JULIAN ZUGAZAGOITIA • AGUSTÍN ARTEAGA • GUSTAVO ADOLFO DUDAMEL • JOSE Y MONICA KURI /MANZUTTO • DANNY VARGAS • CARLOS TORTOLERO • MARI CARMEN RAMIREZ • ROSARIO DAWSON • MARIA HINOJOSA • CYNTHIA HUDSON • E VA LONGORIABASTÓN • JENNIFER LOPEZ • E DGAR RAMIREZ • LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA • JOSE ALVARO OSORIO BALVIN “J BALVIN” • JANELLERUIZ RUIZ • JORGE RAMOS • JOSE ANDRES • VINCENT VALDEZ • JUAN PABLO ZURITA • DULCE CANDY • LELE PONS • BENITO (BAD BUNNY) BENITO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ OCASIO • ALVARO LUQUE • THADDEUS ARROYO • HENR Y CISNEROS • MARCELO CLAURE • CESAR CONDE • CASTULO DE LA ROCHA • ANDRES GLUSKI • RICHAR D GONZALEZ • VICTOR ALMEIDA • MAURICIO GUTIERREZ • IGNACIO ALVAREZ • DORENE DOMINGUEZ • ENRIQUE LORES • ANDRES LOPEZ • CARLOS RODRIGUEZ • DANIEL LUBE TZKY www.latinoleaders.com • JUAN LUCIANO • DAVID HERNANDEZ • JORGE MAS • OSCAR MUÑOZ • ANTONIO NERI • WINTER• EDITION 2020 PE DRO PIZARRO • GUILLERMO PERALES JORGE PEREZ • JOSE ALMEIDA • DARREN REBELEZ • ERNST GARCIA • ROBERT SANCHEZ V o• lNINA . 2 1 VACA N o . •5 MANUEL “MANNY” ME DINA • SANDRA LOPEZ • MIRIAM RIVERA • VICTOR ESPINOZA • ABRAHAM ANCER • ARTURO MORENO • ALEX RODRIGUEZ • ALEX MERUELO • HECTOR V. BARRE TO • SOL TRUJILLO • RAMIRO CAVAZOS • JANE T MURGUIA • ANTONIO FLORES • SYLVIA MENDEZ • JOSE HORACIO GOMEZ • ARTURO VARGAS • MARIA TERESA KUMAR • HECTOR SANCHEZ • ELENA RIOS • ESTHER AGUILERA • JAZMIN CHAVEZ • SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ • ANTHONY D. ROMERO • MARCO. A. DAVIS • TOM PEREZ • XAVIER BECERRA • GEORGE P. BUSH • ALEJANDRA OCASIO CORTEZ • TE D CRUZ • BEN RAY LUJAN • ERIC GARCE TTI • SUSANA MENDOZA • ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS • ROBERT MENENDEZ • MICHELLE LUJAN-GRISHAM • JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ • MARCO RUBIO • JULIAN CASTRO • BRIAN SANDOVAL • SONIA SOTOMAYOR • GRACE E. COLON • DAVID HAYESBAUTISTA • NANE TTE COCERO • LUIS F PARADA • ALFRE DO QUIÑONES HINOJOSA • MARTIN CABRERA JR • LUIS MAIZEL • MARCOS RODRIGUEZ • JOSE FELICIANO JULIAN ZUGAZAGOITIA • AGUSTÍN ARTEAGA • GUSTAVO ADOLFO DUDAMEL • JOSE Y MONICA KURI /MANZUTTO • DANNY VARGAS • CARLOS TORTOLERO • MARI CARMEN RAMIREZ • ROSARIO DAWSON • MARIA HINOJOSA • CYNTHIA HUDSON • E VA LONGORIABASTÓN • JENNIFER LOPEZ • E DGAR RAMIREZ • LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA • JOSE ALVARO OSORIO BALVIN “J BALVIN” • JANELLERUIZ RUIZ • JORGE RAMOS • JOSE ANDRES • VINCENT VALDEZ • JUAN PABLO ZURITA • DULCE CANDY • LELE PONS • BENITO (BAD BUNNY) BENITO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ OCASIO • ALVARO LUQUE • THADDEUS ARROYO • HENR Y CISNEROS • MARCELO CLAURE • CESAR CONDE • CASTULO DE LA ROCHA • ANDRES GLUSKI • RICHAR D GONZALEZ • VICTOR ALMEIDA • MAURICIO GUTIERREZ • IGNACIO ALVAREZ • DORENE DOMINGUEZ • ENRIQUE LORES • ANDRES LOPEZ • CARLOS RODRIGUEZ • DANIEL LUBE TZKY • JUAN LUCIANO • DAVID HERNANDEZ • JORGE MAS • OSCAR MUÑOZ • ANTONIO NERI • PE DRO PIZARRO • GUILLERMO PERALES • JORGE PEREZ • JOSE ALMEIDA • DARREN REBELEZ • ERNST GARCIA • ROBERT SANCHEZ • NINA VACA • MANUEL “MANNY” ME DINA • SANDRA LOPEZ • MIRIAM RIVERA • VICTOR ESPINOZA • ABRAHAM ANCER • ARTURO MORENO • ALEX RODRIGUEZ • ALEX MERUELO • HECTOR V. BARRE TO • SOL TRUJILLO • RAMIRO CAVAZOS • JANE T MURGUIA • ANTONIO FLORES • SYLVIA MENDEZ • JOSE HORACIO GOMEZ • ARTURO VARGAS • MARIA TERESA KUMAR • HECTOR SANCHEZ • ELENA RIOS • ESTHER AGUILERA • JAZMIN CHAVEZ • SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ • PANTHONY D. ROMERO • MARCO. A. DAVIS • TOM LUS PEREZ • XAVIER BECERRA • GEORGE P. BUSH • ALEJANDRA OCASIO CORTEZ • TE D CRUZ • BEN RAY LUJAN • ERIC GARCE TTI • SUSANA MENDOZA • ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS • ROBERT MENENDEZ • MICHELLE LUJAN-GRISHAM • JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ • MARCO RUBIO • JULIAN CASTRO • BRIAN SANDOVAL • SONIA SOTOMAYOR • GRACE E. COLON • DAVID HAYESBAUTISTA • NANE TTE COCERO • LUIS F PARADA • ALFRE DO QUIÑONES HINOJOSA • MARTIN CABRERA JR • LUIS MAIZEL • MARCOS RODRIGUEZ • JOSE FELICIANO JULIAN ZUGAZAGOITIA • AGUSTÍN ARTEAGA • GUSTAVO ADOLFO DUDAMEL • JOSE Y MONICA KURI /MANZUTTO • DANNY VARGAS • CARLOS TORTOLERO • MARI CARMEN RAMIREZ • ROSARIO DAWSON • MARIA HINOJOSA • CYNTHIA HUDSON • E VA LONGORIABASTÓN • JENNIFER LOPEZ • E DGAR RAMIREZ • LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA • JOSE ALVARO OSORIO BALVIN “J BALVIN” • JANELLERUIZ RUIZ • JORGE RAMOS • JOSE ANDRES • VINCENT THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF ART VALDEZ • JUAN PABLO ZURITA • DULCE CANDY • LELE PONS • BENITO (BAD BUNNY) BENITO
1O1 THE
MOST INFLUENTIAL LATINOS
T O P L AT I N O S I N C O R P O R AT E A M E R I C A B E S T L A T I N O L AW Y E R S JORGE MARÍN
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PUBLISHERS
Publisher Jorge Ferraez
President and CEO Raul Ferraez
Administrative Director Lawrence Teodoro Editor Ximena Vivanco ximena@latinoleaders.com Business Development Manager Cristina Gonzalez cristina@latinoleaders.com Art Director Fernando Izquierdo
WE’RE HAPPY to present our 2020 Winter edition. This one is usually a very robust edition since it has many relevant features. Of course, the 101 list is the main feature, that contains a very comprehensive and wide view of the Latino leadership across our Country. It is a snapshot of the 101 Latinos that hold a real influencing position and their decisions have a big impact. We have several categories, one of the largest ones is Business, which gathers all those working for Corporate America or have their own big business operations. Another big one is Government; which contains all those leaders that create and change policy that affects the society in general. We also have media influencers and content creators, which have a good amount of power and influence over public opinion. There’s also categories for Finance, Latinos that have power over big investments and have a say where money should go, Science, which this year has been especially relevant, and a few more. Another big feature is our index of the Top Latinos in Corporate. Only 155 individuals made the cut this year. These Latinos and Latinas work within the inner circle of control of F1000 companies. Most of them have impressive corporate and professional careers and they are on the path of become the next Chief Executive Officer, Director of the Board or other crucial governance roles. A great pull of talent and vision that exist now and means a real force inside Corporate America. Research and our own data gave us the names we feature in this list. Our Top Latino Lawyers is being featured for the 7th year in a row. This list is the result of a process of nominating and vetting all lawyer candidates to produce a list of the most distinguished, professional and efficient Latino lawyers in the Country. Our criteria is; besides having a Latino/Hispanic heritage, to be partners or owners of their Law Practice and have a full positive track record of won cases for their clients. This year we also added a secondary list for emerging Lawyers “to watch” for they’re in the rise to become a Top Lawyer soon. A very wide vision of the legal talent the Hispanic Community has in the US. We also present a great section on some e-learning programs for colleges and universities for Latino students. Considering the uncertainty for the in-person/on-campus classes for most colleges for 2021, this section offers a view of what are some of them doing to keep their educational instruction on. Quite challenging indeed, but you might be surprised on how fast these institutions are evolving to meet “the new normal” of high education. Along with great interviews with Corporate Captains, Lawyers and big icons, this edition is one to keep and read over and over.
Human Resources Manager Susana Sanchez Administration and Bookkeeping Claudia García Bejarano Executive Assistant to the Publishers Liliana Morales Digital Media & Design Manager Nicole Richard nicole@latinoleaders 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, Winter Edition 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
Enjoy this edition. Jorge & Raul Ferraez Winter, 2020 Jorge Ferraez
Editorial Art & Design Carlos Cuevas Luis Enrique González Moisés Cervantes
Audited by Member of
Jorge Ferraez
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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EDITORS
T
he year has come to an end but that doesn’t mean that things will just stop from happening. The challenges we’ve been confronting will continue. Our fights still go on. 2020 has taught us that barriers exist along the way but we keep on moving forward. Our 2020 Winter Edition reflects leaders who have been working against barriers and will continue to do so next year through their leadership. For this edition, we present our annual list of Top Latinos in Corporate, Top Latino Lawyers, and the 101 Most Influential Latinos from this past year. We spent some time with leaders from Puerto Rico’s Banco Popular talking about their impact in the community and their personal stories. Inside you will also find a special Q&A section with some of the Top Latino Lawyers and those who we should keep on the watch. We have also conversed with a few leaders in Education who shared their thoughts of E-Learning and what the future of higher education looks like. Finally, we have a special section dedicated to Latino wineries and their stories. Discover their wines and learn more about joining their wine clubs. Thank you to everyone who worked closely with us to make this last 2019 edition happen. Thank you for your continuous support. I truly wish all you readers nothing but the best. Let’s continue the work, let’s continue to find inspiration and be the change we want to see. Enjoy!
Abrazos, Ximena
XIMENA VIVANCO EDITOR
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CONTENTS
WINTER EDITION
P. 12. 101 MOST INFLUENTIAL LATINOS OF 2020:
• Julie Chavez Rodriguez
FIND OUT WHO MADE OUR 2020 LIST OF LEADERS WHO HAVE BEEN INFLUENTIAL IN THE PAST YEAR. Dr. Antonia Villarruel
•P. 32 Our annual list of Top Latino Lawyers includes top young lawyers we should keep on the watch. P. 51 We researched all Latinos leading • Corporate America and compiled our annual
list.
•P. 78 An interview with Dr. Antonia Villarreal, Dean of Penn Nursing Pine Ridge Vineyards
P. 84 We talked with leaders at the Uni• versity of Texas at Arlington about e-learning. P. 91 We compiled a set of Latino owned • wineries. Learn more about their story and
how you can get involved.
•P. 94 Meet Jorge Marin, Mexican Sculptor
Jorge Marin
WRITE AND SHARE #ConnectLL FOLLOW US @latinoleadersmag
FOLLOW US @LatinoLeadersUS
WINTER EDITION 2020 LATINO LEADERS 5
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COMERICA X CORNER X
THE INVENTOR Victor Quiñones consideres himself to be an inventor. From owning patents to innovating new businesses and products.
ABOOUT With over 29 years of service, Concord Supply is a recognized leader in the domestic and international markets. Currently holds, 6 authorized patents and 4 pending patents, all recognized in 80 countries. Concord Supply has established a solid customer base and a sound reputation in the business world, becoming one of the main producers of anticorrosive packaging. https://www. concordsupply.com
B
ORN IN the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, Victor grew up with the opportunity of having a dual citizenship. He started as a pilot in school and it was during an early stage in college that he learned how to start his own business. During the time, a big devaluation of the Mexican peso began. Victor learned about what debt really meant during this stage in his life. His father never stopped repeating the importance of respecting one’s credit and the responsibility that came with it. He knew that being in debt would never take him anywhere. Victor started his second business, a money exchange house. It was 1984 and Victor had his plan set out. He was going to be paying the bank all his debt from his first business by the earnings of this new business. Life happened and Victor went through an accident which then left him with even more debt and no plan at all. Victor moved to North Carolina with seven dollars with the help of his brother. Once again he created a new business. He approached a bank, to find financial help. It was in this bank, in North Carolina that Victor met his current banker and current employee of Comerica Bank. “I have been following her wherever she goes because she’s amazing, she’s a great banker and I trust her,” expressed Victor. Today, Victor is the CEO of Concord Supply, a San Antonio based creative company dedicated to create new processes and innovative products tailored for the steel industry. His business has been able to grow throughout the years thanks to his innovative strategies and the trust from his banker. In response to Covid-19, Comerica trusted him by offering him the PPP loan in order to not only pay his 400 employees but also to continue his creative ways of innovating and keep his business growing. Thanks to his lifelong banker now at Comerica Bank, Concord Supply was one of the first manufacturing plants involved with the production of masks for the U.S. “My whole lie I have been conquering success thanks to innovation and adapting to different scenarios that life gives you,” states Victor. “There is nothing more important than your relationship with a bank, being responsible and earning their trust. Money is important for just one reason: to be a tool for work and creating more jobs.”
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THE C-SUITE MUST SET THE TONE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION I am often asked about what can companies do to provide a more diverse and inclusive environment. My answer is always the same: diversity and inclusion are good for business and it’s also the right thing to do.
G
oing to market with leadership that resembles the demographics of the segment your are trying to acquire has always proven to be more effective, based on my experience.
Leaders from the segment
I have many examples from my career I could share, but one stands out. It took place at the time when I was responsible for all of BellSouth’s wireless operations in Latin America. During an operations review a young marketing manager at one operation showed me the advertising campaign she had planned for the youth market segment. I did not like it and nicely told her so. “You’re not the target audience,” she replied unflinchingly.
Bam! The bells went off!
I and the other executives present may have felt young and cool, but the reality is that we were neither. But she was, and thus she inherently knew how to communicate with the youth segment. The aha! is that to be successful in a market segment you must put a person from that segment to lead the charge. That’s what our operation had done. She wasn’t just a number in the diversity count.
Culturally relevant
I brought that lesson home when I moved to Cingular Wireless and eventually AT&T Mobility at a time when we were trying to penetrate the U.S. Hispanic, African-American, and Asian markets. Taking a page from the Latin America playbook, we put a Hispanic executive to lead the Hispanic market and placed him in position where he could influence the company’s strategy. We started building retail stores in areas that had a large Hispanic population; areas where we had not built stores before. By staffing them with bilingual store managers and employees, and using bilingualbrochures and advertising, we created a comfortable experience for our Hispanic customers. The strategy paid off: we took #1 market share in the Hispanic wireless postpaid market. In Huntington Park,
just outside Los Angeles, we built a state-of-the-art store, not just a small store in a Hispanic neighborhood but as good a store as we would place anywhere else. It was such a huge success in sales and service to the community that I got the key to the city from the mayor of Huntington Park. We followed a similar strategy to penetrate the African-American and the Asian markets and in doing so we also became #1 in wireless postpaid markets in both segments. Between the years of 2004 and 2014, our team delivered some of the most amazing results anyone could have expected.
Developing diverse leaders
On the internal side, one of the things we did to build a pipeline of diverse talent was to divide our operation into small, medium, and large markets. That allowed us to place non-traditional and minority employees in positions where they could to learn to run the P&L for a small market, and eventually grow their leadership skills in order to be able to take on larger markets responsibilities.
It starts at the top
True diversity and inclusion, the one that makes heads count instead of counting heads, doesn’t just happen. It requires the right tone at the top, from C-Suite leaders who authentically believe in diversity and inclusion and who can drive that thinking throughout the organization. The individuals featured in this issue of Latino Leaders are some of the best examples of the kind of leaders C-Suites need to make diversity and inclusion not just a program but a business strategy. I congratulate them and look forward to reading about their future success as they help their organizations succeed. Ralph
Ralph de la Vega is the former vice-chairman of AT&T Inc. He is the author of the best-selling book “Obstacles Welcome: Turn Adversity to Advantage in Business and Life.” He is also a LinkedIn Influencer, posting regularly on leadership and innovation. 8 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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LEADERS HUB WITH JOE
STRESS MANAGEMENT Do you feel overwhelmed, overworked, and overloaded? You are not alone. Chronic stress is a serious problem for many people. Stress is a fact of life for us all. It can be a killer, causing physical and psychological damage or it can be a catalyst to personal growth and well-being. WHEN WE LOOK AT EMOTIONAL intelligence, the realm of stress management is critical. In the book “The EQ Edge” authored by Steven Stein, he defines stress management as your ability to be flexible, tolerate stress, and be optimistic. It depicts success in this area with your ability to stay calm and focused, change direction or beliefs when presented with new evidence, demonstrate resilience, maintain a positive attitude, and constructively withstand adverse events and conflicting emotions without caving in. Regarding stress tolerance, you should ask yourself the following questions: • Do you have the capacity to be relaxed and composed and calmly face difficulties without getting carried away by strong emotions? • Do you know what are your stress levels today? I encourage you to do this quick exercise: Consider all the domains of your life such as work, school, family, relationships, health, parenting, community, etc. Now write a specific situation that causes you stress in each of the domains and rank them based on the intensity level of stress from 1 to 10. Now read each of the specific situations once again. What is your stress mindset for each of the specific situations? Is your stressor harmful or helpful? 1. If your stress mindset associates stress as harmful: • Stress blocks your learning, growth, and productivity. • Stress worsens your health and zest level • Stress should be avoided because its effects are negative 2. If your stress mindset associates stress as helpful: • Stress enhances your learning, growth, and productivity. • Stress improves your health and zest level • Stress should be used because its effects are positive In the Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief, Ryan Niemiec, PsyD, explains that when stress has a hold of you, your attention begins to narrow and hyperfocus. This is your brains’ way of attempting to drill down to the problem at hand and try to fix it. For instance, when you feel a sudden increase of tension as the congested traffic of the highway moves down to one lane and there is construction on either side.
Your attention narrows closely to the road, centering your vehicle, keeping a lookout for construction workers, attending to the proximity of the car in front of you. In this case, the narrowing effect of stress was helpful. On the other hand, what if you are about to give a work presentation and feel your stress and anxiety elevating. You might narrow your focus to one person in the audience you think will be critical of you. Or you might narrow your thoughts to feeling that you are not prepared or that you will make a mistake. In this case, the narrowing effects of stress might be perceived as harmful. In the Upside of Stress, scientist Kelly McGonigal reviews a massive amount of stress research and points out that “the most common effects of stress include strengths, growth, and resilience”. She breaks these down into the five most reported positive changes that people experience following a loss, trauma, or life challenge: 1. A sense of personal strength 2. Increased appreciation for life 3. Spiritual growth 4. Enhanced social connections and relationships with others 5. Identifying new possibilities and life directions I hope you are beginning to change your mindset about stress and notice something important that is usually not clear when stress hits you: It provides you with an opportunity to learn, to challenge yourself, and to become stronger. Please feel free to contact AlliancesHub to receive more information about increasing your emotional intelligence with our stress management and intuitive decision making workshop.
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
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WILLIAM HANHAUSEN ART
“DAMN GOOD ART”, LATINO ART IS NOT AN X.
After half of my life in the US, without reserve, I considered myself both a Latino and Chicano. I promoted and wrote about the genre and I have never looked at it in a discriminating way. Wellthought out my collection is apolitical, academic and with a deep narrative. The artists master the technique, they're fantastic communicators and tell the story they have to tell. I collect artists whose work makes sense to me without judging their looks.
