from any potential threats that may come its way.

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erations were taught to lock the door and to hide their valuables; now, more than ever, it’s important to apply those same rules to the digital world. The sooner Internet-users learn this, the quicker they’ll be able to secure personal data and info from would-be thieves. Ruzo and Nieto hope to use their berth of knowledge to assist future generations and small businesses in their pursuit of fair, easily accessible security tips to pave the way for a safer future.

Our world is in a Golden Age of technology. With the rise of cloud-based storage software and an entire generation of digital natives, the digital world is becoming more integrated with the real world than it’s ever been before. Protecting your digital identity is just like protecting your wallet or purse; it’s important to make sure everything from banking info to identification is held in a safe and secure manner at all times. By keeping your digital presence safe, you’re Remaining proactive of potential threats securing your present and future as the is the best way to ensure safety of your digi- world continues to evolve. tal and personal identity. Phishing scams are the most common -- these types of scams can appear in emails, texts, and phone calls that claim your information is being hacked and that they need your personal info to keep your data secure. If you provide these fake companies your information, you are effectively giving them the ability to steal your data without any worries. Remain suspicious of any strange emails, phone calls, or texts that you receive that begin asking you for personal information. Contact your bank or email service if you have any worries about a potential security breach.

“We’re in a world that’s constantly changing. We need to keep our futures secure along with that change.” - Mariano Nieto Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field; new opportunities open every week, with the chance to pioneer change manifesting itself every day. It’s a field that constantly requires fresh, new talent; Ruzo and Nieto believe it’s an ideal field for new Latino workers. “Here, you can bring the passion and work ethic that the Latino community is known for and apply it to a brand new field. You can become the change and make the difference that people of every background needs.”

“In the future, the most important thing we can do for future generations is to stress WRITE AND SHARE #ConnectLL the importance of security.” Previous gen-

OTHER TIPS TO KEEP YOUR DATA SAFE: • Access your banking information on secure devices and networks only.

• Monitor your accounts and the devices they’re logged into. If you see one that doesn’t seem accurate, you can force them to log out and prevent that device from accessing it again.

• Back-up your data frequently. If your device is compromised, you won’t lose anything if your computer requires a complete factory reset.

•Change your password every six months. This will keep you aware of threats and will make hacking attempts even more challenging.

•If you need to leave your devices anywhere, lock them to ensure that they won’t be accessed while you’re away.

MARIANO NIETO Education: MBA, Texas A&M Job Title: General Manager & COO of LinkAmerica Background: With over 15 years of experience with companies like Ericsson and Huawei, Nieto has used his versatility to help LinkAmerica put its name on the map. His experience in cybersecurity has helped LinkAmerica become the company it is today.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY SABINOCOMPTECH

NANCY SABINO,

CEO of SabinoCompTech, shares what her company is doing to protect client and employee data Latino Leaders: What threats are currently trending?

Nancy Sabino: While ransomware continues to rise, the threat that is trending by far is a lack of education and awareness on the end user side. Users are the first line of defense and can make the difference between a data breach or an attack being successful or not. 90% of data breaches are inadvertent, unintentional, and caused by humans making that one of the highest trending threats in my opinion.

LL: What is the approach you and your company are taking to protect either business or consumer interests?

NS: We have built our business model and service offering with protecting our clients, their employees, their clients or patients and their data in mind. Our internal processes and procedures are the same if not more stringent than what we expect to put in place for our clients and then we provide all the necessary tools and services to protect them as much as possible. We implement firewalls, password rules, file monitoring, 2Factor Authentication, Advanced Spam filtering and link protection, end-user awareness training and testing, on top of the usual efforts like anti-virus, backups etc.

LL: What can be done to expand Latino talent specifically in this industry?

NS: Exposure and education especially in the communities where Latinos reside, work and where children are educated. There should be programs at schools with mentors, presentations and activities around technology and cybersecurity. They need to know that this is an industry where they can thrive, have space in, and make a difference in.

I sit on the board of a non-profit organization called Nerdy Girl Success whose mission is to provide leadership and entrepreneurship exposure, education and mentorship to high school girls and through this program, I have seen what a difference exposure, education and career support can make with what the next generation feels is possible for them especially if this is not a part of their regular world.

LL: In terms of legislation for digital security, what are the challenges? What steps are being taken to address it?

NS: On a federal level we have a few regulations like HIPAA, GLBA, and FISMAA that give guidelines, requirements, as well as addressable items for certain levels of businesses, providers or government officials to abide by but it by no means covers or extends to enough businesses or industries. This means that it becomes a choice in many cases or scenarios and well, if there are no consequences many don’t think they have to protect themselves at the same level.

On a state level, here in Texas the focus is placed on utilities and education which are also great and necessary, but it once again leaves out a large portion of the population which contribute to our economy which are the small and medium sized businesses. Without having those same guidelines, the level of importance is not placed on Cybersecurity until something bad happens and if we learn anything, prevention is less costly than intervention. If our laws pushed a bit more towards prevention, all of our citizens’ sensitive information and identities would be more protected.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY WELLS FARGO

ACCELERATING CYBERSECURITY

Dan Paula, talks cybersecurity in a world of constant thread and emerging technology.