I
t takes courage for them to be who they really are and become an artist with multidimensional roots offering a tremendous technic and message. Every artist I have met wants to be recognized because of the excellence of their work, not because they belong to a disregarded minority. They want the genre to be recognized as a synonym for “Damn Good Art!” These are American artists with a unique lineage as a common denominator, with an exemplary artistic leadership behavior, considered in the art world and branded as nothing else but outstanding and marketable. Artists leave their identity reservations at home and come forward to display their best work. They are conscious that their worst enemy are the people that are full of themselves looking with an infant nationalism for social justice. I agree that greater representation of this genre in museums and art institutions is very much needed, but art per say is apolitical, something that is not quite understood. It is no secret that those who ignore the adversity and just present their best work open-minded, objectively and impartial in the art world are reaching success. They leave behind destructive and antagonistic opinions of panelists, interviewers and curators who are prejudiced and already made up their minds.
Many mass media communication efforts are created by the same Latinx community and that doesn’t help the cause. Where the producer and the target already know the answer for their questions to be asked, familiar with the occurring political atmosphere and crafting a negative criticism come as a result. It is a simple equation. Without feedback there is no communication--but it has to be accurate. All genres cannot shine and coexist if they don’t receive a truthful reaction from the high-pitched hierarchy of the artworld. Heavy weight galleries and dealers recognize magnificent works because of their quality and mastery and not because they belong to a marginalized group. In Europe, Latino and Chicano works are well treasured and sought after . Where comments and opinion of critics, collectors and curators, regardless of the artist’s history or skin color, the art is always exceling. A world where collectors that are prompted for the reason for their collection, answer without hesitation… “Because these are damn good works” and not “Because you don’t”, forced by opinion leaders and a political agenda, that at the end produces a social rejection. Artists in the range of Eddy Martinez, Lara Alcantara, Carmen Herrera, Teresita Fernandez, Franc Romero, John Valadez,
Marcos Raya, Alisa Nisenbaum, Ramiro Gomez and Ana Mendieta are some examples of quality and leadership. Their work is definitely considered by museums, collectors and upscale galleries like “Damn Good Art” that needs to be shared with the public. These artists don’t fetch any other recognition besides of their excellency in their work and accurate exposure, where the value is only based on their own work. This is the reason why some Latino artist remain invisible and undervalued. Latino artists are forgetting that when we point to someone, we have three fingers pointing towards us. They have the obligation to change their procedures to maximize the promotion of quality and excellency that in reality is the acquisitions model for collecting art. Latino and Chicano art is “Damn good American Art” and not a quest for recognition of an “X”.
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LCDA
In Collaboration with:
KEEPING SCORE OF LATINO BOARD REPRESENTATION
THE NEW California law, AB 979, calls public companies to have a specific number of board members from underrepresented communities by 2022. In response to it, the Latino Corporate Directors Association and its members continue to advocate for the community and the transparency needed. “We made a commitment to board diversity and today have the most diverse board in the U.S. technology sector," stated Enrique Lores, CEO of HP Inc. "Our company and stakeholders benefit from Latinx board leadership and we applaud the efforts of LCDA to connect companies with top Latinx talent.” LCDA is not alone. Together with its more than five partner organizations such as UnidosUS, LULAC, and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the future of representation in Corporate America looks extremely different. Last month, the LCDA launched the first of its kind California Boardroom Equity Scorecard and Tracker, a valuable resource for stakeholders and shareholders and the only publicly available tool that tracks the number of Latino/as on public company boards in California. What does the Scorecard and Tracker do exactly? As part of the LCDA’s Latino Voices for Boardroom Equity initiative, the new measurement reports the progress of over 650 California public companies and their board composition on a quarterly basis. It truly calls to provide the transparency needed to hold California public companies accountable for the inclusion of Latinos in the boardroom.
DIVERSITY MUST INCLUDE LATINOS The Latino Voices initiative asserts that diversity without the inclusion of Latinos is not acceptable: 1. Call to triple Latino representation on public company boards by 2023. 2. Act to target corporations with no Latino representation. 3. Track progress through publication of a quarterly scorecard.
In California, nearly 40% of the population is Latino. Meanwhile, the Scorecard reflects how 2.1% of Latinos are the least represented on California public company and it really doesn’t seem like new appointments are changing this data. A recent LCDA analysis reveals that 37% of California companies have all-white boards of directors. "California is home to over 15 million Latinos, including 800,000 Latino business owners, with purchasing power of $320 billion annually. Corporations must do better.” said California State Senator Maria Elena Durazo. As for the Tracker, stakeholders and stockholders are provided with all the information about the state of Latino and Latina positions on California corporate boards. Today, the Tracker reflects the 14% of California public companies which have Latinos on their boards. LCDA continues its work by partnering with Equilar, another organization advocating and providing corporate leadership data and solutions for business development, board recruiting, executive compensation and shareholder engagement. Targeting corporations with no US Latino representation and tracking the progress through the publication of the quarterly scorecard will without a doubt lead to the LCDA’s goal of tripling the US Latino representation on pubic companies by 2023.
WRITE AND SHARE #ConnectLL
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1 O1 MOST INFLUENTIAL
L AT I N O S THIS IS IT! THE LIST! We’re presenting the 2020 list of those individuals who represent a great influence and their decisions have a big impact on America’s everyday life. As we have said before, this list pretends to be a snapshot of the Latino influence for this year that is ending. The leaders listed here held positions, whose actions and decisions have a direct and large influence on the outcome of many activities, strategies and policies, most of them having a big impact on the Latino Community and beyond. The influence of these individuals is not limited to the Hispanic Community of the U.S. It is also a list of Latinos that have a great impact in our Country. In the following pages, you’re not only going to read and know about Government Officers, Business Owners or Corporate Captains, you will also know about the relevance and impact of Journalists, Artists, Social Media Influencers, Lawyers, Sportsmen and investors and many other professional activities.
The COVID pandemic has changed many paradigms of power and influence and this list tries to reflect those changes. Through an ample consultation and research process, our editors and advisors completed this year’s list, taking in account and considering this new reality. The list is not based on merits. It is not who deserves to be on it. It is not an honor roll. Leaders in this list are current influencers, rain makers, visionaries, great operators and strategists. Their visions are constantly building the future. Their initiatives, ideas, work and talent make us proud and also make us admire them. Of course, not all the influential Latinos and Latinas are in this list, but all those in this list are an influential leader somehow. With only 101 slots, we have limitations. Please read their stories and quotes, they say a lot on where they came from and where are they going. Understanding this list, means we can understand our future.
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1991-1999 Worked as a consultant with the Getty Conservation Institute. 19992002 Served as Executive Assistant to the Director at the Guggeheim Museum in New York. 2003 Awarded Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres Medal, French Ministry of Culture. 2002 & 2005 Served as a curator for the 25th Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil. 2002 Became Director/CEO of El Museo del Barrio. (Currently) Vice Chair of the Cultural Institution Group, made up of New York City’s top 33 cultural institutions. 2010 Became the fifth director of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
AGUSTÍN ARTEAGA
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EUGENE MCDERMOTT DIRECTOR OF DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART Mexican
2000-2002 Founding Director of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) Fundacion Constantini in Argentina 2013 Ohtli Award 2013 Director and CEO of Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City 2016 Appointed new Eugene McDermott Director of Dallas Museum of Art
@DallasMuseumArt
ORCHESTRA OF VENEZUELA/ MUSIC AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AT LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC Venezuelan
2019 received the Konex Foundation Classical Music Award, Distinguished Artist Award from the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), the Gish Prize, the Paez Medal of Art. 2018 the Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit. 2016 the Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award, and the 2014 Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society from the Longy School of Music 2009 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people
JOSE Y MONICA KURI /MANZUTTO KURI MANZUTO GALLERY NY Mexican
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1999 The Kurimanzutto gallery is founded. 2006 The Exotic Journey Ends. Kurimanzutto & Foksal Gallery Foundation, Varsovia, Poland. 2014 They participate in the Art Basel Fair in Geneva. 2018 The gallery opens a space with the same name in New York
@kurimanzutto
Arteaga is one of the few Latinos in directing a mayor city Museum of Art, such as the DMA. He has organized more than 100 exhibitions over the course of his career, including major monographic presentations of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Diego Rivera. He also organized Mexico's Modern Art Exhibition México 1900–1950: Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, and the Avant-Garde in Dallas, TX making it the only first and only stop in the U.S. His experience and reputations makes him an authority when it comes to art exhibits, museum curation and other business related with museums. He is also a great promoter of Mexican and Latin Mmerican art. During the Pandemic of 2020 he was able to keep his entire personnel. A key influencer in today's art community.
DANNY VARGAS
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CHAIRMAN AT FRIENDS OF AMERICAN LATINO MUSEUM AND PRESIDENT AT VARCOM SOLUTIONS Puerto Rican - American
1983 U.S. Air Force intelligence career starts. 1995 enters the telecommunications industry, hot place to be at the time. Workes for Sprint International, later merged with France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom to create Global One. 2004 he started his own business called VARCom Solutions, based in Herndon, Virginia. VARCom provides strategic marketing, communications and public relations services as well as training and business consulting. 2006 accepts executive position with AOL while still operating VARCom Solutions. 2007 - 2009 National Chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. 2009 Vargas was appointed by Congress to serve on a bipartisan commission to study the creation of an American Latino Museum under the Smithsonian Institution
Gustavo is the music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dudamel was the son of a trombonist and a voice teacher. He studied music from an early age, with El Sistema, and took up the violin at age ten. Dudamel began to study conducting in 1995, first with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, then later with José Antonio Abreu. In 1999, he was appointed music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela. Dudamel made his debut at La Scala, Milan, with Don Giovanni in November 2006. In 2013 Dudamel conducted the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra during the funeral of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Dudamel conducted both the opening and end titles, for the official motion picture soundtrack and film of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
CARLOS TORTOLERO
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worked at institutions in the Americas and Europe. Before moving to Kansas City, he was the Director/CEO of El Museo del Barrio in New York, perhaps one of the most important institutions in the field of Latin American and Latino art. He led the institution through a $35 million renovation project that resulted in new gallery spaces and a refurbished facility. His role was key to what Museo del Barrio is today.
CULTURE
Zugazagoitia speaks six languages and has
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FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART IN CHICAGO Mexican
1982 Founded the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum 2003 Received the White House's Coming Up Taller Award 2006 Renamed to National Museum of Mexican Art
@ExploreNMMA
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
@gustavodudamel
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@nelson_atkins
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GUSTAVO ADOLFO DUDAMEL MUSIC DIRECTOR AT SIMON BOLÍVAR SYMPHONY
CULTURE
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DIRECTOR & CEO NESLON ATKIN MUSEUM OF ART, KANSAS Mexican
CULTURE
CULTURE
JULIAN ZUGAZAGOITIA
@dvargas
Kurimanzutto is an art gallery located in Mexico
City and New York City specializing in contemporary art that represents 33 international artists. The couple is perhaps one of the most successful in the Art Gallery and dealing sector in the world, representing many high profile artist and with a vast and influential network of clients.
Award-winning noted business and community
leader, accomplished media commentator, and marketing/public relations professional. As Chairman of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL), advancing its creation within the Smithsonian, and had previously been appointed to the Congressionally mandated NMAL Commission to study the feasibility of this museum. After more than 10 years of fighting to pass legislation for the creation of the American Latino Museum, as part of the DC Mall of cultural institution, he and his supporters were able push for its approval from the US House, but on December 10th of 2020 the legislation was blocked at the US Senate by only one Senator (Mike Lee R-UT) and thus failing to be passed.
Carlos Tortolero has worked as a teacher, coun-
selor, and administrator in Chicago public schools for many years before his passion for art drove his crowning achievement as Founder and President of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.This is only Latino museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It has become one of the most prominent institutions to house Mexican art collections. He has organized several exhibitions. To be more specific, he has coordinated 20 traveling exhibitions, three anual festivals, and two local comunnity youth initiatives. Tortolero served on numerous boards including the University of Illinois, the American Alliance of Museums, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Smithsonian Latino Center among others.
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1989–2000 Curator of Latin American art at the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin. 1985–1988 Director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico.
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ACTRESS, ACTIVIST, PHILANTHROPIST Mexican-American
MANAGER OF CNN EN ESPAÑOL AND HISPANIC STRATEGY FOR CNN/U.S Cuban-American 1992 Became vice president of programming and production for the Telemundo Network 1997 Served as senior vice president and editorial director of Cosmopolitan Television 2010 Began her job as senior vice president and general manager of CNN en Espanñol and Hispanic Strategy for CNN/U.S.
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EVA LONGORIA- BASTÓN
2006 Eva's Heroes founded 2011 Appointed to the commission on the National Museum of the American Latino by President Barack Obama 2012 Eva Longoria Foundation founded 2016 Participated as a speaker in the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia 2017 Listed by Richtopia as #42 in the list of 200 Most Influential Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs Worldwide.
@cynthiacnn
For 25 years, this journalist has been covering all sorts of issues for radio and TV networks like National Public Radio, CBS and CNN. A winner of four Emmys and other national and international awards, Hinojosa is known for also covering underreported issues, Latinos and other communities. She hosts the radio show Latino USA on National Public Radio since 1992. In 2010 she founded the Futuro Group, a nonprofit media organization that produced the recent PBS TV series “America by the Numbers” and has taken over the production of Latino USA. Hinojosa is considered one of the most reliable Latina journalist in American television.
JENNIFER LOPEZ
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CYNTHIA HUDSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL
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JOURNALIST AND HOST OF LATINO USA Mexican-American
@Maria_Hinojosa
Notable American actress and activist. Her film debut in the 1995 controversial teen drama Kids launched a huge career which has been a mix of Hollywood big budget films and indie movies. Very politically active. Co-founder of Voto Latino. Supporter of the Lower East Side Girls Club, and numerous charities including environmental group Global Cool, the ONE Campaign, Operation USA, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the International Rescue Committee and Stay Close. org, As a big influencer she is a voice for the oppressed, has been arrested for public demonstrations and has a very progresive and assertive digital personality.
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Museum of Fine Art Houston and director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA) she is a Latina heavyweight in the Art Museum community both in Latin America and the US. She has curated numerous critically acclaimed exhibitions of Latin American art over the last 15 years, and has been expanding her Museum relevance and influence way beyond Texas.
MARIA HINOJOSA
2010 Received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from DePaul University in Chicago 2012 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism 2015 Received the Peabody Award
@rosariodawson @rosariodawson
As Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
ACTRESS Puerto Rican-Cuban
2006 Won a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rent 2008 Became spokesperson for More Than Footprints, Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy, and Save The Children 2012 Launched the first annual Unbottle the World Day
@MFAH
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ROSARIO DAWSON
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WORTHMAN CURATOR, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON Puerto Rican
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CULTURE
MARI CARMEN RAMIREZ
SINGER, ACTRESS Puerto Rican
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2005 Named one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America by Time Magazine 2009 Founded the Lopez Family Foundation 2012 Ranked by Forbes as the most powerful celebrity in the world 2013 Awarded the humanitarian award by amfAR
@Jlo @jlo
@EvaLongoria @EvaLongoria
Cynthia Hudson has one of the broadest curriculums in the industry of communications. Her expertise and ability to lead has put top-leading media business in the forefront. Hudson launched CNNEspañol.com and expanded the radio business to include over 150 new affiliates in the U.S. and another 100 markets in Latin America and Europe. Under Hudson, CNN en Español has won two Emmys, three GLAAD Awards, two Promax-BDA awards, as well as an honorable mention at the Shortly Awards for Best Multi-Platform Campaign for Social Coverage of 2014 Venezuelan Crisis. A combination of Media and Business influence is what she has been able to balance very weel and made her a prominent voice.
First famous to fans of The Young and the Restless, her most iconic role to date is as Gabrielle Solis in ABC’s Desperate Housewives. Currently executive producer for the Lifetime television series Devious Maids. Eva is also an active philanthropist founding the Eva Longoria Foundation to help Latinas build better futures through education and entrepreneurship.
López broke the glass ceiling for Latinas in en-
tertainment as the first Latina actress to be paid more than $1 million as result of her leading role in the 1997 biopic “Selena.” In the years between, “J.Lo” has held the place as the best paid Latina in Hollywood, commanding up to $15 million for her roles in “Shall We Dance,” and “Monster In Law.” López has released eight studio albums, and many singles. Concerts, her clothing line, and perfumes have positioned her among the world’s highest paid celebrities. López again made history as a judge in the last five seasons of American Idol. With a new Las Vegas ‘residency’ at Planet Hollywood, her earnings keep pace with her ambition. On July 21st, 2016, her production company announced López’ latest TV deal: a 10 episode: “World of Dance”, a reality show on NBC. As of 2016, López ‘net worth is estimated at 320 million.
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2010 Ramírez was named a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). 2011 César Award for Most Promising Actor. 2012 ALMA Award for Favorite Movie Actor - Supporting Role. 2018 He was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe
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LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA
COMPOSER, PLAYWRIGHT, ACTOR, SINGER Puerto Rican-American
2008 In the Heights won two Tony for Best Musical, Best Original Score "In the Heights" opened in March of 2008 at the Richard Rodgers stage in Broadway and ran for 1,184 performances. 2016 Hamilton won 11 Tony awards and a Pulitzer 2016 Named one of the l00 Most Influential People by Time Magazine
@edgarramirez25
@Lin_Manuel @_lin.manuelmiranda
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JOSE ALVARO OSORIO BALVIN "JSINGERBALVIN"
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ACTOR Venezuelan
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EDGAR RAMIREZ
Colombian
2009 signed to EMI Colombia and soon after released the single "Ella Me Cautivó," which charted at number 35 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. 2012 released a mixtape and his first international hit was the one-night-stand-themed "Yo Te Lo Dije", and signed with Universal subsidiary Capitol Latin a year later 2018 he became the most streamed artist on Spotify 2020 he was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and one of the greatest Latin artists of all time by Billboard
@jbalvin @jbalvin
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2011 won Emmy Award when Hosni Mubarak stepped down as President of Egypt earned Peabody Awards for reporting of the Gulf Oil Spill, the 2008 presidential primary campaigns, and for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and was part of the CNN team that won an Alfred I. DuPont Award for coverage of the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2005. Rodriguez led all of CNN’s cross-platform coverage of the 2011 Royal Wedding, resulting in a Shorty Award for Best Use of Video in a Social Media Campaign.
JORGE RAMOS
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MAIN NEWS ANCHOR AT UNIVISION Mexican
1986 at age 28, he became one of the youngest national news anchors in the history of American television and has been the anchorman for Noticiero Univision Today he hosts “Al Punto”, Univision’s weekly public affairs program offering indepth analysis of the week’s top-stories and exclusive interviews with newsmakers
@jorgeramosnews @jorgeramosnews
@janelleNBC
Janelle Rodriguez is NBC News’ Senior Vice
President, Editorial. In this role, Rodriguez oversees “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” the network’s new streaming service NBC News NOW, and the NBC News Health, Business & Tech and Weather units. She also manages newsgathering for MSNBC Dayside. Rodriguez joined NBC News in January 2015. Previously, she served as Vice President of Programming for CNN, where she led all dayside and weekend programming for the network. At CNN, she was credited with directing award-winning coverage of many breaking news events and with driving greater collaboration. Variety honored Rodriguez as a Daytime TV Impact Honoree in 2013.
Throughout his career, Balvin has won five Bill-
board Latin Music Awards, four Latin Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and four Latin American Music Awards and received two Grammy Award nominations. In 2017, the BMI Latin Awards named him the Contemporary Latin Songwriter of the Year and has won the first Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards, in recognition of his contribution to spread Latin music worldwide. He became the first Latino to headline world-musical events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza. The Guinness World Records acknowledged him as a "leader of a second-generation reggaeton". "Ay Vamos" became the first reggeaton song to exceed one billion views on YouTube. In addition, VEVO named Balvin "most watched Latin artist of 2015" and he became the "most viewed artist on YouTube Global" as of 2019.In 2020, J Balvin was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
JOSE ANDRES CHEF Spanish
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2003 Best Chef of the Mid-Atlantic Region 2010 Orden de las Artes y las Letras de España Vilcek Prize in Culinary Arts 2015 National Humanities Medal, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), United States government 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for Humanitarian of the Year. 2009 Chef of the Year, GQ 2012 one of the world's 100 most influential people,Time 2016 2 Michelin stars for minibar by José Andrés 2015 appointed by President Obama as an ambassador for citizenship and naturalization
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
SVP NEWS NBC UNIVERSAL
sicals Hamilton and In the Heights on whch he wrote the book, music, and lyrics for both, he jumped into fame and admiration by fans of Musical theatre. That won him a Pulitzer Prize, two Grammys, an Emmy, an Olivier, a MacArthur "Genius" Award, and three Tony awards, among others. Recently debuted his music video "Immigrants", taken from The Hamilton Mixtape. The song that was released in late 2016, debuted as No. 1 on the charts.
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JANELLE RODRIGUEZ
By creating and starring in the Broadway mu-
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"Cacique" in the popular venezuelan soap opera "Cosita Rica", lasting over 270 episodes. His debut as an international Hollywood actor was playing Choco, Domino Harvery's love interest in Tony Scott's Domino. His next major feature film was Vantage Point directed by Pete Travis. A well adaptable role actor he has a solid career in both film and Television, recently playing a leading role at HBO's recent TV Serie "The Undoing". In addition to his on-screen career, the 43-year-old Venezuelan actor is also a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador and has committed himself to Amnesty International as well as to fighting for gender equality, promoting the #heforshe movement.
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He was recognized as an actor after portraying
@chefjoseandres
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Ramos
is the second most recognized Latino leader in the country. Ramos is one of the most respected journalists among the 60 million Hispanics in the United States and in the 13 Latin American countries where his newscast is seen every night.In 2016 he came face to face with Trump. He was ejected from a press conference of GOP presidential nominee, Trump, for asking hard questions.
A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States, he is also known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of more than 30 restaurants located throughout the country and beyond, ranging in a variety of culinary experiences from a food truck to his multi-location vegetable-focused fast casual Beefsteak, to world-class tasting menus like minibar by José Andrés and Somni, both of which have received two Michelin stars. A true celebrity that has gone beyond his original culinary universe to become a global ambassador for good causes. His remarkable work during COVID is going to transcend very heavily.
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2016 she was signed with entertainment company Shots Studios and co-authored a novel based on her own high school experiences 2017, she became a brand ambassador for CoverGirl 2018 released her debut single 2019 Lele released her English-language debut and was a co-host on the red carpet for the 2019 Billboard Women in Music
@lelepons @lelepons
Eleonora "Lele" Pons Maronese is an American-Venezuelan Internet celebrity, YouTuber, actress, singer, dancer, model, and former television host. She stars in The Secret Life of Lele Pons, a YouTube Original docuseries providing a look at her personal life, and hosts her own Spotify-exclusive podcast titled Best Kept Secrets with Lele Pons. Pons came to prominence on Vine before the platform shut down. She has since branched out, creating comedy sketches for YouTube, where, as of November 2020, has over 17 million subscribers. Apart from social media, Pons has acted in film, television, and music videos, has released her own music, and co-authored a novel in 2016.
Mexican social media influencer, vlogger, actor and model. He became known in 2013 through making comedy videos on the Vine app. Later, he diversified his activities by publishing vlogs and entertainment videos on the YouTube platform. He created various campaigns in favor of humanitarian aid. He has 24.7 million followers on Instagram, more than 10 million on YouTube, six million on Facebook, and five million on Twitter. Furthermore, through his fame in social media, Juanpa has also worked for many humanitarian activities. He along with his fellow YouTubers, Jerome Jarre, Casey Neistat and Ben Stiller campaigned against famine in Somalia in March 2017. They led a movement called ‘Love Army for Somalia’ and collected more than $1.8 million. He traveled to Somalia in May to distribute the food brought to Somalian families.
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BENITO (BAD BUNNY) BENITO ANTONIO MARTÍNEZ OCASIO RAPPER
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M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
tal portrayal of the contemporary figure. His drawn and painted subjects remark on a universal struggle within various socio-political arenas and eras. He states, “My aim is to incite public remembrance and to impede distorted realities that I witness, like the social amnesia that surrounds me.” Without a doubt, one of the most influential artists today.
Puerto Rico
2016 first song charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number one and number three 2018 his debut album was awarded a Latin Grammy for Best Urban Music Album 2020 he performed att the Super Bowl LIV halftime show as a guest
@sanbenito @badbunny.pr
Bad Bunny has been the first Latin urban music artist on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. His. latest album, El Último Tour Del Mundo, became the first all-Spanish-language album to top the US Billboard 200 and generated the Billboard Global 200 number one single "Dakiti". He became the first non-English language act to be Spotify's most streamed artist of the year in 2020.
DULCE CANDY SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER Mexican
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2008 started her YouTube channel 2009 started DulceCandyTV 2006 joined military highschool, served in the army and spent 15 months in Iraq
@dulcecandy @dulcecandy
@JuanpaZurita @juanpazurita
Vincent Valdez is recognized for his monumen-
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER Venezuelan
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2015 he was chosen for the first time as 'icon of the year' by MTV Latin America 2018 he played the role of Alex Basteri the Luis Miguel's brother in the Luis Miguel TV show 2017 he was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of people in Hollywood and the entertainment industry
@vincentvaldez77
LELE PONS
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER Mexican
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2005 The Skowhegan School of Painting 2011 The Vermont Studio Center 2014 the Blue Star Contemporary Berlin Residency/Kunstlerhaus Bethanien 2018 The Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist in Residency
JUAN PABLO ZURITA
Dulce is best-known for uploading makeup tu-
torial and tricks, beauty tips, product reviews and travel vlogs in her channel, Dulce Candy. At the moment, she has earned more than 2.2 million subscribers as of June 2018. Also, her channel has garnered a total of more than 322 million views as well. She is one of the women who was an army and served in Iraq for a year. She got an instant attention and popularity when she transformed her life from a hard life of army to fashion and lifestyle. She also worked as a mechanic before she got into YouTube.
ALVARO LUQUE
BUSINESS
PAINTER
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VINCENT VALDEZ
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PRESIDENT & CEO AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO
2002 he was Gruma's Business Manager of Snacks in Costa Rica 2004 he became Marketing Manager of Central America 2006 Marketing VP of Gruma Venezuela 2008-2010 Marketing Director of Latin America 2010 he moved to the US to lead the role of Marketing VP USA 2014 he joined Avocados from Mexico as President and CEO
@SoloMkt @avochief
Alvaro has developed the most comprehensive, integrated marketing program in the history of the produce industry, which has led to the rapid growth of avocado consumption and demand, reaching record levels. The marketing innovations pioneered by AFM, under Alvaro’s leadership, have paved the trail for the category, contributing to push the industry forward. Alvaro’s relentless pursuit of excellence has been an inspiration to the AFM team. Recent recognitions include: Alvaro named to The Packer’s 2020 Produce Marketer of the Year and AFM named to Fast Company’s Top 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2020.
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@henrygcisneros
CESAR CONDE
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CHAIRMAN OF THE NBCUNIVERSAL NEWS GROUP Peruvian-Cuban
2002 White House Fellow for Secretary of State Colin Powell 2003 Joined Univision 2013 Joined NBCUniversal as Executive VP 2020 Conde was named Chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group in May 2020. -- A recipient of numerous awards, Conde was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2018 --
@cesarconde_
Chairman, Co-Chief Investment Officer, and
Co-Founder of American Triple I Partners. Henry co-founded CityView, a registered investment adviser, which has invested in and completed more than 100 real asset projects in 13 states. Henry oversaw the deployment of $5.0 billion of asset value and the formation of eight funds. He became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, where he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure projects and downtown improvements, including a new airport terminal, a 65,000 seat, domed stadium, underground flood diversion for the City’s Riverwalk, and a nuclear power generation project. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Henry as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
BUSINESS
Thaddeus Arroyo was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Cosumer and AT&T Communications in December. He has overall responsibility for the company’s integrated consumer internet, video entertainment and mobility services. His team serves more than 177 million wireless subscriber connections and reaches 14 million customer locations with fiber internet. Thaddeus has vast experience driving strategic growth through change. He boldly uses innovation to fuel disruptive business models in consumer and business segments. And he knows the value of customer engagement. He is one of the most recognized leaders in Technology and Communications.
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CASTULO DE LA ROCHA
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF ALTAMED HEALTH SERVICES CORPORATION Mexican-American
1992 U.S. Surgeon General's Gold Medallion for Public Health 1995 Community Service Award from the American Diabetes Association 1995 Significant Achievement Award from the Chicanos for Creative Medicine 2016 Leader in Action Award from UCLA Prime 2017 Awardee of the Medallion of Excellence from CHCI
@AltaMedHealthS
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BUSINESS
GROUP INTERNATIONAL AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF SOFTBANK GROUP CORP. Bolivian-American
1997 Founded Brighstar 2001 Entrepreneur of the Year by USA Today 2001 Named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young 2008 Acquires BAISA 2014 Selected as Sprint's new CEO 2017 Joined Softbank's Board of Directors or Claure has won a number of business awards. A World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader, he was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is a lifetime member of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. He was named the Hispanic Businessman of the Year by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a "Forty Under Forty" Leader by Global Telecoms Business. 2016 appeared in the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Great Immigrants: The Pride of America initiative
Claure oversees the strategic direction of the
Tokyo-based company. His primary responsibilities include ensuring Group companies and investments meet financial and operating objectives, and managing global Group synergies, joint ventures and corporate functions. Claure oversees the vast portfolio of the Group’s operating companies, including Arm, WeWork, Brightstar, Fortress, SB Energy, Boston Dynamics, among others, and SoftBank’s ownership in T-Mobile US. He also oversees SoftBank Latin America, comprised of the SoftBank Latin America Fund and the Tech Hub. Claure claim to fame was when was appointed Executive Chairman of Sprint where he was widely recognized for delivering the best financial results in Sprint’s 120-year history and architecting the merger with T-Mobile US.
ANDRES GLUSKI PRESIDENT AND CEO OF AES
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2007 appointed Executive Vice President and COO of the Company 2006 to 2007 Executive Vice President and the Regional President of Latin America. 2003 to 2006 Senior Vice President for the Caribbean and Central America, 2002 to 2003 Chief Executive Officer of EDC. 2001 to 2000 Chief Executive Officer of AES Gener (Chile). Gluski was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of EDC, Executive Vice President of Banco de Venezuela (Grupo Santander).
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
1981 Served a Mayor of San Antonio, Texas 1993 Served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1997 President and COO for Univision 2007 Maestro Award for Leadership from Latino Leaders magazine 2007 National Hispanic Hero Award from United States Hispanic Leadership Institute 2008 Visionary Award from Hispanic College Fund
@ATT
BUSINESS
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AMERICAN TRIPLE I AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF SIEBERT WILLIAMS SHANK & CO., LLC. Mexican-American
MARCELO CLAURE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SOFTBANK
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2007 Officially joined AT&T via a merger (Cingular) 2013 Named one of CNET en Español’s 20 Most Influential Latinos in Technology Has been CEO of AT&T Business and CEO of AT&T Mexico, wehre he lead the acquisition of Telecom giant Iusacel. 2016 Named Mexico’s 300 Most Influential Leaders by Líderes Mexicanos magazine.
HENRY CISNEROS CHAIRMAN AND CO-CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
CEO OF AT&T CONSUMER & AT&T COMMUNICATIONS American
BUSINESS
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THADDEUS ARROYO
@AndresGluski
Conde has oversight of NBC News, MSNBC,
and CNBC, including editorial and business operations for the television and digital properties. Conde was instrumental in building NBCU Telemundo Enterprises into a world-class media company that produces and distributes high-quality Spanish-language content across a range of broadcast, cable, and digital properties, including the Telemundo flagship TV network, 30 local stations, Universo Cable Network, Telemundo Digital Enterprises, Telemundo Global Studios, Telemundo Deportes, Noticias Telemundo, Telemundo Films and several other video content and distribution properties. Conde serves on the board of directors of PepsiCo and Walmart.
Cástulo de la Rocha is an enduring trailblazer in community health. Under his visionary leadership, AltaMed has transformed from a storefront barrio clinic in East Los Angeles into the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in California, and among the top five in the nation. De la Rocha has always understood that a community’s health is indivisible from its prosperity. In 1977, he saw a need: people in low-income neighborhoods throughout the Southland were significantly underserved by essential health resources—in fact, the Barrio Free Clinic in his neighborhood often had a line of people that wound around the block. By meeting this one fundamental requirement, he changed the face of one community, then another, until AltaMed became one of the area’s largest health care systems, with approximately 50 medical, dental and PACE sites staffed by more than 2,800 employees, providing compassionate care to nearly 300,000 patients a year.
Andres was the leader of a reorganization of the company that resulted in the implementation of a cost savings model that has changed the way that AES does business and operates. These changes were implemented in 2011 and since that time, the company experiences a savings of more than $250 million per year. As a result of his efforts, AES was named by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies. He set goals for the company that culminated in the inclusion of the company in the North American Dow Jones Sustainability Index and that has been ongoing for the past years.
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2010 - 2012 Abbott's executive vice president of the pharmaceutical products group and was responsible for Abbott's worldwide pharmaceutical business 2009 - 2011 served as president, Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott's medical technology investment arm. 1977 joined Abbott
@abbvie
VICTOR ALMEIDA
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PRESIDENT & CEO INTERCERAMIC Mexican
1980 started a new manufacturing facility for Ceramic Tile in Tulsa, Oklahoma 1986 became CEO of Interceramic 1987 became President and CEO of Grupo Cencor, which is a holding company controlling Interceramic, Mercedes Benz, Honda and Chrysler dealerships in the state of Chihuahua and other investments of the Almeida family. 1995 to 1996 Chairman of the State of Chihuahua Economic Development Corporation 1997 presented with The Golden Eagle Award by the US Mexico Chamber of Commerce
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MAURICIO GUTIERREZ
BUSINESS
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CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD & CEO, ABBVIE
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
RICHARD GONZALEZ
PRESIDENT & CEO, NRG ENERGY Mexican
2000 – 2004 Senior power trader and asset manager at Dynegy 2004 joined NRG 2006. became Vice President of trading 2010 became Chief Operating Officer 2015 named CEO
@NRGMauricio
@interceramicUSA
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CEO BANCO POPULAR Cuban
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1988 - 1992: He was an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer, University of Puerto Rico Law School. Alvarez is also on the board of Fundación Banco Popular, Inc. and Popular Community Bank Foundation, Inc. and Member-Regents Board at Georgetown University.
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DORENE DOMINGUEZ
PRESIDENT CEO VANIR MANAGEMENT Mexican-American
2004 named Chairman. and CEO
@VanirCM
@popularbank
Ignacio Alvarez is a businessperson who has been at the helm of 5 different companies. He has successfully led the execution of corporate and business strategies delivering positive results in Popular’s Puerto Rico business despite challenging conditions and overseeing the repositioning of our operations in the United States. Ignacio has also guided initiatives to expand digital reach and capabilities, implement corporate initiatives in the areas of leadership development and diversity and inclusion, while progressing on building a culture of productive risk management.
Mauricio Gutierrez is President and CEO of NRG. Gutierrez joined NRG in 2004 and helped build the company from a regional wholesale generation business to a national, Fortune 500, diversified energy company. Prior to becoming President and CEO, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure as COO, Gutierrez led NRG's engineering and construction activities related to new generation and repowering projects.
ENRIQUE LORES
BUSINESS
IGNACIO ALVAREZ
Almeida joined the company that same year, when he was 20. In time he became Interceramic’s CEO. With annual revenue in the $550 million range, Interceramic has become something of an international powerhouse in the ceramic tile/natural stone industry. With 5,000 employees worldwide, the company now has facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala City, and China. Six hundred of its employees work in the United States, most of them in Texas. Interceramic has a factory in Garland, as well as its U.S. corporate office and national distribution center.
BUSINESS
and Chief Executive Officer of AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company that employs approximately 47,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 175 countries. As a result of his service as Abbott's executive vice president, Pharmaceutical Products Group, his previous service as Abbott's president and chief operating officer and his more than 30-year career at Abbott, Mr. Gonzalez has developed valuable business, management and leadership experience, as well as extensive knowledge of AbbVie and its global operations. Mr. Gonzalez's experience and knowledge enable him to contribute to AbbVie's board key insights into strategic, management, and operational matters.
BUSINESS
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
Richard A. Gonzalez is Chairman of the Board
PRESIDENT & CEO HP INC.
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2019 became CEO and is driving a bold strategy to advance HP’s leadership in Personal Systems and Printing, disrupt industrial sectors through innovative HP solutions, and transform the way the company operates to better serve its customers. 2017 worked on the company’s acquisition of Samsung’s printer business 2015 was a key architect of the separation of Hewlett-Packard Company
@EnriqueJLores
Dorene focuses on providing a wide range of program, project and construction management services for clients in the healthcare, education, justice, water/wastewater, public buildings, transportation and energy markets throughout the United States. She serves as Chair of The Dominguez Dream, a nonprofit organization that provides academic enrichment programs in math, science, language arts and engineering to elementary schools in underserved communities. She's a member of the ownership group that aggressively pursued and ultimately purchased the National Basketball Association “Sacramento Kings” in a successful effort to keep the team in California’s capital city. She thus became the first Latina to hold the distinction of NBA ownership status.
Enrique Lores is the President and CEO of HP
Inc., a global technology leader whose innovative product and service portfolio spans personal systems, printing, and 3D printing and digital manufacturing. A Fortune 100 company with operations in more than 170 countries, HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere, while championing sustainable impact and diversity in the communities where it does business.
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2004 joined the company's executive leadership team, advancing through a series of financial and operational roles. 2015 became president and chief operating officer of the company 2016 named president and CEO.
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CARLOS RODRIGUEZ CEO ADP
1999 joined ADP after its acquisition of Vincam, he held a number of positions within the company of increased responsibility before becoming CEO. He served as president of TotalSource, which became the fastest-growing and largest PEO in the industry under his leadership.
DANIEL LUBETZKY
BUSINESS
CEO O-I (OWENS ILLINOIS) Colombian
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
ANDRES LOPEZ
KIND LLC Mexican
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2015 named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship by President Obama.
@DanielLubetzky
@ADP
CEO LIBERTY POWER Cuban-American
2001 Co Founded Liberty Power
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Daniel Lubetzky is a business leader, investor, and social entrepreneur working to build bridges between people and increase appreciation for our shared humanity. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, he has made it his life’s work to help prevent what happened to his father from happening again. Daniel is a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Inaugural Board of Directors. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Do the KIND Thing and a recurring shark on Shark Tank.
JORGE MAS CHAIRMAN MASTEC Cuban-American
1994 Co Founded MasTec, Inc.
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@Jorge__Mas
@ADMupdates
Before joining ADM, Luciano had a successful
25-year tenure at The Dow Chemical Company, where he last served as executive vice president and president of the Performance division. Luciano serves on the boards of directors of Eli Lilly and Company and nonprofit economic development organization Intersect Illinois, and is an alternate member of the board for Wilmar International. He serves on the Global Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Business Roundtable, and the United States-China Business Council.
Born in Cuba, he has been recognized as one of the Top Latinos in Energy. Liberty Power serves nearly 200,000 business and residential accounts across the electric retailer’s national footprint. Liberty Power has served more than 100 of the Fortune 500 companies as well as several federal agencies and municipalities.
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
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2011 joined ADM as executive vice president and chief operating officer. 2014 named President 2015 became the ninth chief executive in ADM’s 112-year history. 2016 became chairman of the board
DAVID HERNANDEZ
Best known as the founder of KIND Snacks,
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CEO ADM Argentinian
CEO of Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a payroll, human resources and tax services company, in 2011, becoming the sixth person to take the helm of the NASDAQ-listed payroll services company since it was founded in 1949.
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
JUAN LUCIANO
Carlos Rodriguez was named president and
BUSINESS
As CEO, Andres Lopez’s focus is to enhance the performance of the business to benefit customers, employees, investors and other key stakeholders. Lopez has established himself as a strong and successful leader, serving as chief operating officer during 2015 and playing a leading role on the acquisition of Vitro’s Food and Beverage business in Mexico, the U.S. and Bolivia. He has also served as president of O-I Americas, with a focus on strengthening O-I’s North America operations. Prior to that role, he served as president of O-I’s South America operations, where he led the region through significant organic and acquisition-based growth, adding new capabilities in Brazil and Argentina. Lopez has held various other leadership positions at O-I, including global vice president of manufacturing and engineering; vice president of manufacturing, North America; and country general manager for O-I Peru.
Jorge has served on over a dozen corporate
boards assisting in strategic growth strategies and corporate governance. He founded Neff Corporation, a provider of rental construction and utility equipment. He's the Managing Owner of the recently awarded Miami Major League Soccer franchise. He’s also the Chairman of the Board of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) founded in 1981 and dedicated to the promotion of a free and democratic Cuba. He serves as director of the Mas Family Foundation promoting an educated society in the preservation of democratic principles. He is the past recipient of the Simon Wiesenthal Center National Community Service Award for his contribution toward freedom and received the Bravura Award for his defense of free speech. He has testified before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere.
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2015 one of two Hispanic CEOs in the top 100 of the Fortune 500 list 2017 named "Communicator of the Year for 2017" by PRWeek.
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF SUN HOLDINGS, INC. Mexican
1997 Founded Sun Holdings 2008 Received Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst and Young 2008 Awarded the Minority Business Leader Award by Dallas Business Journal 2013 Achieved the American Dream Award 2014 Sun Holdings ranked 7th multi unit brand by Multi Unit Franchisee Magazine 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the International Franchise association
tive Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise – the global edge-to-cloud platform as-a-service company – responsible for the development and delivery of enterprise technology solutions and services that help organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere.