Latino Leaders: What threats are currently trending?

Dan Paula: The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve. Malicious actors are getting more sophisticated and attacks are no longer sporadic but automated and ongoing. It is imperative that organizations stay vigilant and stand up strong defenses to match the scale and complexity of cyber threats.

Many of today’s realities continue to accelerate, for instance: 1- Adversaries continue to grow in number and sophistication 2- Nation-State capabilities continue to leak into criminal and independent actor spaces.

3- Emerging technologies continue to be adopted of use in offensive actions 4- Humans continue to be a primary targeted as technologies are increasingly hardened.

5- The attack surface is expanding exponentially with business growth strategies the leverage technology very intensely, such as digital transformation and Latino Leaders: In terms of legislation for digital adoption of public cloud. security, what are the challenges? And what steps 6- Ransomware is another increasing threat and basically a are being taken to address it? form of malware that disables systems by encrypting data.

The attackers demand ransom money to provide keys to DP:1- We continue to see increasing regulation emerging decrypt data. Many organizations in diverse industry sec- such as General Data Protection Regulation, California Contors have fallen victim to these attacks. sumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Lei Geral de Protecao de Dados (LGPD in Brazil), all requiring nuanced and sometimes granLL: What is the approach you and your company ular differences in defense, response, reporting, etc. are taking to protect either business or consumer 2- IP Theft is another area where we see Legal challenges. interests?

DP: Our cybersecurity team focuses on protecting the Verizon DBIR and other industry reports show that Espiocompany from cyber threats, engaging with businesses, nage is a real threat and accounts for 23% of data breaches, assessing information security risk, providing identity ser- overall. Some industry sectors and public organizations with vices, performing security engineering, and operating the intellectual property are larger targets for espionage activity cyber security function. My organization is specialized in compared to others. To mitigate this risk, organizations need performing independent testing of Information Security, to start understanding and documenting their risk profile and Privacy, Technology and Data controls to ensure they are potential attackers. After that the next step is building threat designed correctly and operating as effectively as we ex- hunting and dark web investigations processes as well as acpect. This helps keeps our crown jewels protected and tive monitoring of threats on networks and network segmenour customer data safe, both of which increase the level of tation. That combined with an Effective awareness program is a solid approach to mitigate IP Theft Risk. trust in our business.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY WELLS FARGO

THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE

How Yonesy Nunez utilizes knowledge, passion, and purpose to keep your finances secure Jacob Rivard

Carlos Cuevas

“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from. As long as you don’t forget who you were, you can achieve whatever you want.”

THESE WORDS of advice, imparted to Yonesy Nunez at a young age, stayed with him through his professional career, shaping him into the cybersecurity expert he is today.

Nunez, now the Group Information Security Lead for Wells Fargo, utilizes his wide berth of experience and knowledge to pave the way to the future of financial cybersecurity.

Originally an engineer, Nunez found his passion for cybersecurity after attending a conference on digital security in the late 90s. Shortly after his return, his boss placed him in charge of the cybersecurity department of his company. With this unique opportunity, Nunez learned the ins and outs of keeping digital identities safe from threats of all kinds.

Digital threats are a multi-headed beast. In 2017, the University of Maryland published a report illustrating the threat of cybersecurity the average American faces each day. According to their report, digital-based attacks on identity and security occur once every 39 seconds. One in every three Americans will be affected by a cybersecurity attack at some point in their lives; currently, cybersecurity is one of the largest risks an average American must face on a day to day basis. Nunez’s job has given him additional foresight into the threat as he’s worked to stave off financial threats to Wells Fargo and their investors, clients, and employees.

“It’s not an easy job. In fact, it’s a job that requires you to be active and aware at all times.” Fortunately, Nunez and others in the cybersecurity field work together to create stalwart defenses against these threats. The biggest dangers that affect average Americans typically involve the unaware consent of the user. Nunez emphasizes the importance of being aware of everything you click and interact with; if you receive an email or a text with a link that you didn't ask for, don’t click it. These types of scams can steal personal data, banking information, and even reveal your location to potential hackers.

Nunez’s job is a collaborative one. He cooperates with law enforcement officials and fellow cybersecurity experts to create peer-to-peer learning environments where lead-

YONESY NUNEZ Title: Group Information Security Lead, Wells Fargo Background: Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Yonesy Nunez moved to the Bronx during middle school, attending public school shortly after. At a young age, Nunez wanted to take things apart to learn how they work -- with this in mind, he pursued an Engineering degree at Manhattan College, obtaining employment shortly after. A fateful encounter at a cybersecurity conference encouraged him to pioneer change within the cybersecurity community, starting him along the road he walks on today as the Group Information Security Lead for Wells Fargo.

ers can find new avenues of defense against would-be threats. As the digital world continues to integrate with our everyday lives, defensive measures will evolve to better defend the average citizen from potential pitfalls.

Whether it’s a breaching attempt on a server or a simple phishing scam, Yonesy Nunez is prepared for anything. From the start of his security career pioneering the industry to leading the defense efforts for one of the largest banks in the world, Nunez combines his knowledge, passion, and relentlessness in pursuit of a brighter future. He’s never forgotten where he’s come from, however; the words from his young age still stay strong in his mind.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY FORGEPOINT

SUPPLYING THE DEMAND FOR CYBERSECURITY

Alberto Yepez, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ForgePoint, has invested capital in startups concentrated on cybersecurity.

Timothy Baler

ASK VENTURE capitalist Alberto Yepez how he got from his humble upbringing in Peru to where he is today, and the answer runs for thirty minutes nonstop. You get a sense that he is grounded and still tied to his roots. He also has incredible recall and tells a tale that suggests maybe he was just in the right place at the right time. He was. And the fact that he was in the right place fairly often is neither an accident nor a deliberate plan. Three or four times in those thirty minutes, Yepez offered the listener a reality check by saying, “I never thought in my wildest dreams, this would happen to me.” And that’s altogether believable. Truth can be stranger than fiction. On the other hand, the joker who first said, “Nice guys finish last” clearly never met Alberto Yepez.

He is a land shark by trade and a man who was handed chief executive officer positions at brand-name companies, but he has also stepped aside from running big companies because he sees himself “more on the innovation side and not on the optimization side.” He says his only goal was to solve business problems, which lead him into a career in cybersecurity.

Squeezing profits out of operations isn’t really his thing, he says, and he remains an electrical engineer at heart. He has made millions, but he has an apologetic nature. In his wildest dreams, how did this happen to him?

Well, let’s say you were invited to help create a universe and you had the nerve to say yes. Alberto Yepez has done that.

His life began in the second largest city in Peru, Ariquipa, and proceeds to engineering studies in Lima at Universidad Nacional de Ingienería, where students had to put on fund drives to pay for the experiment needed for the hands-on portion of the curriculum. He was No. 43 out of 40,000 applicants to the school applying for 2,000 openings – precocious from the start. He was then offered a scholarship to attend the University of San Francisco, after which he worked for Apple for 10 years, until 1995. Significantly, Apple groomed him for

management, sending him to Caleb University for a master’s in business administration. But Apple was struggling when he got back, laying off workers (not a smart phone in sight in those days). So Yepez asked for severance from the company.

His manager said no, after all, they had just paid for his education. But the manager also hinted that he could start is own company and no one could stop him.

Yes, this is the story of Internet. At the ground floor, Yepez and his wife started a consulting firm which not only grew to a team of 50 engineers in two years, but helped brand name companies (Oracle, Synopsis, Cisco and others), that were among the first Silicon Valley upstarts seeking to create a safe haven for e-commerce out of an imagined universe we now call the Internet.

As he developed his mastery of cybersecurity, Yepez, within two years, had signed up many of the world’s largest banks as clients. Then, thinking of taking his company public, Yepez, instead, yielded to temptation, selling the company outright to Entrust for $720 million. This propelled him to seat on the Entrust’s board, which is the same, essentially, as going from pauper to a player at King Arthur’s round table in the space of fifteen years.

He professes to have no secrets, no invisible guiding hand, no inside news that helped him along. He understands Latinos face discrimination and offers this succinct advice, “You have to be better than your competition and not just better – a whole lot better. You have to excel.” He also explains that many people helped him along the way and a sense of reciprocity doesn’t hurt.

Meanwhile, there are bad guys out there and Yepez says they aren’t going away anytime soon – hackers turning into cyber thieves, foreign governments turning into cyber saboteurs.

In that sense, Yepez, co-founder of cybersecurity investment firm Forgepoint is putting money into companies Forgepoint feels can protect our future. He’s like the J. Edgar Hoover of the Internet, playing the game as benefactor and friend.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY DIGITAL HANDS

DIVERSITY IN CYBER SECURITY

AN IMPERATIVE FOR SAFE COMPANIES AND SAFE COMMUNITIES

Cris Marshall

Carlos Cuevas

Myrna Soto, Chief Operating Officer at managed security services provider (MSPP) Digital Hands is a strong proponent of not only cyber security, but that diversity is necessary for the protection of companies, communities, and even humanity itself.

SOTO, A PRODUCT of a “blended” Hispanic family, (“my mother is from Puerto Rico and my father is from Cuba, so I am a proud Latina with a very strong Hispanic upbringing”) was encouraged by her family to seek higher education. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, with a degree in psychology, and in so doing encouraged other family members to pursue education beyond high school.

In graduate school Soto earned degrees in industrial and organizational psychology, and an MBA with a specialization in information systems. In her words, “this is where psychology met technology.”

After graduate school she worked for varied industries such as: MGM Resorts, Comcast, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, among others. This experience allowed her to grow in many ways and pushed her career path toward cyber security.

At Caribbean Cruise Lines Soto was a manager running a call center. She felt that the company did not have enough technology in place for the security of the company and the customers.

After speaking to her supervisor many times about her concerns he was able to secure a budget for her to pursue one of her “crusades and complaints” thinking she might not succeed and would go away. Soto says that being a “squeaky wheel” enabled her to receive the funds for a very successful project, and then another, and then another – which led to being recommended as an addition to the company’s IT department.