JORGE PEREZ
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CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FOUNDER OF THE RELATED GROUP, INC. Argetine-Cuban- American
1979 Cofounded The Related Group 2005 Named as one of top 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States by TIME magazine 2005 First appeared in The Forbes 400 2008 Published his first book, Powerhouse Principles: The Billionaire Blueprint for Real Estate Success 2008 Awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from C.W. Post, Long Island University
@Related_Group
Pedro J. Pizarro is president and chief executive officer of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. Edison International is also the parent company of Edison Energy, a portfolio of competitive businesses providing commercial and industrial customers with energy management and procurement services. He is a member of Edison International’s board of directors.
JOSE ALMEIDA
BUSINESS
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GUILLERMO PERALES
CEO EDISON INT.
@edisonintl
Antonio Neri is the President and Chief Execu-
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
fore and briefly after the company merged with Qwest. He served as the chief financial officer and vice president of consumer services at AT&T. Munoz was previously regional vice president of finance and administration for Coca-Cola Co. and held various financial positions at PepsiCo Inc. In December 2019, it was announced that Munoz will transition to the role of executive chairman of the board.
PEDRO PIZARRO
2014 - 2016 served as president of SCE when he was elected president of Edison International 2016 elected chief executive officer 2011 chaired the Edison Mission Board until the sale of its assets to NRG 1999 joined Edison International
@AntonioNeri_HPE
Munoz worked for US West for five years, be-
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
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PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE Argentinian
2018 President and CEO 2017 named President 2015 named Executive VP 2011 became VP and General Manager 1995 started in HP as Customer Service Engineer
@united
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ANTONIO NERI
BUSINESS
43
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF UNITED AIRLINES Mexican-American
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
OSCAR MUÑOZ
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CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT BAXTER INTERNATIONAL
He worked for Tyco Healthcare from 1995 to 2002. He was president of Medical Devices division from October 2006 to June 2011. He served as chairman of the board of directors of Covidien since March 2012 and as the president, chief executive officer and a director since July 2011. He became a director of EMC Corporation on Jan 12, 2015 and resigned on October 30, 2015, due to his election as chairman and CEO of Baxter. In 2015, he worked for The Carlyle Group as an Operating Executive in the Global Healthcare group. In 2016 Almeida was named chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Baxter.
@baxter_intl
Guillermo Perales began his journey into the world of franchise ownership with a single store and an ambitious dream in 1997. Crediting a combination of “luck, hard work, and a constant quest to expand”, his Sun Holdings’ portfolio today features over 800 locations that employ nearly 17,000 people and generate revenue of over $700 million dollars a year. Sun Holding’s stores include Burger King, Popeyes, Arby’s, Krispy Kreme, Cici’s, Golden Corral, GNC, and T-Mobile. His impressive acquisitions have positioned Perales as the third largest franchise owner in the United States, and top Hispanic franchisee in the country.
Billionaire real estate developer Jorge M. Perez has created an empire. He has built his fortune by building and operating low-income multifamily apartments across Miami, then branched off into rental apartments before becoming one of the most prolific high-rise condo builders in the Southern United States. In an interview with Forber, Perez said he confronted Trump on his immigration ideals and asked him, "When you build your 30-foot wall, which side should I be on?" Perez, a U.S. citizen since 1976, says Trump laughed, and after the Inauguration, Trump asked Perez to help him build it. Perez, who happens to be a democrat, declined.
José E. Almeida is chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Baxter International Inc. He is now leading the company through a period of dynamic transformation powered by accelerated innovation, operational excellence and strategic execution.
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2007 joined DriveTime before co-founding its subsidiary Carvana in 2012, 2017 Carvana was given an IPO 2016 named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year in the Mountain Desert region for the consumer technology category 2017 along with Carvana's co-founders, he was included in Fortune's 40 Under 40
2017– 2019 ALPFA, 50 Most Powerful Latinas 2019 - Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Trailblazer of the Year 2018 - PVBlic Foundation/United Nations Impacto Latino. 2017 - Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction. 2016 - Minority Business Hall of Fame and Museum Inductee. 2016- Enterprising Women, Woman of the Year Award. 2015- Women President’s Organization, Fastest Growing Women-Owned Business Award. 2013 Goldman Sachs, Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. 2013- NBCLatino Innovator. 2005- Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year/Hall of Fame Inductee. 2008-2019 Latino Leaders, 101 Most Influential Latinos
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MANUEL "MANNY " MEDINA CEO AT CYXTERA TECHNOLOGIES, A MEDINA CAPITAL
PORTFOLIO COMPANY AND CHAIRMAN OF CYXTERA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Cuban
1974 Medina began his career as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers 1980 He founded Terremark and undertook complex infrastructure projects throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia 2012 founded Medina Capital, a private equity firm with a focus on emerging cybersecurity technologies, and currently serves as managing partner
@cyxtera
Over the course of two decades at Ryder, Sanchez has served in senior executive leadership positions in operations, finance, and information technology. He has been a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team since 2003. In his earlier roles, Sanchez played a key part in implementing the strategy to centralize Ryder’s asset management function and improve its cost management which drove an improvement in the return of capital and earnings of the company. Since 2012, he has led the development and execution of Ryder’s growth strategy focused on the large segment of businesses that do not yet outsource their fleet management and supply chain functions.
SANDRA LOPEZ VICE PRESIDENT INTEL Mexican-American
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2021 HITEC 100 Most Influential Hispanics in Technology 2020 Most Powerful Women in Tech by National Diversity Council 2018 Sports Business Journal Game Changer 2019 Cynopsis Top Women in Media and Sports 2015 Top 50 Fun and Fearless by Cosmopolitan Magazine.
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
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CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF PINNACLE GROUP Ecuadorian
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@RyderSystemInc
Ernest Garcia, III co-founded Carvana and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since our inception in 2012. Mr. Garcia is also Chairman of the Carvana Co. Board. Carvana lets customers choose from more than 19,000 cars and complete purchases in as little as 10 minutes, according to its website. Buyers have the option of picking up their car at more than a dozen vending machines located around the country, using a giant coin. Its revenue doubled to $3.9 billion last year as it sold about 200,000 cars. It now sees a path to 2 million sales a year.
BUSINESS
NINA VACA
CEO RYDER SYSTEM
2002 he scooped his first trophy after being named Engineer of the Year by the Association of Cuban Engineers 2010, The South Florida Business Journal honored him with the title of CFO of the Year in recognition of his great work with Ryder 2013 he was named one of the Top 10 Lideres by Hispanic Executive Magazine
@Carvana
Darren Rebelez is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. in Ankeny, Iowa since June 24, 2019. He brings a wealth of experience as a senior executive in the convenience store and restaurant industries. He was the President of IHOP Restaurants, a unit of Dine Brands Global, Inc., which franchises and operates restaurants under the Applebee’s Grill & Bar and IHOP brands. Prior to joining Dine Brands, Darren was employed by 7-Eleven, Inc., a convenience store chain, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Before 7-Eleven, Darren held numerous management roles within ExxonMobil, and before that, at Thornton Oil Corporation.
ROBERT SANCHEZ
BUSINESS
@caseysgenstore
BUSINESS
CEO CARVANA
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2020 named by CSN as its Retailer Executive of the Year for his role in leading Casey's through both its strategic roadmap and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his 20-plus years in the foodservice and convenience retailing businesses
ERNST GARCIA
BUSINESS
CEO CASEY'S STORES Mexican-American
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
DARREN REBELEZ
@nycsf
@ninavaca
Nina Vaca personifies the American Dream as a trailblazing Latina entrepreneur, a world-changing philanthropist, and a dynamic global leader. She is Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group which she founded 19 years ago and has grown to several hundred million in revenues. Vaca serves on the boards of directors of three Fortune 1000 companies. She’s a committed civic leader and philanthropist. Her work in international relations began in 2004 when she was selected as a Fellow of the German Marshall Fund. She’s added to her international experience with programs such as the British-American Project, Peace Through Business, and more. In 2014, Nina was appointed by the White House as an inaugural member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) program. In 2019 she became a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Manuel was the Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Terremark Worldwide, Inc., a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ until April of 2011 when Terremark was acquired by Verizon for $2 billion. Under his leadership, Terremark distinguished itself as the leading global provider of managed IT infrastructure services for Fortune 500 enterprises and federal government agencies. At Terremark, Medina brought his vision to deliver a comprehensive set of best-of-breed IT infrastructure services from purpose-built, carrier-neutral data center facilities to fruition. He has a track record of successfully raising funds across the entire capital structure during periods of rapid change in the macroeconomic environment and raised over $1 billion for companies.
Today, Sandra leads Intel's efforts for the digitization and personalization of Sports. Her team is responsible for partnering with the sports industry to transform how sports are played and watched. She was held responsible for driving Intel’s wearable strategy within the fashion vertical. Sandra led the team and effort behind Intel’s strategic business partners ultimately catapulting Intel as one of the most Innovative companies in IoT and Influential companies in wearables.
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2008 - Present Co Founded and manages Ulu Ventures 2018 Joined the Kauffman Foundation as Board Member 2014 - 2018 Advisor at the rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford 2006 - 2008 Stanford Law School Board, where she assisted in re-accreditation process for the Law School 2001 - 2006 Joined Google as second attorney, built and led legal teams
VICTOR ESPINOZA JOCKEY Mexican
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2002, 2014, 2015 Kentucky Durby WinnerESPY Award for Best Jocky 2017 Inducted to the National Museum for Racing and Hall of Fame
@EspinozasVictor
@miriamulu1
SPORTS
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MANAGING DIRECTOR ULU VENTURES
SPORTS
BUSINESS
MIRIAM RIVERA
ABRAHAM ANCER GOLF PLAYER Mexican-American
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2015 earned his first professional win on the Web.com Tour at the Nova Scotia Open 2017-2018 carded five top-five finishes during the PGA Tour season and qualified for his first major championship 2018 he played the Emirates Australian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia and picked up his second professional victory, which vaulted him to 60th in the Official World Golf Ranking 2019 qualified for his first Presidents Cup team and went 3-1-1 representing Mexico, his only loss coming to U.S. captain Tiger Woods in singles action. He also finished tied for 21st in the FedEx Cup standings
@Abraham_Ancer
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ALEX RODRIGUEZ BASEBALL PLAYER
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1996 took Outdoor Systems public 1998 sold the company to Infinity Broadcasting for $8 billion 1986 With baseball being Moreno's favorite pastime, he applied his business acumen in that arena, as well, purchasing the Salt Lake Trappers minor league team alongside 17 other investors 2001, 2003 Moreno had agreed with The Walt Disney Company to purchase the team for $180 million 2003 MLB commissioner Bud Selig announced that the sale of the Angels to Moreno had been approved 2006 Forbes magazine estimated the team to be worth $368 million—twice the amount Moreno paid for the club only three years earlier 2020 purchased Angel Stadium and the surrounding parking lots from the City of Anaheim for $150MM.
1993 the Mariners selected Rodriguez first overall in the MLB draft 1996 became the Mariners' starting shortstop, won the major league batting championship, and finished second in voting for the AL MVP Award 2003 first AL MVP Award win 2005, 2007 named AL MVP 2016 he played his final game in professional baseball 2017 became host of the show Back In The Game, where he would help former athletes make a comeback in their personal lives
Arturo "Arte" Moreno is an American businessman. On May 15, 2003, he became the first Mexican-American to own a major sports team in the United States when he purchased the Anaheim Angels baseball team from the Walt Disney Company.
Alexander Enmanuel Rodriguez, is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as a businessman and philanthropist. He earned a total of $441.3 million over his MLB career, the most in the history of baseball. He played seven seasons with Seattle Mariners, three seasons with the Texas Rangers, and 12 seasons with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez is the chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp as well as the chairman of Presidente beer.
While he hasn’t yet won on the PGA Tour, Abra-
ham Ancer has become one of the most consistent players on tour. In 19 starts in 2020 leading into The Masters, he missed just one cut, had four top-10 finishes, and finished 18th in the FedEx Cup standings. Ancer came to Augusta National as the 21st-ranked player in the world.
ALEX MERUELO OWNER, ARIZONA COYOTES Cuban-American
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2019 Purchased majority ownership of the Arizona Coyotes 2003 Co Founded Commercial Bank of California and later merged with National Bank of California 1999 he entered the construction industry 1987 started investing extensively in residential and commercial real estate throughout Southern California, primarily in Hispanic neighborhoods
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
OWNER ANAHEIM ANGELS Mexican-American
cently inucted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. His career spans decades back, including over 3,200 wins and counting. Espinoza uses this platform for philanthropy and regularly dedicates 10% of all winnings to the pediatric cancer research charity City of Hope. At age 45, he continues breaking barriers by setting records and becoming the first Latino to be awarded the honors he continues to win.
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ARTURO MORENO
Professional Jockey, Victor Espinoza, was re-
SPORTS
SPORTS
Ulu Ventures, an early seed stage venture fund in Silicon Valley focused on IT startups. Prior to Ulu Ventures, Miriam was vice president / deputy general counsel at Google, which she joined in 2001 as the second attorney. There she helped build and lead an award-winning global legal department. Her work to re-design and simplify contracts helped Google scale from $85M to $10B in revenues in five years. Miriam serves on the Investment Committee of Acumen Fund America, an impact investment fund serving the needs of low-income Americans. She is also on the Launch with GS Advisory Council, an initiative by Goldman Sachs to reduce the investing gap for Black and LatinX founders while driving returns.
SPORTS
Miriam is co-founder and managing director of
@AROD
First Latino owner in the NHL. Alex became a
millionare in. his early. 20's when he sold one of his first real estate locations to Walmart. He grew up as an entreprenerur an continues leading as such. Today, he holds business interests in banking, real estate, media, restaurants, food, casinos, and professional sports. Alex is an advocate of the Hispanic community and invests largely in them through his businesses.
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CHAIRMAN AT TRUJILLO GROUP INVESTMENTS, LLC. American
RAMIRO CAVAZOS
COMMUNITY
SOL TRUJILLO
COMMUNITY
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FOUNDER AND CEO OF BARRETO INC. AND CHAIRMAN OF THE LATINO COALITION Mexican-American
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PRESIDENT & CEO UNITED STATED HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Mexican-American
1986 moved to California and formed Barreto Insurance and Financial Services 2001 Appointed Administrator of U.S Small Business Administration 2006 President & CEO of Barreto Inc., took the helm of the organization "The Latino Coalition" and he was presented with the prestigious Aguila Azteca Award by President Fox of Mexico. He recently received the Latino Leadership Magazine Maestro Award for Entrepreneurship
2008 named “CEO of the Year” by Australian Telecom Magazine, recognizing achievements in the privatization and transformation of Telstra 2000 Corporate Recognition Award from A Better Chance, for his commitment to supporting and advancing educational opportunities for students of color 1999 Presented with the Ronald H. Brown Corporate Bridge Builder Award by President Clinton for creating opportunities for women and minorities
1995 Director of Public Affairs at Levis Strauss & Co. 2000-2006 he was the Director of Economic Development of the City of San Antonio 2008 he became the President and CEO of San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2018 named President & CEO of United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Hector is internationally recognized for his suc-
Sol Trujillo is the Chairman of Trujillo Group
Ramiro Cavazos is the President and Chief
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PRESIDENT UNIDOSUSA (FORMER NCLR) Mexican-American
2005 Murguía has sought to strengthen UnidosUS work and enhance its record of impact as a vital American institution. She also received the University of Kansas (KU) Law Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus/na Award 1994 - 2000 served as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton, providing strategic and legislative advice to the president on key issues 2001 she joined the University of Kansas as executive vice chancellor for university relations
@JMurguia_Unidos
Janet Murguía has devoted her career in public service to opening the door to that dream to millions of American families. Now, as a key figure among this generation of leaders in the Latino community, she continues this mission as President and CEO of UnidosUS (previously known as NCLR, the National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.
ANTONIO FLORES
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PRESIDENT AND CEO, HISPANIC ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
2008 named among the 12 national leaders of Hispanic organizations in the 2008 Líderes advertising campaign by MillerCoors 2004 recipient of the Ana G. Méndez University System in Puerto Rico Presidential Medal Award 2003 Hispanic Business Magazine recognized him with a Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Western Michigan University, an Honorary Doctorary of Humane Letters from New Jersey City University 2014 an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Notre Dame de Namur University in California 1995 an Honorary Doctorate of Education from Madonna University in Michigan tributes by former Michigan Governors Jim Blanchard and John Engler for outstanding contributions to the educational improvement of the state, joint resolutions by the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate for exemplary work in the state’s higher education system
@HACUNews
As the president and CEO of the Hispanic Associ-
ation of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Flores leads a strong team of professionals throughout the country with the common goal of improving higher education opportunities for Hispanics. Flores is responsible for the overall leadership, executive management, public and community relations, policy formulation and advocacy.
@RAConomics
Executive Officer of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, America’s first Hispanic business organization founded in 1929, where he provides direction on small business issues, international trade efforts, economic research, leadership development, education expansion, workforce growth, and small business advocacy. He has extensive economic development experience and served as the Director of Economic Development for the City of San Antonio, America’s 7th largest city, during an unprecedented period of economic growth by recruiting Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Texas, Maxim, Microsoft and helping to retain Rackspace, DPT Labs and Zachry, among many others.
SYLVIA MENDEZ
COMMUNITY
JANET MURGUIA
Investments. He is a member of the board of directors of Western Union, which ranks number 468 on the Fortune 500, with $5.6 billion in revenue and 10,000 employees. Trujillo has served as the CEO of three major telecommunications companies on three continents including US West in North America, Orange S.A. in Europe, and Telstra in Australia. In 2010, Trujillo co-founded the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), an organization dedicated to improving the Hispanic brand and ensuring Hispanic participation at every level of leadership in America.
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cessful business ventures, community leadership, government service and as a leading voice for Latinos across the country. He is a frequent public speaker, media guest, panelist and commentator on business, politics and the Latino community. Barreto served five years as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He led the SBA to record heights of support for small-businesses, especially minority and female entrepreneurs who had historically been under-served, by leveraging a loan portfolio that exceeded $60 billion.
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M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
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HECTOR V. BARRETO
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CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Mexican-Puerto Rican American
2009 Mendez High School in Los Angeles was named in honor of the Mendez family 2011 Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 2012 Awarded Honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Brooklyn College of the City University of New York 2005 inducted into Hall of Fame at Santa Ana College 2007 Sylvia was selected as one of the Hot 25 persons in Orange County 2010 President Obama mentioned Sylvia during the Women's History Month speech 2018 the board of Berkeley Unified School District voted unanimously to rename Le Conte Elementary School, located at 2241 Russell Street, as Sylvia Mendez Elementary School
@sylviafmendez
Sylvia Mendez has been on the frontlines of advocating for civil rights ever since she was a child. Her parents Gonzalo and Felicita Mendez fought the segregated school system all the way to court as Mendez v. Westminister until a judge ruled to desegregate all California public schools in 1947. The historical victory was the first of its kind and paved the way for many others. Mendez took full advantage of the rights her parents fought for her to have by attending desegregated public schools, college and went on to become a nurse. After 33 years in nursing, she retired to continue her family's legacy by advocating for civil rights and touring to give speeches enlightening the public on this lesser known part of history.
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1978 Ordained a priest of the Opus Dei Prelature 2001 Ordained Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Denver 2005 Became Archbishop of San Antonio 2011 Present Became Archbishop of Los Angeles 2010 Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope Benedict XVI. 2019 Elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2013 Author of the book, Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation.
ARTURO VARGAS
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PRESIDENT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ELECTED OFFICIALS (NALEO)
1994 joined NALEO Educational Fund and continues today holding his leadership
@ArturoNALEO
@MariaTeresa1 @mariateresakumar
@HESANCHE
1989 Co Founded the National Network of Latin American Medical Students 2017 Latino Leaders Maestro Award 2009 Top 100 Influential and Innovative Hispanics from Hispanic Business Magazine. 2006 appointed to the Minority Alumni Hall of Fame of Stanford University 2007 was appointed as a Fellow to the New York Academy of Medicine 1993 served as the National Health Care Reform Task Force Coordinator of Outreach Groups at White House 1992 worked for the State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development as a policy researcher
ESTHER AGUILERA
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LATINO CORPORATE DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION LCDA Mexican-American
2016 hired as LCDAs first full-time President & CEO to develop a comprehensive strategic framework to advance the mission, grow the donor base, and launch LCDA's first annual meeting 2004 - 2015 she lead roles at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
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PRESIDENT, NATIONAL HISPANIC HEALTH FOUNDATION Mexican-American
president, is an American activist and social entrepreneur and an Emmy-nominated MSNBC contributor seeking to shake up the political process. Leveraging youth, technology, social platforms and influencers, Voto Latino reaches 6.5 million monthly. Voto Latino is a key civic engagement organization, registering 500,000+ voters. In 2018, Voto Latino registered 15 percent of new Texas voters.