At the time what Soto was doing was not called cyber security (a term coined in 2007, according to Soto) – but rather a security division of the IT department. However, this enabled Soto to use her acquired skills in psychology, programming, and technology to make security issues “top of mind” for executives. No one really knew at that time how applicable this area would be to companies and communities in the future.

What started as growth for brand security and consumerism actually turned into a revenue generating business “imperative”. There was a growing awareness about a need for security in systems in the national arena. Like many other areas of business, the early interest in a specialized field is often overlooked until something like 9/11 happens.

Soto has been concentrated on security within corpora-

tions, but it’s also been community and consumer driven. She says that as a society we are in what she calls a “renaissance period” where people are thinking more about what they give, what they allow companies to collect.

Unfortunate security breaches on a small level (identity theft, data breaches) have become common knowledge and it dictates what people provide to companies about themselves.

Soto’s company, Digital Hands, is a managing systems security provider, MSPP. Within companies it eliminates the need for repetitive work that can drive away many layers of employees. It helps companies take those employees and focus on the analytical area of the industry rather than the security of that information.

With public distrust of artificial information, or AI, Soto says the solution is diversity. Soto has been a leader in the industry and brings a Hispanic woman’s view to the process. She believes that totally protecting companies, communities, and populations – complete diversity is a necessity. She hopes that Latino leaders will continue to encourage youth to pursue careers in engineering, technology, programming, and cyber security – for the safety of all. “If they don’t see people that look like them, they may not pursue it.”

MEET MYRNA Myrna was recently named to Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Latinas in Business" for the second consecutive year. She has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions. She has led multiple cybersecurity transformation programs in major communications, media, hospitality, financial services and critical infrastructure organizations.

CNET also named her one of the top 20 Most Influential Technology Latinos in 2014.

She is also the 2018 recipient of the Maestro Award given

by Latino Leaders Magazine.

TIP FOR SUCCESS: Pursue constant learning and seek to be uncomfortable in your role, constantly stretching your abilities.

WRITE AND SHARE #ConnectLL

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY TELEFONICA

TELEFONICA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS:

HELPING COMPANIES AND CONSUMERS WITH CYBERSECURITY Cris Marshall

FRANCISCO AVALOS, a 36 year-old native of Spain, has a varied background – one that suits his current role at Telefonica Business Solutions, which specializes in cyber security.

Avalos obtained a degree as a Telecommunications Engineer with a Major in IT System Management from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and an MBA in Finance at Escuela de Organizacion Industrial.

Avalos went on to work as a Technical Consultant at Hewlett Packard, a Data Center & Cloud Computing Consultant in Europe and Africa, and then in several positions at his current employer, Telefonica. Paramount in this experience is his vast working knowledge of cyber security.

This technology-based field, cyber security, is one that is currently trending. Retail uses security in many ways: public assistance, password information, storing information on the cloud, and enhancing their use of technology.

Avalos has focused on this area since the increase of cyber-crimes both at companies and with individuals. Since he believes this is only going to increase in the next few years, Avalos believes strongly in advancing the cyber technology security field.

So, how big is the threat – how bad is the situation that would make a company or individual turn to a security company to protect its data and communications?

Avalos states that companies use passwords for credit cards, social security and governmental entities need data protec-

FRANCISCO AVALOS

tion. Manufacturing companies need protections of their cyber assets. The main goal of hackers is to obtain the data of customers – their social IDs, credit card information – much of it can be obtained by hacking social media accounts or “clouds”. Companies and individuals need to make sure their assets are protected.

According to Avalos, 59% of companies are implementing cyber security services for personal/business records and this is increasing every year. They are using the services to prevent attacks that are affecting more and more Americans every year. The threat is increasing.

Companies are more confused than ever about what needs to be done to protect their data and keep their customers’ data private, but they are evolving in response to a need to solve the problems that have arisen due to cyber-attacks.

Avalos says that by “having security defense centers, like those provided by Telefonica, the approach is protection from both sides – security programs to protect data and defense programs to protect companies while on the internet.”

While many do not believe that privately they are at risk, Avalos stated that it is common now for people to utilize multiple devices all tied to one phone. “All of these attached devices are targets when the phone is being used.

Any user needs to be aware that a small culture of technology is protecting their equipment.”

Avalos has found it challenging to work internationally as countries have different laws governing cyber security and what constitutes a cybercrime. “Any policies that help guide security in information are helpful. There are also a lot of political interest involved in cyber-crimes but again, preventing and enforcing cyber security can be very difficult with the varying legislation and policies.” says Avalos.

Thankfully, his experience working in different countries helps Telefonica bridge these gaps.

Being a native of Spain drew Avalos to the Latino community in the United States. He is proud to have helped form a company that has a great influence on the Hispanic population and its cyber security.

Avalos believes that diversity within the field is critical and that as the Hispanic population grows, so should its presence in companies such as Telefonica. “Hispanic or Latin Americans have a really important role in this industry and its future in this country.”

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY

AKAMAI

GLOBAL IMPACT Akamai’s Tony Lauro goes far beyond his role. He is a sought-after cybersecurity expert that is more than willing to share knowledge with his coworkers and industry colleagues.

Bill Peden

TONY LAURO has 20 years of Information Security operations experience. The Minnesota native has worked in many fields, including automotive, healthcare, and finance. He is currently responsible for Akamai Technologies’ American clients, as well as the training of an elite cybersecurity task force designed to research, identify, and prevent online attacks.

Lauro is one of the world’s leaders in cybersecurity, but it’s hard to believe he almost took a different path. Luckily passion and ambition can supersede the road most traveled and Tony found his true calling. It just took longer than most.

It was the 1980’s and cybersecurity was not on Tony Lauro’s radar. It wasn’t on anyone’s in the public sector. Lauro was raised by an Italian father and a mother of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent. Growing up, he was instilled with the ‘immigrant’ mentality’ and credits this mindset to his omnipresent work ethic. A mentality that gained him recognition as one of the top high school wrestlers in Minnesota. Lauro was given a full scholarship to the University of Wisconsin to wrestle, but to the surprise of his mother and father, declined the free tuition and decided to follow his heart, attending Texas Technical University. This is when he hung up his wrestling shoes and regained his passion for computers.

“I saw the writing on the wall”. Lauro was enamored by technology since the days of the Commodore 64 and the TSA80, and says he always had an interest in hacking and knowing cybersecurity would be an exponential problem in the future.

Not to “come off as a Nostradamus figure” but he saw the ‘big picture’ and it was cybersecurity.

Taking his first professional computer job at a telecom company that worked for Microsoft Lauro seized all the opportunities he was given. While making some of his own. He studied the tech admin and their cyber security practices, or lack thereof. Eventually the young IT approached his boss at the company with a serious question, one that is rhetorical today. He asked his boss if he could start holding a weekly security meeting with the staff. It being the 1990’s, his boss was accepting but unappreciative of his employee’s interests in cybersecurity. It was a different time.

As Lauro began educating his then coworkers on the do’s and don’ts of cyber safety he began to catch more and more

flaws in their system. After the company’s first major security incident a year later, his volunteer gig became his official title.

In the aftermath his boss was asked, “Who is in charge of security here?” This is when the executive turned to Lauro and said “Tony is”. This cemented Tony Lauro’s future and gave him the confidence to follow his dreams.

Lauro’s advice is heeded by hundreds of clients in North, South, and Latin America and he is asked to educate the world’s security community on the new techniques and dangerous trends. This March he will speak at a cybersecurity conference in Rome, Italy, his father’s home country, building a stronger community while learning from the best in the world. Tony Lauro says a holistic approach to cybersecurity is the best way to prepare for the major cyber attacks in 2020. Strength of community and the sharing of information should be at the forefront of efficient cybersecurity. “There is no silver bullet” or one size fits all defense to prepare his clients for the attacks on their valuable data.

A true Latino leader, Lauro believes diversity in cybersecurity is the only way to gain new perspectives on cyber threat prevention. “I think any good company is focusing on gender and ethnic diversity,” he says. “The role of Latinos in this industry is extremely important. Having multiple cultural backgrounds deal with problems gives valuable perspective. If you get the same people to work on a problem, you will only get the same list of solutions.” With 1,000,000 cyber security jobs to go unfilled this year, here’s to hoping, through scholarships and following their passion, more Latinos find their way into cybersecurity in 2020, just like Lauro.

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LEADERS IN CYBERSECURITY SOFTTEK

WIRED TO LEARN

Betty Cardiel from Softtek tapped into her ability to rewire her mind to absorb all the information and new technologies she had to learn in order to become an expert in cybersecurity.

Bill Peden

WITH OVER 25 years in Information Security, Albertina (Betty) Cardiel, the Risk and Data expert, has participated in helping clients across the globe enhance their cybersecurity knowledge and preparedness. Betty Cardiel is passionate about security and has successfully crafted her career to combine her expertise in technology and with her love of training.

She believes by focusing on instilling confidence in clients and the new generation of tech users, she can improve their technical knowledge, safety skills, and capabilities.

Betty Cardiel serves clients in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia at Softtek, a Mexico-based global information technology company. Although today she is recognized as an Information Security Leader working for the largest private IT vendor in Latin America, Betty Cardiel admits she got her start in the information technology business purely by accident. After receiving a scholarship to university in Spain, the Mexico native studied abroad and graduated with a degree in computer programming.

Returning home to Mexico, Betty Cardiel entered the technology space in the 1990’s where she worked on programming the IT curriculum for local schools. She later used prodigal programming skills on conversion commerce projects in the midst of Y2K scare. A year later because of the tragic events of September 11th 2001, she sought out to improve the cybersecurity in her home country. “September 11th made the whole world more conscious about cybersecurity.” This started her journey. Betty Cardiel began investing in herself and creating business propositions to develop cybersecurity curriculums. Mexico was full of talented programmers and entrepreneurs but there were not many people with experience in information securities.

Betty Cardiel not only needed the assistance from the universities and government, she had to help herself by changing her whole mindset. She says going from programming to cybersecurity was like learning a new language and just as she had devoted her youth to computer programming, she had to make a pivot and become passionate about learning the ins and outs of cybersecurity. This ability to reteach herself and evolve with the everchanging technology landscapes has helped her become a top cybersecurity trainer.