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2019 Joined Mi Familia Vota as CEO and Executive Director and oined the national Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Federation of America 2012 he was elected Chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and was appointed by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director as co-chair of the Hispanic Council on Federal Employment
ELENA RIOS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF NHMA AND
María Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino’s founding
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO, MI FAMILIA VOTA
Arturo Vargas is the Chief Executive Officer of NALEO Educational Fund, a national nonprofit organization that strengthens American democracy by promoting the full participation of Latinos in civic life. He also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NALEO, a national membership organization of Latino policymakers and their supporters. Arturo has held these positions since 1994. Prior to joining NALEO Educational Fund, Arturo held various positions at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), including Vice President for Community Education and Public Policy. Before joining MALDEF, he was the senior education policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C. Arturo is a nationally recognized expert in Latino demographic trends, electoral participation, voting rights, the Census, and redistricting.
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Archbishop Gomez has been a U.S. Citizen since 1995. During his priestly and episcopal career he has founded or co-founded a number of initiatives designed to bring Latino Catholics closer to the Church, and received many awards. Beginning on November 15, 2016, Gomez served as Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; his term as Vice President ended with his election as President on November 12, 2019. He is the first person of Hispanic descent to hold both positions. Since coming to Los Angeles he has worked very hard to reconcile the various elements of a deeply divided Archdiocese, emphasizing the Faith and local heritage that transcends cultural and ethnic lines. He is particularly concerned about immigration, education, and priestly formation. At the same time he has been keenly aware of the responsibilities of running the nation’s largest Archdiocese.
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PRESIDENT AND CEO OF VOTO LATINO Colombian-American
2004 Founded Voto Latino with Rosario Dawson 2010 Pushed to get American Latinos to fill out the 2010 census via a bilingual iPhone app 2013 Named one of the 10 most influential women in Washington D.C. by ELLE Magazine 2016 Participated in a Reddit's Ask Me Anything. Hispanic Business in 2017 as one of the 100 most influential Latinos in America 2010 Kumar was the recipient of an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis category for her role as co-creator and host of the two hour MSNBC television special, Beyond Borderlines
@ArchBishopGomez
HECTOR SANCHEZ
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MARIA TERESA KUMAR
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CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LOS ANGELES DIOCESES Mexican
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JOSE HORACIO GOMEZ
@EstherLCDA
@ElenaRiosMD
Throughout his career, Hector has worked in
non-profit organizations and has vast experience in policy advocacy, civic participation, community organizing, non-profit management, fundraising, and media relations. He has been the first Latino in history to sit as a Board Member in Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Dr. Rios serves as President & CEO of the Na-
tional Hispanic Medical Association, (NHMA), representing Hispanic physicians in the United States. The mission of the organization is to improve the health of Hispanics. Dr. Rios also serves as President of NHMA’s National Hispanic Health Foundation to direct educational and research activities.
Esther is a proven leader who brings a 30-year record of successfully executing strategic business plans to drive organizational effectiveness, growth, and impact. In her current role, she influences some of the most powerful companies by bringing together accomplished executives at the pinnacle of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom. She is recognized as a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist, leading scale-up, innovative change, and high-performance teams. She led the growth of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO.
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@jazminchavez
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online strategy for nonprofits, social justice campaigns, online fundraising, & campaign analytics. She has utilized communications and legal theory to examine new tactics for digital mobilization and movement building, using social media platforms and narrative power analysis as it relates to Latino outreach strategies. As the former Deputy Director of Public Technology and Digital Strategy for Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the New York City Council, Jazmin focused on access, inclusion, and innovation across platforms to advance the Speaker and Council’s work. Chavez remains committed to fighting for immigrant rights across the country and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Lideres Board of LatinoJustice PRLDEF and a board member of Rural and Migrant Ministry, an organization that advocates for the rights of farmworkers in New York state.
MARCO. A. DAVIS
COMMUNITY
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
Jazmin brings over 11 years of experience in
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PRESIDENT & CEO CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS INSTITUTE
2012 - 2016 served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics 2010 - 2012 served as a Director of Public Engagement for the Corporation for National and Community Service 2007 - 2010 he was Director of Global Fellowship and Regional Manager for Latin America at Ashoka’s Youth Venture, and led leadership development for UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza), where he created the Líderes Initiative
@MarcoADavis
Marco leads CHCI which provides public service and policy experiences to outstanding Latino/a/x students and young professionals, with a network of more than 4,000 highly accomplished alumni, and also convenes Members of Congress and other public officials, corporate executives, nonprofit advocates, and thought leaders to discuss issues facing the nation and the Hispanic community. Prior to joining CHCI, he was a partner at New Profit, a national nonprofit venture philanthropy, where he led an effort to create a more equitable social sector, and served as organizational lead on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Davis served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and as Director of Public Engagement for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Previously, he was Director of Global Fellowship and Regional Manager for Latin America at Ashoka’s Youth Venture, and led leadership development for UnidosUS, where he created the Líderes Initiative.
1992 Became an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God denomination 2013 Invited to deliver keynote address at The Martin Luther King, Jr. 40th Anniversary Commemorative Service in Goergia 2015 Named as one of Newsmax’s Top 100 Christian Leaders in America 2016 Be Light, was featured #1 on the LA Times Bestsellers List 2017 Delivered readings and an invocation at the 58th U.S. presidential inauguration of President Donald Trump. He participated in President Obama’s 2009 inaugural prayer service at Saint Johns Episcopal Church, reading from the Gospel of Luke. In 2000, he founded the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC/CONEL), the largest Hispanic Evangelical Christian organization in the world. With over 40,000 Latino Evangelical churches as members, NHCLC/CONEL helps to cultivate a network of Latino leaders in the Christian community. Rodriguez became a member of the board of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2013.
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ANTHONY D. ROMERO
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PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (NHCLC) Puerto Rican-American
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU) Puerto Rican-American
2001 Became Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union 2005 Named Time Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Hispanics 2007 Co-authored a book called “In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror” 2011 Received the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood.
@AnthonyACLU
Anthony D. Romero is the executive director of
@nhclc
Samuel Rodriguez is president of the Nation-
al Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. An Assemblies of God ordained minister, he is senior pastor of New Season Christian Worship Center in Sacramento, CA. Rodriguez served on the White House Task Force on Fatherhood and Healthy Families and has consulted for politicians on social justice, religious liberties, and Latino issues.
TOM PEREZ
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PRESIDENT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
2017 elected DNC Chair 2009 President Barack Obama nominated Perez to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice 2007 newly elected Governor Martin O'Malley selected Perez to run the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation 1995 - 1998 worked as Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy's principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice, and constitutional issues
the American Civil Liberties Union, the nation's premier defender of civil liberties. He took the helm of the organization just seven days before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Anticipating the impending assault on civil liberties in the name of protecting national security, Romero quickly launched the Keep America Safe and Free campaign to protect basic freedoms. He created the ACLU’s National Security Project, which achieved legal victories on the Patriot Act, uncovered thousands of pages of documents detailing the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody, and filed the first successful legal challenge to the Bush administration's illegal NSA spying program. During the Obama administration, the ACLU continued its litigation on NSA surveillance and launched litigation and advocacy against the U.S. drone program.
XAVIER BECERRA
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2016 - 2018 Deputy Director of Public Technology and Strategy for the New York City Council 2018 joined the Center for Popular Democracy as Director of Digital Strategy 2019 joined Hispanics in Philanthropy leading Digital
SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ
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ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OF HISPANICS IN PHILANTHROPY
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JAZMIN CHAVEZ
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33RD ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA Mexican-American
1992 Elected to the House of Representatives 1997 Served as chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus 2016 Spoke out against gun violence as part of the #NoFlyNoBuy ‘sit-in’ in Congress 2017 Sworn in as the Attorney General of California
@AGBecerra
@TomPerez @tomperez
Tom is the first Latino elected as the Chair of the
Democratic National Committee. Son of first-generation Dominican immigrants, Tom graduated from Brown University, Harvard Law School, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. After the shooting of Treyvon Martin, Perez was brought in by Representative Alcee Hastings and Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplet to investigate the police department's handling of the case.A fullscale investigation was later launched by the Civil Rights Division, where Perez led an inquiry on the shooting investigation. President Barack Obama nominated Perez to be Secretary of Labor.
As the newly elected 33rd Attorney General
Incumbent of California, Becerra has reached a new plateau in his political career spanning decades back. Currently, he is the only Latino to have ever served as Attorney General. The former chair of the House Democratic Conference dedicated 20 years to serving three separate districts during his tenure as a member of the House of Representatives. He continues to be a party leader and uses his platform to support a number of causes such as immigration and women's issues. Most likely he will serve US Attorney general by President Joe Biden.
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2018 won the Democratic Party's primary election for New York's 14th congressional distric 2016 worked as an organizer for Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign
@AOC @aoc
BEN RAY LUJAN U.S. SENATOR NM-D Mexican American
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2008 Luján won the Democratic primary, defeating five other candidates 2004 elected to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission
@benraylujan
2003 Solicitor General of Texas 2012 appointed Vice-Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee 2012 Elected to the Senate 2015 Announced his candidacy in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election 2016 Suspended his campaign on May 4th
@tedcruz
On October 2020, Ocasio-Cortez hosted a Twitch
stream of the social deduction game Among Us, with fellow congresswoman Ilhan Omar during the campaign cycle and attracted more than 400,000 viewers. Ocasio-Cortez drew national recognition when she won the Democratic Party's primary election for New York's 14th congressional district on June 26, 2018. She is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. Her social media presence is noted and popularly. followed by younger generations. She is among the first female members of the Democratic Socialists of America elected to serve in Congress and advocates a progressive platform that includes Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee, the Green New Deal and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ERIC GARCETTI MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES- D Mexican-American
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2005 Helped found the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust 2006 Served as President of the Los Angeles City Council 2013 First elected mayor 2014 Honored as Person of the Year by the NAACP 2015 Became the first mayor of a major American city to signa a $15 minimum wage law 2017 Was re-elected for a second term as mayor
@ericgarcetti
Currently serves as the Assistant Speaker in the 116th Congress and is the highest-ranking Hispanic in Congress. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sitting on the Health Subcommittee, Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. Congressman Luján has focused on spurring local economic growth through a number of legislative initiatives. His bill to make it easier for local entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to the marketplace was signed into law. He has also written legislation that would leverage New Mexico’s labs to drive job creation while addressing tomorrow’s energy challenges. In addition to supporting the Green New Deal, Congressman Luján has developed bold, comprehensive legislation to put the United States on a path to net-zero carbon emissions to combat the climate crisis and grow the economy.
U.S SENATOR FROM TEXAS- R Cuban-American
Native Angeleno, LA’s popular mayor, Democrat, Eric Garcetti runs the second largest American city like a small town mayor. He’s accessible, and everywhere, smiling, efficient, and low key. It’s his home. He’s a 4th generation Angeleno. Garcetti earned his B.A and Masters at Columbia University but returned to his hometown to roost. Garcetti’s political career launched in 2001 when elected representative of the 13th district to the Los Angeles City Council, where he served four terms as President of City Council. He was elected Mayor of Los Angeles in 2013 and after a quiet beginning he won the approval of LA residents with his can-do, everyman style. He is also a former Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy reserve. He recently won re-election for a second term as mayor of Los Angeles.
One of only three Latinos in the Senate, Cruz
was among the first Republicans to announce his candidacy in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. Previously he served as the first Hispanic (and youngest) Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court. He suspended his presidential bid in May 2016. He returned to the Senate to resume his fight to require the Library of Congress to use the term ‘illegal aliens’. At the 2016 Republican Convention, he defied the GOP denying Trump his endorsement, urging the audience to “vote their own conscience.”
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SUSANA MENDOZA
COMPTROLLER, STATE OF ILLINOIS Mexican
2000 elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly 2011 was elected Chicago City Clerk, taking charge of an office responsible for more than $100 million in annual revenue 2016 sworn in as Illinois Comptroller
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
is currently fullfilling his time as Texas Land Commissioner. In 2014, he was elected as the Texas Land Commissioner with 61% of the votes. After attaining his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas school of Law and becoming a teacher, the proud Hispanic worked in U.S. Naval Reserves in Afghanistan. In late June 2017, Bush announced his was running for re-election. George P. Bush's politcal activity and military service has placed his loyalty for this country at evidence.
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Continuing on the Bush legacy, George P. Bush
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TED CRUZ
1O1
@Georgepbush
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CONGRESSWOMAN Mexican-American
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2011 Served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan with the U.S Navy Reserves 2012 Became Deputy Finance chairman of the Republican Party of Texas 2014 Elected Texas Land Commissioner 2017 Announced his re-election campaign
ALEJANDRA OCASIO CORTEZ
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TEXAS LAND COMMISSIONER Mexican-American
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GOVERNMENT
GEORGE P. BUSH
@susanamendoza10
In her first year in office, Mendoza brought together members of both parties to pass the Debt Transparency Act, which, for the first time, provides residents and legislators with a monthly accounting of the debts owed by every state agency. She was the first Hispanic independently elected to statewide office in Illinois after her historic win as the first woman elected City Clerk in Chicago in 2011. Mendoza won a soccer and academic scholarship to Truman State University in Missouri, earning All-Midwest honors in soccer and graduating in 1994 with a B.A. in Business Administration.
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1996 - 1998 served as Chief of the Office's General Crimes Section, overseeing the training and trial work of all new Assistant United States Attorneys in the Criminal Division 1998 appointed as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, becoming the country's youngest United States Attorney 2009 appointed by President Obama as the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
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ROBERT MENENDEZ
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY- D Cuban-American
1992 Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 2006 Sworn in as U.S. Senator 2009 Appointed chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee 2013 Public No.3 school in New York was renamed after him
@SenatorMenendez
@GovMLG
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GOVERNMENT
JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ
DESIGNATED DIRECTOR OF THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS Mexican-American
2021 she will become the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs 2008 - 2016 she served in the Obama administration, initially working for the United States Secretary of the Interior and later in the White House Office of Public Engagement 2016 she was appointed state director for Senator Kamala Harris 2001 - 2008 worked as a program director at the Cesar Chavez Foundation
Menendez was first elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education at the age of 20 and went on to become mayor of Union City in 1986. One of only three Latinos in the Senate, he authored comprehensive immigration reform legislation that passed the Senate in 2013 with an overwhelming bipartisan show of support.
MARCO RUBIO U.S. SENATOR FROM FL- R Cuban-American
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2000 Became member of the Florida House of Representatives 2010 Elected to the U.S. Senate 2015 Announced his candidacy for the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election 2016 On March, he quit the presidential race 2016 Re-elected at U.S. Senator.
@marcorubio
Michelle Lujan Grisham is the thirty-second governor of the state of New Mexico, the first Democratic Latina to be elected governor in U.S. history. As governor, Lujan Grisham has implemented a series of evidence-based policies aimed at transforming New Mexico’s public education system, expanding the state’s economy to include more high-quality employment opportunities and preserving New Mexico’s air, land and water. Lujan Grisham introduced and led the push for Care Corps, an innovative caregiving initiative that places volunteers in communities to provide non-medical services to seniors and individuals with disabilities. With this support, people can continue to live independently in their homes and communities.
JULIAN CASTRO
GOVERNMENT
of Homeland Security in his Cabinet. He would be the first Latino to lead this role. During the Clinton administration, Mayorkas served as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. As deputy secretary, Mayorkas led DHS's response to the 2013–14 Ebola virus epidemic and 2015– 16 Zika virus epidemic.His work also focused on cybersecurity. Mayorkas led the Obama administration's delegation to Cuba,and negotiated with the Cuban government on port and cargo security and U.S.- Cuba travel.
GOVERNMENT
Joe Biden nominate Mayorkas as Secretary
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GOVERNOR NEW MEXICO Mexican-American
2019 began to serve as the 32nd governor of New Mexico 2018 she became the first Democratic woman elected governor of New Mexico, as well as the first Democratic Hispanic woman elected state governor in U.S. history 2004 - 2007 served as Secretary of Health of New Mexico 2016 was selected as the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
@AliMayorkas
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MICHELLE LUJAN-GRISHAM
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
DESIGNED SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY Cuban-American
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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS
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FORMER SECRETARY OF HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT (OBAMA) Mexican-American
2019 Announced his prsidential bid in the 2020 election 2009-2014 served as the mayor of San Antonio, Texas 2014-2017 served as President Barack Obama's Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
@JulianCastro
@JulieR2019
Julie was born in Delano, California. She was
raised in Tehachapi in a family of well-know labor activists affiliated with the United Farm Workers of America organization. She is the daughter of Linda Chavez Rodriguez and Arturo Rodriguez, and the granddaughter of American labor activist, Helen Fabela Chávez, and American labor leader, Cesar Chavez. Her parents were full time volunteers for the UFWA. Julie would often attend labor rallies with her parents and grandparents and assist them in UFWA community outreach activities.
After announcing his bid for the White House in April, Rubio, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives who once interned for U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has shifted to a more moderate position to appeal to the larger Republican base. Rubio was chosen to deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address. It marked the first time the response was delivered in English and Spanish. On June 22nd, 2016 Rubio announced his intention to run for reelection, despite previous statements to the contrary, and losing his state in the presidential primary. Rubio turned out to be re-elected defeating Democrat Patrick Murphy.
In January 2019, Castro announced his presi-
dential bid in the 2020 election, before exiting the race early the following year. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the youngest member of President Obama's cabinet, serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Castro served as the mayor of his native San Antonio, Texas before joining Barack Obama's cabinet.
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1994 Elected 25th District representative for the Nevada Assembly 1999 Chairman of the Gaming Commission of Nevada 2002 Elected Attorney General of Nevada 2004 Received the award for Most Influential Hispanic in the U.S. by Latino Coalition 2005 Appointed U.S. District Judge for the District of Nevada 2010 Elected Governor of Nevada 2014 Won re-election for Governor
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SONIA SOTOMAYOR
JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE U.S. Puerto Rican-American
GRACE E. COLON
SCIENCE
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FORMER GOVERNOR NV, PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENO Mexican-American
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
BRIAN SANDOVAL
PRESIDENT & CEO INCARDIA
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1998 Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 2009 Confirmed as the 111th Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 2013 Published a memoir about her earlier days My Beloved World 2015 Received the Katharine Hepburn medal from Bryn Mawr College
2013 joined InCarda Theraupetics 2014 - 2016 Partner of New Sxcience Ventures 2012 - 2018 Co Founded Pyranose Biotherapeutics, Inc.
The Court’s first Hispanic justice and its third female justice, Sotomayor is also among its most visible through speeches and television appearances. She is also vocal on the Court’s rulings, making headlines for her scathing dissent in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case, allowing closely held for-profit corporations to be exempt from a law its owners religiously object to if there is a less restrictive means of furthering the law's interest. Justice Sotomayor remains outspoken about decisions that she finds objectionable, and go against the interests of the American people as a whole.
Dr. Colón brings over 25 years of experience in biopharma, genomics, healthcare and industrial biotechnology. In addition to her role at InCarda, she is Executive Chairman (formerly CEO) of ProterixBio, and serves on the boards of CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) and Cocoon Biotech and on the Advisory Board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Formerly, she was a partner at New Science Ventures, a New York based venture capital firm with over $700M under management, and served on the boards of Paradigm Diagnostics and PerceptiMed.
@ColonGraceE
THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LATINO HEALTH AND CULTURE Mexican
1971 Founding Executive Director of the La Clinicia de la Raza 1974 Began working at the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley 1987 Became a professor at UCLA 2017 Published an updated edition of La Nueva California: Latinos from Pioneers to Post-Millenials
@DavidHayesBauti
An award-winning expert whose extensive
research into Latino healthcare has broken stereotypes, Dr. Bautista is a prominent voice in his field, and has been for almost 40 years. After graduating from UC Berkeley and completing his M.A. and PH.D at University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, he founded la Clínica de La Raza. Currently, Bautista is a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he established the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the School of Medicine in 1992. He researches the cost-effective, high-quality standard of care in Latino communities, and his work has been repeatedly published in medical journals. Dr Bautista is a media expert and public speaker. He is also an author to various books that focus on the study of society, culture and health.
NANETTE COCERO
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GLOBAL PRESIDENT OF PFIZER VACCINES
2019 named Global President of vaccines 2016 - 2019 Regional President Emergeing Markets Pfizer Innovative Health 2002 - 2013 Vice President Commercial Specialty and Oncology
@pfizer
LUIS F PARADA
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DIRECTOR, BRIAN TUMOR CENTER, MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER Colombian-American
2007 elected to the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2008 elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2011 elected to the National Academy of Sciences 2007 received the prestigious Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health
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DAVID HAYES-BAUTISTA PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND DIRECTOR OF
SCIENCE
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in a variety of roles, currently as Governor since 2010. Prior to become Governor, Sandoval at 35 became the youngest to be chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Went on to be elected Nevada’s Attorney General and then appointed a US District Judge by George W. Bush, becoming the state's first Hispanic federal judge. His optimism has lifted the state of Nevada, through hard work in the areas of economy and education.