In 2012 Betty Cardiel began studying the legislation in place for cybersecurity in order to help companies stay in compliance. She believes that the more she knows on the subject of cyber laws, the less time and money the business has to spend to get their company into compliance. "If you are spending 75% of your IT budget meeting regulations and making your business more efficient something is wrong.” She believes

much more of that money could be going towards cybersecurity awareness and user training.

Now at the forefront of cybersecurity Betty Cardiel believes time spent on awareness campaigns for not only businesses but the youth is the most valued. “The innovative destruction is never-ending,” she says. “The platforms are made for the young people to get hooked. Just because tech is made more accessible and makes our lives easier, doesn’t mean that it is safer.” Betty Cardiel invites young Latino children, especially females and introduces them to cybersecurity. The response she gets from middle school and high school students has been very promising. She believes that the natural curiosity of the Latino community, especially the kids, will help lead to new ways of combating cyber attacks. “It’s creativity that leads to the workarounds we need.” In 2011 she began a non-profit training Latino youths on cybersafety, with specificity to “sexting”. In 2016 as she began traveling to globe more frequently Betty Cardiel moved her family to Dallas, Texas where she could be close to the international airport. She was asked to give a TEDx Talk in 2018, and the acclaimed video displayed to the unknowing world how much of an outstanding orator she was. Although Betty Cardiel has certainly reached an expert level, it's safe to say, her own thirst for knowledge will never be vanquished.

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LEADERSHIP

TOYOTA MULTICULTURAL

CULTURE SHOCK WITH HIS OWN CULTURE LED TO THIS EXECUTIVE’S MULTICULTURAL CAREER AT TOYOTA Cris Marshall

SEBASTIAN ONTIVEROS

NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF MULTICULTURAL ALLIANCE AND STRATEGY GROUP & SENIOR MANAGER, CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT 50 LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020

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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.

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 spend-

“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”

ing 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.

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LEADERSHIP LOUIS GRETH

OUR UNSUNG LEADERS Raymond J. Arroyo

Leadership Lessons from Louis Greth

W

e’re not likely to pick up a magazine and read about an exceptional Latino leader who we haven’t heard about.

We tend to read about the same leaders in magazines and on social media. In this celebrity-fixated culture we often overlook leaders who operate in relative obscurity but tackle immense challenges without seeking recognition or rewards. These Servant leaders are known for their humility who act as strong advocates for those less fortunate, and, as the English writwer and theologian C.S. Lewis famously noted, “doing the right thing when no one is looking.”

When the topic of Latino leadership comes up, odds are your mind conjures names of images of well-known and well-respected leaders who’ve been extensively covered in the media. While you’d certainly do well to learn as much as you can from them, many Servant leaders have equally impressive stories to tell. This is one of them. I sat down with Louis Greth for over 2 hours recently to explore his thoughts on leadership, community, values, family, career, coaching, and legacy.

This is the story of the impact he’s made not only in Northwest Arkansas, one of the fastest growing regions in the country, but also across the U.S. and beyond.

Louis Greth is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Walmart. He’s a soft-spoken, inclusive, focused, grounded, and talented business executive with a proven track record of achievements, at work, at home, and in the community. He’s a values-driven, authentic, empathetic and caring Servant leader. He’s, perhaps most importantly, a

LOUIS GRETH

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, WALMART strong mentor, as demonstrated by the many people whose lives he has impacted, living his philosophy of paying it forward, while working hard not to let them down. He’s also an ardent advocate of the Latino community, which is driving success across the U.S. for all communities.

From humble beginnings and with a modest demeanor, Louis does not take himself too seriously as he methodically gets things done and disrupts the marketplace, as he did with the Bentonville Film Festival. While leading the Movie Buying department for Walmart, he saw a need for diverse, inclusive representation in media.

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Today, there would be no Bentonville Film Festival in beautiful Northwest Arkansas without Louis. It was his idea to change the landscape of the film industry that ignited the infrastructure for the Bentonville Film Festival, which co-founders actress Geena Davis and Inclusion and Company CEO Trevor Drinkwater took to the next level. Louis, backed by Walmart, was determined to launch an organization that promoted underrepresented voices in the entertainment industry. And launch it he did. After only 5 years, 81% of films represented are female directed and 68% of the selections include people of color as directors. To place these numbers in context, Sundance Film Festival, one of the better-known film festivals had 40% directed or co-directed by a woman and 39% were people of color.

BFF, in its 6th year, stands out among film festivals as the champion for women and diverse voices in all forms of media and is being recognized as one of the top film festivals in the country. It is also the only film festival in the world that offers a guaranteed multi-platform distribution to the winners. It’s gratifying to see the real impact BFF has made on creating inclusion in all forms of media.

We should be proud of the work done at BFF to ensure the content audiences are experiencing accurately reflects the world around us, where the faces and voices of women, people of color, LGBT and people with disabil-

ities are seen and heard. With a modest beginning 5 years ago, BFF’s attendance grew 144%, to 85,000 last year and is expected to surpass 100,000 in 2020, with an $8 million economic impact in the community. For comparison, the Sundance Film Festival had 125,000 in 2019. Without Louis, this change, locally and within the media industry, wouldn’t have happened. Louis believes that you, too, can provide strong leadership and make an impact regardless of your job title, job description, or geographic location, if you’re ready to serve for a bigger purpose.

Effective leaders operate from a variety of styles – Transformational, Transactional, Laissez-faire, and Autocratic, to name a few. Many of them are extroverts who seek the limelight and visibility for their efforts. Others, like Louis, a Servant leader who considers himself blessed and fortunate to be where he is in life, will be unassuming and humble. But he can easily inspire others to follow and change the world in their own way.

What we learn from Louis is that leadership comes in different forms and styles. All of us can do our part to leverage our own leadership, Servant or otherwise, to make the world a better place — to create a more inclusive, values-driven ecosystem for all to enjoy and prosper. This legacy is one we can all be proud of to leave to future generations.

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SPOTLIGHT

SEVEN REASONS

THE INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESS

Building a perfect dish requires patience, care, and a lot of know-how. Luckily for Ezequiel Vazquez, the co-owner of Seven Reasons, he’s come prepared. Alongside fellow co-owner and chef Enrique Limardo, Vazquez has worked tirelessly to ensure that Seven Reasons is one of the top restaurants in the DC area. Known for their unique flavor palate and jaw-droppingly delicious dishes, Seven Reasons is a standout example of a top-tier restaurant on the east coast and a must-visit for foodies of all kinds.

V

AZQUEZ’S journey to success, however, began under different circumstances. As an immigrant from Argentina, Vazquez moved to the United States with his wife to pursue a fellowship, quickly joining activist circles as an anti-corruption consultant. He’s represented a variety of Latin American businesses in the private sector, providing a unique insight into the ins and outs of their individual success. Watching the businesses build themselves from the ground up lit a fire of passion within Vazquez’s heart. After working on the outside of these businesses, he wanted a chance to do it himself.

An entrepreneur and foodie at heart, Vazquez decided that his next goal was to open his own restaurant. A fateful encounter saw Vazquez meet Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo, a chef in the Baltimore area renowned for his remarkable cooking style. Within a week’s time, the two met again to plan out what soon became their next passion -- opening and operating a restaurant of their own. With Limardo’s cooking and Vazquez’s business acumen, the two formed Seven Reasons, a mainstay in Washington, DC restaurant culture.

The key to the restaurant's success? Certainty.

Ezequiel Vazquez Co-Founder, Seven Reasons

Jacob Rivard Luis González

EZEQUIEL VAZQUEZ Title: Co-Founder, Seven Reasons Background: Ezequiel Vazquez began his journey in Argentina, where he quickly gained a passion for activism.

Years of working as a consultant in Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the United States allowed him insight into the inner workings of businesses and operations. This path sparked his entrepreneurial spirit, creating a relentless urge to build a business of his own. He now owns and operates Seven Reasons, one of the premier restaurants in the DC area.

“90% of restaurants fail,” Vazquez begins, his voice taking on a more stern tone. “It was my goal to find out not only why they fail, but how we can avoid the same fate.” Shortly after the brainstorming stage, the two visited over 70 different restaurants to understand what makes the DC restaurant scene tick.

They concluded that the experience was paramount to the success of the business. With this in mind, Vazquez began to tailor every little detail of the restaurant to match the high standards of the DC scene.

The best feeling of owning a restaurant, Vazquez says, is sharing the experience of joy with the world. “Nothing feels better than hearing someone say they’ve never had food like this before.” Seven Reasons boasts an employee retention rate of over 95%; most of the employees working in the restaurant now have been there since they first opened their doors. “The most important part of building a business is building the culture. If you don’t have a good culture, you don’t have a good business.”

While success comes in many forms, the ingredients to a consistent, clean business model remain the same.

As far as Ezequiel Vazquez and Seven Reasons go, it appears they’ve found the perfect recipe.

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SPOTLIGHT

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN NEW YORK

SUPER NOVA OF ART

By Timothy Baler

Fotografo

Luis E. González

Chilean-born art curator Carmen Bambach is one of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s most admired curators. Her knowledge and intricate eye to detail has given her the opportunity to put together remarkable exhibitions.

I

F A PERSON COULD choose ten people throughout history to invite for dinner and the host for the evening was Chilean-born Carmen C. Bambach, perhaps the most celebrated curator at the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, you would probably have a hard time finding a spot. At the head table would be a few painters, some of whom you know quite well. Michelangelo would be there. Leonardo da Vinci would be enjoying the soup. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael to his pals) might pour a little wine.

To fill the other seats, Bambach would call on Filippo Lippi, Sandro Boticelli, Giotto di Bondone, Vincenzo Foppa. You get the idea.