SCIENCE
Consistent record of public service in Nevada
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
@BrianSandoval
@sloan_kettering
Nanette Cocero is the Global President of Pfizer Vaccines. In her role, Nanette oversees an international business and is responsible for the development and delivery of innovative vaccines that address serious and life-threatening conditions, helping to protect communities around the world. Nanette leads a global team of 1,500 colleagues and manages a diverse vaccines portfolio aimed at protecting lives at all stages, from infants to older adults. She and her team also partner with governments, civic organizations, and others in the biopharmaceutical industry to accelerate global public health progress. She is Chair of the International Federation of Pharmaceuticals and Manufacturers Association (IFPMA) Vaccine CEO Steering Committee, advocating for policies and practices that will enable greater access and affordability to vaccines in low and middle-income countries.
Parada is a Columbian developmental biol-
ogist and neuroscientist who currently serves as Director of the Brain Tumor Center, Albert C. Foster Chair and American Cancer Society Research Professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, New York. Parada moved to University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 1994, and founded the Center for Developmental Biology and was the Diana and Richard C. Strauss Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology. He also served as Director of the Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration. Parada's medical research emphasizes deciphering the mechanisms of brain development, associated disorders, and cancer biology, and has led to identification of molecules that inhibit nerve regeneration after injury. He identified and characterized Trk Receptor tyrosine kinases as physiological neurotrophin receptors.
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2008 Named as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. by Hispanic Business Journal 2012 Recipient of the Ohtli Award 2014 Recognized as the Neurosurgeon of the Year by Voices Against Brain Cancer 2015 Named as one of the World's Most Creative Mexicans by Forbes
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MARTIN CABRERA JR.
CEO & FOUNDER CABRERA CAPITAL MARKETS & CABRERA CAPITAL PAERTNERS Mexican
2010 Latino Leaders Maestro Award for leadership in the category of Professional Achievement and Faces of Success Award and the Top 100 Influentials by The Chicago Contingent 2008 Top 25 Leaders in Finance by Latino Leaders 2007 Minority Business Advocate of the Year award from the US Department of Commerce
FINANCE
SCIENCE
SURGERY AT MAYO CLINIC Mexican
FINANCE
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ALFREDO QUIÑONES-HINOJOSA NEUROSURGEON, CHAIR OF NEUROLOGIC
LUIS MAIZEL
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CO-FOUNDER & SR. MANAGING PARTNER, LM CAPITAL GROUP Mexican
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MARCOS RODRIGUEZ
MANAGING MEMBER PALLADIUM EQUITY PARTNERS Cuban
Martin Cabrera is the CEO and founder of
Cabrera Capital Markets, which provides global investment banking and full service global institutional brokerage services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes financial institutions, unions, governments, corporations, hedge funds, foundations and endowments. He is also the CEO and founder of Cabrera Capital Partners, which provides national real estate investment advisory services. CCM has issued over $900 billion in debt and equities for municipalities and corporations domestically and internationally. CCM’s taxable fixed income and global equities trading desks are transacting over one billion in securities daily. He is one of the most influential names in investment fields.
FINANCE
FINANCE
Dr. Q, as known to many, comes from a very humble beginning. From working the cotton fields, to being a painter and welder, Dr. Q´s drive has been non-stop. He put himself through school, learned English, practiced his language on the debate team, all while working as a welder for a railroad company. His dream to enter the world of medicine was sparked by his grandmother, who was a curandera. Thanks to her and to Dr. Q's will, he has now become one of the most influential Latinos in medicine, receiving dozens of awards and achievements for his work in cancer research.
JOSE FELICIANO
Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director. He has been investing in the global fixed-income markets since 1984. Mr. Maizel was born and raised in Mexico City. His experience includes serving as Vice President of Finance for Grupoventas, S.A.; faculty member at the Harvard Business School; and President of Industrial Kuick, S.A. After structuring a favorable buyout of Kuick, Maizel relocated to San Diego. He is a Board Member for the NAFIN Foreign Board (Mexico’s National Development Bank), Vibra Bank (the first Hispanic community bank in San Diego), and several other for-profit and non-profit organizations. He also serves as Chairman and Board Member of the Hispanic National Mortgage Association, and as President of the Investment Committee for the Board of Trustees and Executive Board at the University of San Diego. He previously served on the Wells Fargo San Diego Community Board.
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CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER CLEARLAKE CAPITAL GROUP Puerto Rican-American
1O1
M O S T I N F L U E N T I A L L AT I N O S
@DoctorQMd
Rodriguez founded Palladium in 1997 and serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to forming Palladium, Mr. Rodriguez was a partner of Joseph Littlejohn & Levy (JLL), a buyout firm which he joined in 1989. Before launching his private equity career, he worked in operations for General Electric Company in the U.S., Mexico and France and graduated from GE’s Manufacturing Management Program. He serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio company Trachte and has served on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies ABRA, Castro Cheese, Daniel's Jewelers, Jordan Health Services, Kar's Nuts, Teasdale, Taco Bueno and Wise Foods, among others. Mr. Rodriguez serves on the Board of Trustees of New York-Presbyterian, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell. Mr. Rodriguez also serves on the Boards of the Robert Toigo Foundation and the Alfred E. Smith Foundation.
José co-founded the SUPERCHARGED Initiative, a philanthropic grantmaking and impact investment organization, in 2014 with his wife, Kwanza Jones. The Initiative invests in both nonprofits and for-profit ventures that are compatible with its goal to make a lasting impact across four key priorities: Education, Entrepreneurship, Equal Opportunity and Empowerment. In addition, Feliciano serves on the board of directors of the Robert Toigo Foundation and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
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The Future of Latino Lawyers Latinos are an ever-growing part of the American population. But we are still disproportionately underrepresented in the field of law. Seeing a Latino lawyer leading a law firm is, unfortunately, the exception, not the norm. It is imperative that the newer generations of Latino attorneys obtain positions of leadership in law firms. The empowerment of the Latino lawyer provides the Latino population with a voice it never possessed. LATINO POWER has a rich history in our community, and Latino lawyers are able to influence the political and social landscape of our Latino population. Latino lawyers are able to draw on the enormous diversity of cultures and identities that make up the Latino community. Latino lawyers are in the best position to understand the basic necessities of the community and provide solutions to the problems affecting it. This variety of perspectives can serve to differentiate a good law firm from a great one. Latino lawyers are able to market themselves to the Latino population, which will become imperative in the close future as the Latino population is the fastest growing demographic. A Latino lawyer brings a greater range of representation, as, generally, Latino clients feel more identified and may be more trusting of a Latino lawyer. So, what must be done in order to have more Latino lawyers occupy leadership and ownership positions in law firms across the country? The basic issue preventing Lati-
no lawyers from leading law firms is the lack of experience in leadership positions. As such, Latino leaders should provide social and professional support to Latino lawyers. A network of mentors and resources may provide Latino lawyers with the tools needed to handle a leadership role. Latinos are a tight community, with shared values and customs. To advance the goals of the Latino community, Latino lawyers must work side by side with each other. It is only through this collective effort that Latinos will be prominent in the field of law. Benny Agosto, Jr. Benny Agosto, Jr. is Partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner. He is Founder and President of the Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Foundation and was the Houston Bar Association President from 2019 to 2020
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TO P L AT I N O
L AW Y E R S
2020
This year we are pleased to once again, publish another installment of the Top Latino Lawyers. Our team accepted nominations and completed a research that concluded with this list. All these lawyers have an impressive career track, successful cases, and are highly involved in the community.
BENNY AGOSTO , JR.
DAMIAN J. ARGUELLO
ABRAHAM, WATKINS, NICHOLS, SORRELS, AGOSTO, AZIZ & STOGNER
COLORADO INSURANCE LAW CENTER
Personal Injury & Product Liability Litigation Partner
Insurance Law and Expert Witness Services Principal Attorney coloradoinsurancelawcenter.com
abrahamwatkins.com
FRANCIS P. ALVAREZ
LUIS ARROYO
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP
Labor and Employment Principal
Labor & Employment Relations Partner
jacksonlewis.com
michaelbest.com
GREGORY T. ALVAREZ
NESTOR BARRERO
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
CONSTANGY, BROOKS,SMITH & PROPHETE
Labor and Employment Principal
Labor & Employment Partner
jacksonlewis.com/people/gregory-t-alvarez
constangy.com
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ARMANDO BASARRATE
MIGUEL DOMINGUEZ
PARKER, HUDSON, RAINER & DOBBS LLP
MORGAN & MORGAN
Health Care Partner
Personal Injury Partner
phrd.com
forthepeople.com
CARLOS BERMUDEZ
GUILLERMO A. ESCOBEDO
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
Corporate Partner
Labor and Employment Principal jacksonlewis.com
JAMES F. BOTANA
STEVE FLORES
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
WINSTON & STRAWN LLP
Labor and Employment Principal
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partner
jacksonlewis.com
winston.com
ANJANETTE CABRERA
PEDRO P. FOMENT
CONSTANGY, BROOKS, SMITH & PROPHETE, LLP
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
Labor & Employment Partner
Labor and Employment Principal
constangy.com
jacksonlewis.com
EDUARDO CANALES
HILDA GALVAN
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP
JONES DAY
Energy Counsel
Intellectual Property/Technology Litigation Partner-in-Charge
akingump.com
T O P L AT I N O L AW Y E R S 2 0 2 0
akingump.com
jonesday.com
TABATHA CASTRO
ADOLFO GARCIA
THE CASTRO FIRM, INC.
BROWN RUDNICK LLP
Domestic, Personal Injury, Worker's Compensation, General Civil Managing Attorney
Corporate Partner
thecastrofirm.com
brownrudnick.com
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ISABELA AMIE GARCIA
STEFFI HAFEN
GARCIA-WINDSOR, P.C.
SNELL & WILMER
Family Law Founding Attorney and CEO
Tax, Estate planning and probate Partner
GarciaWindsor.com
swlaw.com
YOLANDA C. GARCIA SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP Securities and Shareholder Litigation Partner, Global Co-Head of Sidley’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation practice, and Global Co-Head of Sidley’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee
HERNANDEZ & ASSOCIATES, PC Crimmigration Managing Partner hdezlaw.com
SARA GARCIA DURAN
CHRISTINE HERNANDEZ
SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
HERNANDEZ & ASSOCIATES PC
Private Equity, M&A, Capital Markets Partner
Immigration Law Shareholder
sidley.com
hdezlaw.com
JASON C. GAVEJIAN
JENAY IURATO
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
IURATO LAW FIRM
Labor and Employment Principal
Business Litigation Partner
jacksonlewis.com
iuratolawfirm.com
RAED GONZALEZ
DAVID R. JIMENEZ
GONZALEZ OLIVIERI LLC
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
Immigration Founder and CEO
Labor and Employment Principal
gonzalezolivierillc.com
T O P L AT I N O L AW Y E R S 2 0 2 0
sidley.com
ARNULFO HERNANDEZ
jacksonlewis.com
EDUARDO GUZMÁN
PRISCILLA JIMENEZ
SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS
KLINE & SPECTER, PC
Communications Partner
Catastrophic injury Associate
squirepattonboggs.com
klinespecter.com
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ELIZABETH ESPINOSA
AMANDA MCGOVERN
LAW OFFICE OF ELIZABETH ESPINOSA KRUPA
RIVERO MESTRE LLP
Criminal Defense Owner
Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration Partner
denverfelonies.com
riveromestre.com
JORGE LEON
JORGE A. MESTRE
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP
RIVERO MESTRE LLP
Labor & Employment Partner
Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration Partner
T O P L AT I N O L AW Y E R S 2 0 2 0
michaelbest.com
riveromestre.com
BRIAN MAHANNA
ADRIANA R. MIDENCE
WILMERHALE
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
Regulatory and Government Affairs Partner
Labor and Employment Principal
wilmerhale.com
jacksonlewis.com
RAÚL MAÑÓN
ANGELA Q. NEVAREZ
SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
International Dispute Resolution Partner
Labor and Employment Of Counsel
squirepattonboggs.com
jacksonlewis.com
ELSA MANZANARES
ANDRES OLIVEROS
STINSON LLP
OLIVEROS LAW
International trade Partner
Personal Injury Owner/
stinson.com
oliveroslaw.com
DOROTHY P. MCDERMOTT
JOSÉ OLIVIERI
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP
Labor and Employment Principal
Labor & Employment Relations Managing Partner, Milwaukee Office
jacksonlewis.com
michaelbest.com
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YVETTE OSTOLAZA SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP Commercial Litigation and Disputes, Securities and Shareholder Litigation, White Collar (Government Litigation and Investigations) Partner (Managing partner of Sidley’s Dallas office, a member of the firm wide Management Committee and Executive Committee, and global co-leader of the litigation practice.
ANGEL REYES REYES BROWNE REILLEY Plaintiff's Personal Injury Owner reyeslaw.com
sidley.com
MARLON PAZ
ANDRÉS RIVERO
MAYER BROWN LLP
RIVERO MESTRE LLP
Head of Broker-Dealer (Securities) Practice Partner
Commercial Litigation Partner riveromestre.com
JAVIER PEREZ
MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
PEREZ LAW
MUNCK WILSON MANDALA, LLP
Employment Law Founder and Managing Attorney
Intellectual Property Managing Partner - Austin Office
javierperezlaw.com
munckwilson.com
PAMELA PEYNADO
REGINA RODRIGUEZ
LEE & PEYNADO IMMIGRATION LAW GROUP
WILMERHALE
Immigration Partner
Government & Regulatory Litigation Partner
leelawusa.com
wilmerhale.com
KATHIA PEREIRA
ELIZABETH ROGERS
GWP IMMIGRATION LAW
MICHAEL BEST & FRIEDRICH LLP
Immigration Attorney at Law
Privacy & Cybersecurity Partner
pimmigration.com
T O P L AT I N O L AW Y E R S 2 0 2 0
mayerbrown.com
michaelbest.com
FLORENTINO A. RAMIREZ
ENEIDA ROMAN
RAMIREZ & ASSOCIATES
ROMAN LAW
Business and Investment Based Immigration, International Transactions and Business Formation President
Estate / Real Estate / Small Business Principal eromanlaw.com
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MARIA RUIZ
HECTOR TORRES
KASOWITZ BENSON TORRES LLP
KASOWITZ BENSON TORRES LLP
Commercial Litigation Partner
Antitrust and Complex Civil Litigation Partner
kasowitz.com
kasowitz.com
MARIA SAMPEDRO-IGLESIA
PEDRO JAIME TORRES-DIAZ
MAZE RESOLUTIONS PA
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
Mediation and Arbitration Neutral
Labor and Employment Principal
T O P L AT I N O L AW Y E R S 2 0 2 0
mazeresolutions.com
jacksonlewis.com
MARGARITA R. SÁNCHEZ
YOLANDA TORRES
QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP
LAW FIRM OF YOLANDA V. TORRES
Of Counsel
Family Law Attorney/Owner
quinnemanuel.com
yvtorreslaw.net
JUAN FELIPE SANTOS
EMMANUEL UBINAS
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
JONES DAY
Labor and Employment Principal
White Collar Investigations Partner
jacksonlewis.com
jonesday.com
CAROLINA SOTO
BART VALDES
SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS
DSK LAW
International Dispute Resolution Partner
Business Litigation Partner
squirepattonboggs.com
dsklawgroup.com
ROXANNE TIZRAVESH
KEVIN VELA
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP
VELA WOOD
Litigation Senior Counsel
Corporate Managing Partner
akingump.com
velawoodlaw.com
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TOP LATINO LAWYERS Q&A PROFILE
MEET HOUSTON LAWYER
RAED GONZALEZ LAWYER
Q When and how did you realize you wanted to become a lawyer? A At a previous law firm that I worked many years ago, I was assigned a political asylum PRACTICE case the day before a trial. It involved a ChrisAREAS tian Mennonite in Lebanon, who at the time Immigration faced persecution. I had very little time to • Adjustment of Status prepare. I stayed up all night studying the • Consular facts of the case and pairing them with the Raed has Processing law. In the wee hours of the morning, I realserved as an • Waivers ized that my client’s life was at stake if he was immigration law practitioner for deported to Lebanon. I also realized he had Naturalization almost twenty• Citizenship enough weighty facts and I needed to fight five-years. is • Passports in court to secure him protection. I got ready recognized as and went to trial that morning. I won. After an outstanding Litigation the judge rendered the decision, my client immigration • Administrative litigator and started crying and cheered me along and sudAppeals advocate in • Motions to denly he grabbed my hands and said: “thank the U.S., and Reopen you for saving my life”. Talk about life changhis opinions • Immigration ing moments. I knew that, even though I are respected Courts was still learning it, immigration law is what I and trusted • Board of in the legal wanted to dedicate my professional life to. I Immigration community. Appeals realized I could practice law, helping people He’s a frequent • Circuit Courts in a deeply significant way. Since that day, I contributor to • Supreme Court have only worked on immigration cases the Houston of the United Chronicle. States Q Can you tell us about your career path, how did you get to your current position? then we go ahead and design a legal strategy Q What would you say to young Latinos/as A Before becoming an attorney, I worked in today thinking about pursuing a career as a for the case. customer service. After I became an attorney, I worked as an appellate judge clerk, as lawyer? Why is it so important to increase associate in law firms, as capital partner in Q What has been one of the most rewarding representation in the industry? another until I finally set up shop as a solo moments you have experienced in your A Becoming a lawyer is a huge undertaking in practitioner in 2012. I worked really hard terms of the time commitment, financial career? to scale my practice to the point where we A The most rewarding moment from my career, investment and of your life in general. Law service thousands of clients every year. The school is not easy and passing the bar can be a was my first case before the Supreme Court competitive advantage of my firm? In addidifficult challenge. It is not always fun. Albeit of the United States, Dada vs. Mukasey, tion to the legal and technical knowledge, of it places you in a unique position where you which compelled the DHS to change their course, I have to say that honesty set me aside can help individuals, groups, and organizarules regarding withdrawals of some forms tions with their legal problems and further a from others. My firm’s policy is to inform of relief in court and voluntary departures. greater good. Having said that let me state, if clients whether we can help them or not, the Knowing that our insistence on how the law you like to advocate for rights of others and if risks in doing so and possible outcomes in needed to be applied in that case made a difference for our client and for individuals simyou like to help others, then, go for it! It is an a changing legal scheme, because that is the ilarly situated is a reward like none other. I amazing ride after all is said and done. personal standard I am known for. We tell have three other Supreme Court victories. I clients the truth of their cases and what we trust there will be more. are really able to do for them- then and only WINTER EDITION 2020 LATINO LEADERS 39
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TOP LATINO LAWYERS Q&A PROFILE
Q&A Q What has been one of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced in your career?
MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ Managing partner of Munck Wilson Mandala’s Austin office. He is part of the technology & intellectual property law group.
A In addition to being the managing partner of MWM’s Austin office, I’m also a decorated Navy veteran, onetime pro-baseball hopeful, Hispanic community advocate, and father of three adopted children. While these experiences undoubtedly help craft me into the attorney I am today, it’s the positivity and passion I encounter with my clients every day that I find the most rewarding. I constantly meet people who are pursuing their dreams – and I love being an integral part to bring those visions to reality. For most lawyers, you’re approached after a negative experience: somebody wrongs them or has filed suit. But I’ve discovered with patent law, when I meet clients for the first time, they have hope and ambition; there is happiness of the horizon and joy in the successes when I help them stay moving upward. One of the standout examples of the lifechanging success that comes with dreams realized came when I was fortunate enough to witness a client – for whom I wrote a couple of patents – recently sell his interest in the company that resulted in the client becoming a millionaire.