Since Bambach’s parents introduced her to Italian renaissance painters in her youth, she has had her eye and her heart wedded to the field. Her love began with drawing replicas of great works and took her – after her family moved to the United States in 1974 – to Yale University, where she eventually earned a PhD in Art History. Recognized as one of the most accomplished Italian renaissance scholars in the world, Bambach celebrated the five-hundredth anniversary of Leonardo Da

Vinci’s death with a widely praised four-volume extravaganza called Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered (Yale Press, 2019) that took her 24 years to write. It is called her magnum opus. Bambach, meanwhile, who lectures around the world, was introduced recently for a television interview as a virtual “rock star.” The show’s host, Tony Guida, called her a “supernova of the art world.” Bambach, meanwhile, reacted modestly. She enjoys praise, but let’s not over do it, folks.

Asked what is the most important quality for work as a successful art curator, Bambach will give you a one-word answer. “Empathy.”

She has spent hours of intimate time with renaissance drawings, recreating their lines, absorbing their passions. She once said she enjoyed the “multi-faceted” changes of subject matter – two or three changes on one page – in da Vinci’s drawings because “it’s extraordinary to see him jumping from thought to thought.” She says this, indeed, with a supernova’s smile. Enjoying the soup, Leonardo?

Luckily for Bambach, scholarship and clout go hand in hand in the heady world of art loan negotiations. This is the back-door, steely-eyed poker game that lands a museum

coveted works of art for major shows or special exhibits. These shows are serious events, anxiously anticipated around the globe. Curators focus laser-like on the exact work of art that will put a show in perspective – with the ultimate objective of taking the public on a journey through time. “Those have to be done in person and it’s the curator who does the negotiations,” Bambach said. Now how to say this? Top dog. Largest bone.

In so many words, if you are the owner of an irreplaceable Lippi sketch that is perfect for a six-month show, whom do you trust? If Bambach shows up with the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art backing her up, the trust level is high. The Met, more often than not, gets what it wants because it is the Met and because it is Bambach who is asking.

Bambach feels strongly that Hispanics are well represented in the art world, but they are under-recognized. She believes communication is critical, because you can’t become a scholar if you can’t communicate accurately. She also thinks Latinos should hold onto their identities. The generic label “Hispanics” is too vague. If you’re from Chile, say so. If you’re from Venezuela say so. People in Europe say they are French or German or Italian – not “European.” They say so proudly and the world appreciates their special contributions.

Asked how she got so far in life, Bambach will quickly say, “hard work.” Asked what she will be doing in ten years, she stops to think. She has the perfect job or something close to it. What comes next? “I really have no idea,” she said.

Carmen Bambach

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Jorge Ferráez

@ferraez.wine

Luis E. González

SOUTH AFRICAN SURPRISE

01 HEITZ CELLAR TRAILSIDE VINEYARD 2003

• Region: Napa Valley, California • Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon • Price: $85 • Aromas: Red currant, powdered cocoa • Flavors: Plum, Blackberry, pepper • Impression: Closed, needs a lot of time to open • Structure: Full body, deep and concentrated • Drink with: Beef dishes, juicy steaks • Why I loved this wine? Complexity • My Rating: 89 pts.

02 VISTALBA CORTE A 2006

W

HAT A GREAT surprise an evening in early March when my good friend Pedro Nosnik invited me to a dinner with the wines of 4G Wine Estate from South Africa.

Little had I known about South African wine, of course the Mulderbosch, Rust en Vrede, Eric de Rothschild and few more familiar names come to mind. I have never been a fan of the Pinotage varietal, but I know that’s not the only one produced in S.A. But this time was a complete different approach.

I met with Philipp Axt, Founder and CEO of 4G Wine Estate in Cape Town South Africa. A great wine with a fantastic story behind. Four founders with the letter G on their names, micro produced and harvested Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, Bordeaux style blend from very specific blocks from a selected area west of Cape Town. A meticulous method with the higher industry standards for barrel aging, fruit selection, vinification and cellaring. The result: the most fantastic wine I have ever tried from South Africa; a clean, sharp approach with fruit loaded scents; elegant and silky texture, enough complexity for a first growth and a very unique black cherryperfumed character. We tried the 2011 and 2014 and also a 2012 Echo to G, which is a second label.

This experience reminded me of how impressive wine could be, no matter the region; when you have a good terroir for the Vitis Vinifera and the right hands to transform its product into art.

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• Region: Mendoza, Argentina • Varietal: Malbec based blend • Price: $95 • Aromas: Cherry, ripe berries, violets • Flavors: red currant, red fruit marmalade • Impression: Bold, gigantic!

• Structure: Layered • Drink with: Grilled steaks, chorizo.

• Why I loved this wine? Straight bold character.

• My Rating: 95 pts.

03 DOMAINE ANDRE BONHOMME “VIRÉ

CLESSÉ” 2017

• Region: Burgundy • Varietal: Chardonnay • Price: $43 • Aromas: Citrus and tropical notes • Flavors: Green apple, pineapple and mangoes • Impression: Dry, Brisk • Structure: Balanced, round • Drink with: delicate fish dishes, smoked salmon • Why I loved this wine? Elegant, fresh and crisp.

• My Rating: 96 pts.

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01 Heitz Cellar Trailside Vineyard 2003

02 Vistalba Corte A 2006

03 Domaine Andre Bonhomme “Viré Clessé” 2017

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