M
Q What would you say to young Latinas today ichael's practice emphasizes patent and trademark prepathinking about pursuing a career as a lawration and prosecution and includes domestic and interyer? Why is it so important to increase repnational patent procurement and enforcement; analysis of resentation in the industry? infringement and invalidity in support of litigation. He also A Be adamant in your pursuit of greatness. I’m counsels clients on copyright and trademark enforcement forever grateful that my father put such emand compliance. Michael’s clients work in a variety of indusphasis on pursuing a college degree and being tries, including construction, electronics, retail, restaurant, persistent through adversity. This is one of the telecommunications, pet-care, vehicle manufacturing, and primary factors driving my passionate support of energy. Michael has experience prosecuting and defending reexaminations Austin’s Hispanic community and programs like in a variety of technical areas including power electronic devices, computer Con Mi Madre, which empowers young Latisoftware, and semiconductor devices. He is an officer in the United States nas and their mothers through education. EdNavy Reserves, having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander. ucation is the biggest ticket out of low-income circumstances – it equips you with the tools to be successful and help lift others up on the REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE way. Many Latinas are innately gifted in math, sciences and STEM-focused studies. For these women to pursue a law degree – particularly as a • Responsible for domestic patent procurement for major patent attorney – is an exceptional feat and one telecommunications equipment manufacturer. I’m hopeful many more will strive to obtain. To • Represented numerous technology clients to successfully obtain domestic and blaze their trails in a nontraditional career like international patent protection for hundreds of inventions in varied technologies. patent law effectively makes these diverse women unicorns in a field of horses. Creating space • Represented Navy Veteran to successfully resolve Uniformed Services Rights and for unique and different perspectives, experiencReemployment Act claim against a real estate franchise. es, backgrounds, talents and interests, diversity • Represented small business owner to successfully resolve copyright infringement and inclusion within the field of law translates claim against a regional. competitor. to better service for clients and greater opportunity for diverse communities to thrive. 40 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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TOP LATINO LAWYERS Q&A PROFILE
Q&A WITH TOP LAWYERS
CHRISTINE M. HERNÁNDEZ Q Can you tell us about your career path, how did you get to your current position? A I was told at every step of the way, that I was crazy, I would never make any money, and I would not be able to find clients. I met my husband in law school and we were quite the team, and still are. After our second year of law school, he decided that we were going to open our own law firm. We worked 24/7, but it was all worth it. We were able to grow our practice by being honest and willing to take on tough cases. We have built a strong reputation in the Latinx community for our honesty and heartfelt desire of keeping families together. Q What has been one of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced in your career? A In August of 2019, 12 years after opening the law firm, we purchased a building for the law firm, but not just any building. We purchased the Smith Mansion which is a designated historical landmark in Denver, Colorado. To have built the largest immigration practice in the state, own a piece of Denver’s history, and be Latino owned and operated, has been so uplifting for our Latinx community, especially during the last four years. Q What would you say to young Latina/os today thinking about pursuing a career as a lawyer? Why is it so important to increase representation in the industry? A There is such a concentration of attorneys in urban areas, I would encourage young Latinx law students to consider career opportunities in the rural areas.
ARNULFO D. HERNÁNDEZ Q When and how did you realize you wanted to become a lawyer? A To use a cliché, the profession chose me… I simply gave in. I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Education, I decided, was the means. The practice of law was my response. Q Can you tell us about your career path, how did you get to your current position? A My current position is that of Managing Partner. As a fifth-generation business owner this is a role that I was groomed for from a very early age. Understanding the practical dynamics of business management provided me with a solid foundation to establish a law firm. Proper encouragement was all that was needed. That came in the form of Christine. She was quick to remind me of the “why.” Why did I decide to attend law school... We have not looked back since. My practice is principally focused in the area where immigration law and criminal defense collide – crimmigration. Q What would you say to young Latina/os today thinking about pursuing a career as a lawyer? Why is it so important to increase representation in the industry? A Don’t waiver. Don’t relent. Don’t give up. Obstacles will be placed in your path. But, this is bigger than you. Your community needs you. We need you. We need your voice, your passion and most importantly your leadership.
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TOP LATINO LAWYERS Q&A PROFILE
ANNIE MARTÍNEZ Q Can you tell us about your career path, how did you get to your current position? A When I was in law school I knew I didn’t want to stay in Florida and I wanted to move out west and chose Colorado for where I was going to take the bar and practice. I always knew I wanted to do defense minded work and focus on correcting inequities in the legal system one client at a time. I have been working a combination of juvenile family and criminal law since graduation. It’s where I feel I am the most helpful to people going through some of the worst periods of their lives. Q What would you say to young Latinas today thinking about pursuing a career as a lawyer? Why is it so important to increase representation in the industry? A I would say go for it and don’t look back. Find support and be tough. Latinos face many barriers in accessing justice. From misinformation, police profiling, language barriers and immigrations fears, our gente are kept from justice everyday. Nuestra comunidad needs us to help them navigate these systems in a way that only we can.
PROFILE:
https://bridgelegalsolutions.com
• Annie Martinez is the founding attorney of Bridge Water Solutions, specializing in defense- the defense of juveniles, parents, adults & families.
MIGUEL DOMINGUEZ Q Can you tell us about your career path, how did you get to your current position? A My path was long and hard, but one of the experiences I always include as an instrumental part of my development as an attorney was my career as a mental health professional before attending law school. My first career after college was as a social worker serving the mentally ill homeless in Atlanta. I was also a counselor on Georgia’s suicide hotline. It was these early years in mental health that provided the training I needed to communicate persuasively with tact, empathy and compassion. After law school, I served as a law clerk at the Georgia Court of Appeals, opened up my own practice as a criminal defense attorney, became a state prosecutor, practiced civil defense litigation and finally became a plaintiff ’s lawyer. Q What has been one of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced in your career? A When you handle this profession as the privilege that it is and become a good steward over the responsibilities and blessings it bestows upon you, the rewarding moments are abundant. As a prosecutor, I was able to make such a significant impact on people’s lives by giving individuals accused of a crime a second chance at life, exonerating an innocent person, or creatively structuring a sentence that helps a person turn it all around and become a productive member of society.
PROFILE:
www.forthepeople.com
• Miguel Dominguez is one of the. 600 trial-ready attorneys in Morgan & Morgan practicing in areas such as Civil Rights, Civil Trial Litigation, and Medical Malpractice.
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L AW YERS TO KEEP ON THE WATCH This year, we accepted nominations for Top Latino Lawyers that we should keep on the watch. Meaning, these young lawyers have an impressive background, successful work and have been involved deeply within their community. STEPHEN ABREU SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP Technology, IP Transactions Partner sidley.com
TICO ALMEIDA WILMERHALE Investigations, Criminal Litigation Counsel wilmerhale.com
Stephen serves as a Board Member for community-based organization For People of Color, Inc. (FPOC). FPOC has provided free, high-quality law school admissions consulting services to thousands of prospective law school applicants. Stephen also provides general oversight as a group member of University of California Santa Cruz’ Technology Transfer Advisory. Almeida currently works as part of a WilmerHale pro bono team of lawyers representing the United Farm Workers (“UFW”) union in a legal challenge to Trump Administration proposals that would roll back workplace protections for both U.S. Latino workers as well as Mexican guest workers in the agricultural industry across the United States. Mr. Almeida is also a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
SONIA ANDERSON (RAMIREZ)
LAWYERS TO KEEP ON THE WATCH
HUSCH BLACKWELL, LLP Employment Associate
Sonia was Chair of the Judge Adam Espinosa Dream Team this past year. She was also part of the Center For Legal Inclusiveness Charity Gala Committee and a mentor at Law School Yes We CanShe is currently the Co-Editor of the National Employment Law Council Newsletter.
huschblackwell.com
JAVIER BECERRA PRIMERICA Advertsiement Assistant General Counsel
Javier is President of the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, Co-President of Echelon ATL, National Director of Expansion for Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc., and Chair of the Corporate Counsel Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of the Georgia State Bar.
primerica.com
JENNIFER BLASCO PARKER, HUDSON, RAINER & DOBBS LLP Commercial Real Estate Associate
Jennifer is the current Vice President of the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association and was previously Secretary . She is also a volunteer at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.
phrd.com
MELISSA COLÓN-BOSOLET SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP Commercial disputes, class action Partner
Melissa maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented families of children with disabilities in need of special education support and services. She was also previously recognized for her efforts to protect prisoners from violence and physical abuse.
sidley.com
MELINDA COX PARKER IBRAHIM & BERG LLP Commercial Litigation Partner piblaw.com
ALFREDO FERNANDEZ SHIPMAN & GOODWIN LLP Environmental Associate shipmangoodwin.com
AMBER GONZALES ARMSTRONG TEASDALE LLP Commercial litigation, trademark law Associate armstrongteasdale.com
IRVIN HERNANDEZ GREENBERG TRAURIG Products Liability Associate gtlaw.com
Melinda was the latest President of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey. She is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association. (Diversity, Professional Ethics, and Leadership Academy Committees) and the New Jersey Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee. She is also a volunteer and supporter of the New Jersey Food Bank. Alfredo is Board Member and Past President of Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association. He was also a Board Member of the Compass Youth Collaborative, Inc and a Volunteer Judge at the Connecticut Invention Convention. He has been a volunteer at the Special Olympics of Connecticut and has done Pro Bono work with the Statewide Legal Services of CT, Inc. Hartford Public Library. Amber currently serves as the Secretary of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. She previously served as Treasurer and chair of the Young Lawyers Division. In addition, Amber mentors through the Law School, Yes We Can! Program and volunteers for Denver County Judge Adam Espinosa’s Dream Team. She also serves as a volunteer for the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association Small Business Legal Clinic. Irvin is a Member of the American Bar Association. He currenlty volunteers with the AVLF Saturday Lawyer Programand Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Atlanta Intown Chapter. He is the Director of Communications, Georgia Hispanic Bar Association and mentors in the Latin American Association, High School Mentoring Program. 46 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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CHAD JIMENEZ BALLARD SPAHR LLP Commercial Litigation Associate ballardspahr.com
RICARDO LOPEZ PARKER, HUDSON, RAINER & DOBBS LLP Health Care Associate phrd.com
Chad is currenlty on the board of Denver Film. He was Chair of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association's Nominations & Endorsements Committee, Vice-Chair of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association's Nominations & Endorsements Committee, and Young Professional Board Member for Latin American Education Foundation. Ricardo is a former President of the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Ricardo also serves on the Latin American Association's Advocacy Committee, and is a frequent volunteer attorney with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, where he represents individuals on a pro bono basis in disputes with landlords.
LAURA LOPEZ NICKERSON HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions Associate Attorney
Laura is part of the President's Council of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and serves on the Nominations Committee for the University of Denver - Sturm College of Law. She also mentors the Law School Yes and is a Board Member of the Colorado Pledge to Diversity.
hklaw.com
JOANNA MACMILLAN CONSTANGY, BROOKS, SMITH & PROPHETE, LLP Labor & Employment Senior Counsel
LOANA MARTIN SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS Energy & Natural Resources Senior Associate squirepattonboggs.com
Loana is a member of the DC Hispanic Bar Association and a mentor to Latino law students. She also provides pro bono legal services to the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project’s Spanish speaking clients seeking protection orders from their abusers.Loana is a member of the New York State Bar, the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid.
ANNIE MARTÍNEZ BRIDGE LEGAL SOLUTIONS Dependency, Neglect, Juvenile Delinquency Principal Attorney
Annie is President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association.
bridgelegalsolutions.com
H. RACHAEL MILLION-PEREZ WILMERHALE Intellectual Property Litigation Senior Associate wilmerhale.com
CHRISTINE RODRIGUEZ KASOWITZ BENSON TORRES LLP Commercial Litigation Associate kasowitz.com
JAKE RODRIGUEZ AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP Investment Management Associate akingump.com
Rachael serves as the co-chair of the Latinx Diversity affinity group at WilmerHale. In that role, she aims to connect Latinx attorneys across the firm for both social and professional development by facilitating virtual and in-person opportunities to meet as well as circulating Latinx-related opportunities to further advance our Latinx community at the firm. She also serves on the Western Regional Diversity Committee and the Denver Diversity Committee for WilmerHale. Christine has become a role model and mentor to the next generation of attorneys, including Latinx and diverse students at Brooklyn Law School. As a Brooklyn Law School Alumni Advisor, Christine serves as a mentor, coach, and a sounding board for Brooklyn Law School students seeking advice on a number of topics. Christine is also committed to providing pro bono legal services to underserved communities.
LAWYERS TO KEEP ON THE WATCH
constangy.com
Jake is an active member of the Columbia Law School Latinx Law Students Association (CLS LaLSA) alumni network, which strives to promote understanding of the Latinx community by sponsoring academic, professional, cultural, social, and community service activities for its members as well as Columbia Law School's general student body, faculty, and alumni.
SYLMARIE TRUJILLO RIVERO MESTRE LLP Commercial Litigation Associate
Sylmarie is an active member of the Miami-Dade County Advisory Board—Commission for Women, and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers—Miami Dade Chapter.
riveromestre.com
ANDREW VOUZIERS SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP Finance Partner sidley.com
ANDRÉS ZAMBRANO AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP Corporate Associate akingump.com
At Sidley, Andrew coordinates Hispanic lawyers, organizing lunches, Zoom calls and mentorships. With a cohort from other large firms, he promotes and fosters dialogue across diverse communities in the Chicago legal sector. This year, Andrew spearheaded Sidley’s high-profile Hispanic Heritage Roundtable featuring prominent Hispanic and Latinx business leaders, including the chairman of United Airlines. Andrés is a member of the firm’s Latinx Firm Resource Group, which facilitates discussion and information sharing for Latinx communities focused on the recruitment, retention, professional development of Latinx lawyers. He also plays an active role in fostering an inclusive workplace by serving as a mentor to junior associates in his group and as a lateral ambassador for attorneys who join Akin Gump from other law firms. WINTER EDITION 2020 LATINO LEADERS 47
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE AMERICA
The following is our compilation of those Latinos and Latinas
who have a relevant position in a F1000 index of companies. We are including all those who held a C-Suite position, report directly to the Chief Executive Officer or are in the inner circle of the governance of the company. Some of them hold positions that are the international or global operation of their company, others are executives, whose role in the company is key to it. This list is full of names that mean a great deal of hard work, commitment, vision, team building and good decisions. It is our privilege to be able to write about them. All of them a fantastically talented individuals. There are only 155, representing only 2.5% of the C-Suite and Senior Vice President positions available on the F1000 company index. That’s far behind of where we should be. If we only take the percentage of Latinos in the general population, the number should be at least 18%, meaning 1,080 Latinos and Latinas in these level of positions in F1000 companies. But in some cases that number should go even higher if we consider the percentage of Hispanic customers or users of these company’s services and products. Our mission and intention is not only to celebrate the tremendous achievement of all these 155 leaders, but also encourage others to advance to higher positions in their organizations and make the leaders of them, aware of the talent and substance that Latinos could bring to their operations. We think that the future is going to demand more inclusion and diversity, so many more Latinos are going to be needed and hired. Yes, we’re optimistic but we’d love to have our next year’s list with a significant increase on names and titles. And that is a terrific goal for 2021.
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LATINOS
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
IN CORPORATE A THOROUGH account of all the Latinos in Corporate America. From years of experience to emerging corporate leaders, this list includes Vice Presidents, Directors, Managers, and Chief Executives. Our team worked together to gather all distinguishing information of all Latinos counted for in this listing.
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Avangrid
DENNIS ARRIOLA CEO
New York, NY
Appointed to the position of CEO of AVANGRID in July 2020. With more than 25 years in the energy sector, Arriola joined AVANGRID from Sempra Energy where he was Executive Vice President and Group President and Chief Sustainability Officer. Throughout his career, he has held a variety of leadership positions in gas and electric utilities as well as renewables, including Chairman and CEO of Southern California Gas Co., and Chief Financial Officer of SunPower Corp., San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co. Dennis holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University. Dennis is on the boards of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Auto Club Enterprises and recently served as Chairman of the Board for the California Latino Economic Institute. He previously served as Chairman of the California Business Roundtable and on the board of the United Way – Greater Los Angeles.
Costco Wholesale (14)
RICHARD CHAVEZ Senior Vice President-Business Development
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Richard has been employed by Costco Wholesale since 1984. He is responsible for early Costco start-up as General Merchandise Manager for hardlines, food & sundries and fresh foods (Seattle based). Other responsabilities have included Costco’s entry into the Northeast market (Boston, MA and Sterling, VA based) as VP, General Merchandise Manager and as VP, Northeast Operations (warehouse operations) together with Costco’s entry into Asia (Tokyo, Japan based) as SVP & Managing Director. He works closely with all international divisions (Canada, Mexico, UK, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland and China) to ensure proper start-up and on-going profitability of retail departments and their local manufacturing operations. He oversees 3,500 employees and is responsible for $18 Billion in sales.
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"Understand your personal values and goals of the company you work for. Then work harder and smarter than everyone else. Be the best teacher and leader you can be--not just the best Latino leader."
Microsoft (21)
VICTOR CASALINO
expanded his corporate responsibilities to include the Venture Integration (VI) function at Microsoft. The VI team is responsible for preserving and enhancing deal value through due diligence and integration work for Microsoft's acquisitions. Previously, Victor was the Area CFO for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) from February 2011 through Jun 2016. Victor provided financial leadership to nine Microsoft subsidiaries in 79 countries. Victor commenced his career with Microsoft in 1996 as Controller in the local Peruvian office. Prior to joining Microsoft, Victor spent three years with Warner-Lambert, a pharmaceutical company, in different finance roles.
Fannie Mae (24)
ELCIO BARCELOS Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Minneapolis, MN
Barcelos is the key advisor to senior management on all human capital issues and sets the HR agenda that enables Fannie Mae to meet strategic goals and objectives. He leads HR service delivery in the areas of human capital planning, organization and talent development, and compensation and benefits, and provides direct business support through the HR business partners, recruiting, and employee services groups. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at DXC Technology, an end-to-end IT services company created by the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation and Hewlett Packard’s Enterprise Services business. Having joined Hewlett-Packard in 2009, Barcelos was the Senior Vice President, Global Head of Human Resources for Enterprise Services at the time of the merger and launch of DXC Technology, and played a key role in the successful integration of the two organizations.
Anthem (29)
JOHN GALLINA Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
With more than 35 years of leadership experience, he oversees all finance and actuarial functions, inclusive of procurement and corporate real estate. Previously, Gallina served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Commercial and Specialty Business Division; Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Chief Risk Officer; Senior Vice President, Internal Audit and Continuous Improvement; and Chief Financial Officer of Comprehensive Health Services. Before joining Anthem, he was an Audit Senior Manager at Coopers & Lybrand.
Americas CFO
Redmond, WA
Victor leads the finance function for United States, Latin America, and Canada regions. He provides finance and strategic leadership to the most dynamic and largest geography for Microsoft. Prior to taking on his current role, Victor was the General Manager and CFO for Microsoft's Core Services Engineering and Operations (CSEO). In 2018, Victor
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Valero Energy (32)
JULIA RENDON REINHART Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration
San Antonio, TX
Target (37)
RICK GOMEZ Chief Marketing, Digital and Strategy Officer
Minneapolis, MN
Rick joined Target in 2013 as senior vice president of brand and category marketing, where he led marketing efforts across all merchandise categories and seasonal campaigns like holiday and back to school. He was named chief marketing officer in 2017, overseeing all of Target’s marketing and media strategy, creative, guest research, loyalty, and corporate responsibility efforts. In 2019, Rick was named head of Target’s e-commerce business and digital strategy, and later that year assumed leadership of Target’s enterprise strategy team. Prior to Target, he served as vice president of brand marketing at MillerCoors. He also held multiple leadership roles at PepsiCo, including chief marketing officer of the non-carbonated beverage portfolio. Rick began his career in brand management at the Quaker Oats Company.
Raytheon Technologies (39)
FRANK JIMENEZ General Counsel
Jimenez’s career includes legal leadership positions in military agencies, civil government and public companies in the private sector. Most recently he was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Raytheon Company prior to its merger with United Technologies Corporation in 2020. Jimenez previously served as general counsel of three S&P 500 companies, including ITT Corp. and Bunge Ltd. Before that, he served as the 21st General Counsel of the Navy, where he was one of seven Senate-confirmed Pentagon civilians of four-star equivalent rank overseeing the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. He was also the deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and deputy chief of staff to the governor of Florida.
Freddie Mac (41)
RICARDO ANZALDUA Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
McLean, VA
Anzaldua oversees all legal and regulatory strategies, services and resources and manages all corporate governance matters. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Anzaldua was executive vice president and general counsel of MetLife, Inc., where, from 2012 to 2017, he was responsible for the company’s global legal operations, global compliance and government relations. From 2007 to 2012, he held senior positions in the legal department of the Hartford Financial Services Group. Before attending Harvard, Anzaldua served as publications director and senior editor at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego, where he pursued graduate studies in history.
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Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer
St. Louis, MO
Marcela oversees all strategic communications for the company, including the planning and development of programs that effectively describe and promote Centene, its services, and its products, also all media and public relations across the Centene enterprise. She also manages the Centene Charitable Foundation, which makes substantial contributions to initiatives that improve the quality of life and health in our communities. Marcela has more than 20 years of experience in economic research, analysis, and strategic communications. Prior to joining Centene, she was Vice President, Public Affairs for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis leading the external communications, industry relations, and public outreach functions for the bank, headquartered in St. Louis and serving all of Arkansas and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. "Make sure you are continuously learning and developing yourself so you are prepared when opportunities become available."
United Parcel Service (43)
JUAN PEREZ Chief Information Officer, Chief Engineering Officer
Atlanta, GA
Juan is responsible for all technology and engineering functions. He was appointed to his current role in 2017 after having served as Chief Information Officer since 2016. Previously, Juan was Vice President of Technology. Through different rotations in that role. His career has included assignments in Operations, Industrial Engineering, Process Management, and Technology in Corporate, U.S., and International business units. He currently manages a budget of over $6 billion between Engineering and IT. His Engineering responsibilities include Industrial, Buildings and Systems, and Automotive Engineering. Juan holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an MS in Computer and Manufacturing Engineering, from the University of Southern California. "A diverse workforce is crucial to companies trying to understand the needs of their diverse customers. Diversity brings more ideas to the table and accelerates innovation within an organization.
United Parcel Service (43)
EDUARDO MARTINEZ President, The UPS Foundation & Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Atlanta, GA
Martinez is responsible for the operations and management of the Foundation's global philanthropic, employee engagement, and corporate relations programs, which invests in more
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“Shaking up the status quo takes more than good intentions, good faith efforts and good hiring practices. It takes structure and leadership focused on building organizations where diversity is not a problem to be fixed … but an opportunity to be captured."
PepsiCo (51)
RAMON LAGUARTA Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
Dallas, TX
Ramon became CEO in 2018 after his predecessor Indra Nooyi stepped down. Before joining PepsiCo he worked at Chupa Chups, a candy company based in Spain known for its lollipops. His first role was in the company’s European business, and in 2014 became the CEO of the entire Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) sector. Laguarta was named president of PepsiCo in September 2017. Between 2015 and 2017, Ramon served as Chief Executive Officer of the sector formerly known as Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), one of PepsiCo’s most complex businesses, with responsibility for leading the company’s beverage, food and snacks business in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Archer Daniels Midland (54)
JUAN LUCIANO Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, President
Chicago, IL
Luciano joined ADM in 2011 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was named president in February 2014, and in January 2015 became the ninth chief executive in ADM’s 112-year history. He became chairman of the board in January 2016. Under Luciano’s leadership, ADM has undergone a remarkable evolution, building on more than a century of heritage to create a global nutrition business, with an industry-leading array of ingredients and solutions that are opening the door to growth opportunities in key global macro trend areas. He has spearheaded the increased use of innovative technologies to meet customer needs, and led a strategic growth campaign that has expanded ADM’s global footprint, building capabilities and adding talent and expertise that allow it to create value at every part of the global value chain. Before joining ADM, Luciano had a successful 25-year tenure at The Dow Chemical Company, where he last served as executive vice
president and president of the Performance division. Luciano holds an industrial engineering degree from the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology. "Always approach things with a learning mindset, seeking an opportunity to improve myself, and also to make a contribution."
Lockheed Martin (57)
DEAN ACOSTA SVP Communications
Bethesda, MD
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
MARCELA HAWN
than 4,300 organizations and communities across 170 countries. In addition, Martinez also serves as the UPS Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, with responsibilities for the advancement of diversity and inclusion programs that empower more than 440,000 UPS employees. He served as corporate legal counsel in the UPS Legal Department until 2007, where his practice included commercial transactions, intellectual property, and information technology matters, as well as civil litigation. Prior to assuming the position as President, he served as Director of Philanthropy and Corporate Relations for the UPS Foundation. He joined UPS in 1976 as a package handler in UPS’s South Florida operation, where he subsequently entered the management ranks in the company’s operations and the industrial engineering functions.
Acosta has been with the company since May 2019 and his responsibilities include overseeing the corporation’s media relations, executive and employee communications, marketing communications, community relations and visual communications strategies and programs.He has almost three decades of experience in communications and journalism, with much of it spent leading corporate communications teams, in the technology, energy and aerospace and defense sectors. Most recently, he served as vice president and chief communications officer for Resideo.Prior to that Acosta was vice president of Global Communications for two of Honeywell’s businesses, and he also served as Phillips 66’s global head of Corporate Communications. He also served as press secretary for NASA in the aftermath of the space shuttle Columbia disaster and through the shuttle program’s return to flight.
Lockheed Martin (57)
ROBERT S RANGEL SVP Government Affairs
Bethesda, M
Robert directs the corporation’s liaison with Congress, leads marketing activities with the Pentagon and manages federal, state and local government customer relationships. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Rangel served as the special assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense from June 2005 to June 2011, for two Secretaries of Defense during two administrations. In this position, equivalent to a civilian agency Chief of Staff, Rangel advised the Secretary of Defense and ensured execution on all matters pertaining to Department of Defense operations, defense policy, strategy, budget, programs, personnel and organizational issues. In 2010, Rangel chaired the Secretary of Defense Efficiencies Task Force which developed and implemented recommendations to eliminate $50 billion in defense overhead and duplicative programs. Rangel also served on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee for over 18 years in a variety of positions.
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Centene (42)
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Goldman Sachs Group (60)
Coca-Cola (88)
World Fuel Services (91)
ALBERTO REALES
PETER VILLEGAS
AMY QUINTANA
Vice President, Marketing Analytics
Vice President & Head of Latin Afairs
VP, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary
New York, NY
Prior to his role in Goldman Sachs, Alberto was the Director of Social Media Analytics and Insights at Nickelodeon where he worked in collaboration with franchise and marketing teams to increase growth and lead record breaking social viewrship and engagement. Alberto was previously working with NBCUniversal Media on their Social Media Analytics and Research team. He managed all insights and and worked closely with all senior leadership internally.
United Airlines Holdings (76)
OSCAR MUÑOZ Executive Chairman
Chicago, IL
Muñoz previously served as chief executive of United Airlines. His tenure as CEO of United Airlines began in September 2015. Prior to his role at United Airlines, Munoz served on the board of parent company United Continental Holdings (UCH) and held multiple executive positions at CSX Corporation and AT&T. Munoz was previously regional vice president of finance and administration for Coca-Cola Co. and held various financial positions at PepsiCo Inc. He joined the CSX Corporation in 2003 as chief financial officer and chief of strategy. "We will be wiser and more successful when leaders across business, government, and academia reflect America's own great diversity."
Atlanta, GA
Peter serves as a national spokesman for the company, developing and managing the execution of local, regional and national strategies that position Coca-Cola as a leading corporate citizen in the U.S. Hispanic community. Peter is also a member of the Coca-Cola North America Executive Leadership Team and the Coca-Cola Social Justice Committee. Peter’s responsibilities include managing relationships with key local, state and national Hispanic political, community, business and civic leaders. Recognized as a regional and national corporate leader, Peter has wide-ranging knowledge of various corporate, civic, political, and community issues and initiatives, totaling 27 years of experience in corporate America. “What got you here, won’t get you there. You have to continue to expand your knowledge, skill set and tactfulness as you grow in your career."
Tech Data (90)
ARLENE QUINONES Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Clearwater, FL
Miami, FL
AbbVie (99)
RICHARD GONZALEZ Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
Chicago, IL
Prior to AbbVie’s separation from Abbott in January 2013, Gonzalez was a 30-year Abbott veteran. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Abbott before briefly retiring in 2007. He also held various senior leadership positions in Abbott’s medical products businesses, including President and Chief Operating Officer of the Medical Products Group; Senior Vice President and President of the former Hospital Products Division; Vice President and President of the Health Systems Division; and Divisional Vice President and General Manager for Diagnostics Operations in the United States and Canada. Gonzalez has been a long-standing leader in the greater Chicago community where he is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and represents AbbVie on their Civic Committee.
3M (103)
MANUEL B. PARDO
Tech Data (90)
Chief Financial Officer
PABLO ZURZOLO
St Paul, MN
Vice President, Marketing
Clearwater, FL
Coca-Cola (88)
CHS (105)
BEATRIZ PEREZ Chief Sustainability Officer
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Atlanta, GA
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Bea created and now drives a global Sustainability strategy that’s growing the business while making a positive difference for people, communities and the environment. The strategy is helping the Coca-Cola System to economically empower 5 million women, replenish 100% of the water it uses and ensure consumers find the energy balance that’s right for them. Bea is also leading the System’s efforts to integrate Sustainability deeper into the business so that it’s embedded in how Coca-Cola operates. Prior to becoming Coca-Cola’s first CSO, Bea served as the Chief Marketing Officer for the company’s North American Division. She helped bring brands to life for consumers by developing strategic partnerships with NASCAR, PGA, NBA, LeBron James, American Idol, the OSCARS, Ryan Seacrest and others. Bea and her team created the Coca-Cola Racing Family as part of their award-winning Motorsports marketing platform, which launched Coca-Cola as the Official Soft Drink of NASCAR. They also created the Coke Digital Network, an innovation in how companies engaged and communicated with consumers.
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World Fuel Services (91)
FERNANDO CASADEVALL Chief Human Resources Officer
United Arab Emirates
Fernando is responsible for all HR matter across the Group including Compensation, Benefits, Recruitment, Talent, HR Operations, and HR Business Partners. Prior to WFS, he was CHRO for Qatar Airways from 2016 until 2019. Qatar Airways operates one of the largest Airline groups in the world with operations in 75+ Countries and 60,000+ employees. Addtionally, Fernando worked at the Al-Futtaim’s Group Companies from 2013 until 2016 as Retail -Group HR Director. Fernando began his career at Citibank in 2000 to help set-up the HR function across various internet groups including Retail Banking and Payments. Before joining Citi, Fernando held broad HR Generalist assignments with the Investment Banking firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg now a part of Goldman Sachs, and with Sony Entertainment. He earned a Master of Arts in Human Resources Development from Fordham University; and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona.
JAVIER ALARCON Senior Vice President of Finance, Segment Chief Financial Officer, Global Grain Marketing
Inver Grove Heights, MN
Javier is a business partner and strategic adviser to the Ag Business Senior Leadership Team and other key operating executives such as the CFO and other members of the leadership team. Javier provides focus on capital allocation and critical business levers to drive profitable growth, drives efficiency, process excellence, and analytical capability to support business decisions, and participates actively in the development and execution of strategic plans.
Philip Morris International (107)
JORGE LEZIN Regional Vice President Sales Marketing
Richmond, VA
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FRANK JIMENEZ
LUIS VILARIN
ERIKA HURTADO DUPONT
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Vice President, Associate General Counsel
Vice President Human Resources
Waltham, MA
Frank became the 21st General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Navy on September 25, 2006, following his nomination by George W. Bush and confirmation by the United States Senate. He served at the Navy after the change in administrations on January 20, 2009 until April 30, 2009 when he resigned to become Vice President and General Counsel at ITT Corporation. As the General Counsel of the Navy, Jimenez managed over 600 attorneys worldwide, helped to oversee the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and advised senior Navy and Marine Corps officials on litigation, acquisition, fiscal, environmental, property, personnel, legislative, and ethics issues.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (109)
ANTONIO NERI President & Chief Executive Officer
San Francisco, CA
During his more than 25 years at the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Antonio has held numerous leadership positions. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of HPE’s Enterprise Group, which included the company’s Server, Networking, Storage and Technology Services business units. Prior to HPE’s separation from HP, Antonio ran HP’s Server and Networking business, where he was responsible for bringing new innovations to market and the execution of the go-to-market strategy. Before that, Antonio led HP’s Technology Services business, which provided technology support and consulting services for HP’s products and solutions. Antonio spent the earlier part of his career in various engineering and leadership roles in HP’s Printing and Personal Systems business units.
New York, NY
Luis is a champion of technology. He specialize in sophisticated international transactions for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with significant experience in outsourcing, intellectual property, and licensing. Luis joined Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2004 and has been part of the company for over 16 years.
MARCELO PRADO Vice President Marketing
Waltham, MA
Marcelo carries a deep expertise in Commercial, Marketing and Strategy, working for global B2B companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, GE and Accenture. He's experienced in leading global teams in areas such as Marketing, Demand Generation, Strategy, Analytics and Pricing. Marcelo has had the opportunity to work in a diverse set of Industries and in different countries as well. Marcelo is mostly motivated by continuously being challenged to improve, to learn, each and every day, and to work with smart people.
Duke Energy (123)
SARAH ANNA SANTOS Senior Counsel
Charlotte, NC
Baker Hughes (129)
SANTÍAGO VÍCTOR REDONDO
JEFFREY CHAVEZ Centennial, CO
Aflac (146)
INES GUTZMER Vice President Strategic Communications, Corporate Communications
Atlanta, GA
Ines is an award-winning, global communications and public relations professional with + 18 years of broad-based experience in a variety of industries and sectors such as Consumer/B2C in companies and organizations like Best Buy, Panama Tourism Board, French Tourism Board, Melia Hotels, and Procter & Gamble. She also carries experience in Tech/B2B in in companies such as Equifax, Acxiom, IBM, and Xerox.
Lennar (147)
DANETTE ALFONSO Deputy General Counsel
Miami, FL
Houston, TX
Vice President Corporate Marketing
Monroe, LA
Thermo Fisher Scientific (119)
Chief Financial Officer
Arrow Electronics (110)
United Natural Foods (133)
STEPHANIE SOTO Senior Vice President Human Resources
Providence, RI
Joined Lennar Corporation in 2006. She directs a team of attorneys and acts as strategic legal advisor to various lines of business, including the Company’s homebuilding, mortgage lending and title and escrow subsidiaries. Alfonso manages national litigation in various areas including real estate, mortgage banking, escrow, construction, personal injury, and contract law, among others. In her role, she is also responsible for formulating and implementing the Company’s labor and employment policies and procedures, including its Associate Reference Guide and Code of Conduct, as well as overseeing employment litigation nationally. Previously, Alfonso was an associate at Holland & Knight, LLP focusing on commercial litigation. "By encouraging a diverse pool of talent, companies ultimately win both economically and culturally. Diversity of employees leads to new and exciting ideas and maybe even better ways of doing things."
McDonald's (156)
DAVID TOVAR Vice President, U.S. Communications
Arrow Electronics (110)
Chicago, IL
STEPHANIE DURA Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Finance
Centennial, CO
Southwest Airlines (141)
JUAN SUAREZ Managing Director, Deputy General Counsel
Dallas, TX
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 57
CenturyLink (143)
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Bristol-Myers Squibb (115)
David oversees strategic internal and external communications efforts to support business growth. This work includes franchisee, executive and employee communications, reputation-building efforts, issues management and large-scale public relations campaign execution. David prides himself on building and maintaining strong teams that are thoughtful, creative and effective in how they contribute to the realization of business goals.
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Raytheon (108)
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Prior to McDonald’s, David served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications for Sprint. He joined Sprint in 2015 after eight years serving numerous communications roles at Walmart. David was Director of Corporate and Government Affairs for Kraft Foods, Inc. There, he led a team that managed all corporate and government affairs activities for Kraft’s North American snacks, cereals, cheese, dairy and beverage sectors.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (159)
ALBAN MIRANDA Chief Financial Officer, Asset Management
Synchrony Financial (170)
JOSHUA MALDONADO Vice President, Marketing Platforms Leader
Stamford, CT
Joshua has been with Synchrony Financial for more than five years. Previously, he was a technology leader in GE Capital , a quality assurance analyst in Epiq Systems, and a support analysts in Direct Energy.
science and technology unit at BBVA. He led teams working on artificial intelligence, data and privacy, and decentralized protocols; spun out five companies; and served as Head of BBVA San Francisco. Jose also ran PayPal's Spanish South American business and drove the company's strategic agenda in Emerging Markets. Before his first cycle at PayPal, he was a founding General Partner at Quercus Equity Partners, an early investor and member of the Board at low-cost airline clickair, and a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
General Mills (192)
NextEra Energy (172)
JAIME MONTEMAYOR
JAMES ROBO
New York, NY
Chief Digital and Technology Officer
Plano, TX
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Juno Beach, FL
Hartford Financial Services Group (160)
DONATO MONACO Vice President of Business Development, Workforce Health and Productivity
Hartford, CT
Whirlpool (162)
ROBERTO CAMPOS Senior Vice President , Global Product Organization
Benton Harbor, MI
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Roberto Holthausen Campos joined Whirlpool Corporation in 2016 as Senior Vice President of the Global Product Organization – Product Platforms, where he led the team responsible for developing and executing home appliance product development plans. In 2017, Roberto was named leader of the overall Global Product Organization. In this role, Roberto is responsible for all product development activity driving cutting-edge consumer-focused design, innovation, quality, and safety. Prior to joining the Global Product Organization, Roberto served as President/CEO of Embraco at Whirlpool Corp. since 2012. From 1987 to 2012, Roberto served in various roles at Embraco including vice president of the Business and Marketing, Electronic Controls, and Research and Development functions.
Whirlpool (162)
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REGINA SALAZAR Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Benton Harbor, MI
James was named president and CEO in July 2012 and became chairman of the board of directors in December 2013. He is chairman of the company’s rate-regulated electric utility subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, as well as chairman and CEO of NextEra Energy Partners, LP. Previously, Robo was president and CEO of a major division at GE Capital. He also served as chairman and CEO of GE Mexico and was a member of the GE corporate development team. Prior to joining GE, he was vice president of Strategic Planning Associates, a management consulting firm.
Jaime is a transformative, top-performing senior IT Executive and top corporate officer with global and domestic achievement in enterprise IT and Digital enabled transformation. He joined General Mills in February of 2020 to lead digital strategy. Previously, he founded DosDosTec, a firm focused on Digital Value Creation (DVC) and Digital Transformation (DX) for companies in need of accelerated digitization. Jaime is also known for his work in companies such as Seven Eleven (CTO) and PepsiCo.
PPG Industries (209)
VINCET MORALES
CarMax (173)
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
ENRIQUE MAYOR-MORA SVP, Chief Financial Officer
Richmond, VA
Enrique is responsible for CarMax’s accounting, treasury, tax, financial planning, and internal audit functions. He joined CarMax in 2011 as Vice President of Finance. Through 2016, his areas of responsibility included financial planning and analysis, financial systems integration, expansion planning and analysis, and the oversight of internal audit. In late 2016, he became Vice President of Treasury and was responsible for the development and execution of CarMax’s funding programs. Prior to CarMax, he served as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis and Investor Relations at Denny’s Corporation from 2005 to 2011. He also served in financial positions of increasing responsibility at Gap, Inc. from 2001 to 2005.
Pittsburgh, PA
Morales joined PPG in 1985 in the corporate controller’s office, at the Pittsburgh headquarters. He then advanced through finance and accounting assignments at PPG facilities such as supervisor, shared accounting services, at the Chillicothe, OH, shared services center and director, information and financial services, at the former PPG glass plant in Mount Zion, IL. Morales returned to Pittsburgh in 2000 as manager, chemical revenue recognition, and then became director, internal financial reporting, in 2001. He was named director, investor relations, in 2004 and then promoted to vice president in 2007. Morales added responsibility as corporate treasurer in 2015. He was appointed vice president, finance, in June 2016, and he assumed his current role in March 2017. “As individuals and as organizations, fostering a culture that values an open, inclusive mindset is a business imperative.”
PayPal Holdings (182)
JOSE FERNANDEZ DA PONTE Vice President, Global Business Development
San Francisco, CA
Jose leads Global Business Development at PayPal, pursuing strategic initiatives in white spaces related to international expansion, financial health, new verticals, and frontier technologies. Before PayPal, Jose led Beyond Core, the DARPA-inspired advanced
Omnicom Group (211)
HANA PEREZ SVP Business Development North America at DAS Group of Companies, A Division of Omnicom Group
New York, NY
05/01/21 2:59 p.m.
President, Chief Executive Officer
Roseland, NJ
Under Carlos' leadership, the company has accelerated its transition from payroll processor to human capital management services provider leveraging technology to design a more personalized world at work. During Carlos’ tenure, ADP has nearly doubled the number of clients using its cloud-based services. Additionally, its Professional Employer Organization (PEO), ADP TotalSource®, business has nearly doubled the number of client employees served, putting it on par with the nation’s largest private sector employers. Carlos also served as President of the National Account Services and Employer Services International divisions, which serve large companies, and spent several years as President of the Small Business Services (SBS) division. While in that role he oversaw the launch of the cloud-based "RUN Powered by ADP®" payroll management service.
“Advancing Latinx and diverse talent will take determination, commitment and investment across the economy - from addressing issues of equitable access in education through building and championing a more diverse pipeline of talent in Corporate America."
CenterPoint Energy (260)
KENNETH "KENNY" MERCADO SVP Electric Operations
Houstono, TX
Uber Technologies (228)
ANGELA L. PADILLA Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Litigation & Employment
San Francisco, CA
Padilla previously served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel in VMware, Inc.’s Palo Alto in 2010-2015. She has tried cases in state and federal courts and has substantial experience handling appeals in the Ninth Circuit and the California Courts of Appeal. Prior to joining VMware, Padilla was a litigation partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. She managed all aspects of global litigation and corporate compliance at VMware. She has deep experience representing large and small clients in a wide variety of high-stakes cases. She has prosecuted and defended cases involving unfair competition, theft of trade secrets, copyright and trademark infringement, RICO, business torts, and state and federal criminal charges. She conducts internal investigations involving alleged violations of federal law. In 1997-98, Padilla served as a Deputy District Attorney in the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office on the misdemeanor trial team.
Edison International (259)
PEDRO PIZARRO President & Chief Executive Officer
Pasadena, CA
Edison International is the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, and also the parent company of Edison Energy, a portfolio of competitive businesses providing commercial and industrial customers with energy management and procurement services. He was elected President in May 2016. Previously, he was president of Edison Mission Energy and chaired its board of directors from 2011 until the sale of its assets
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 59
Kenny oversees the company’s electric business, responsible for leading electric transmission, distribution, engineering and power delivery solutions in the greater Houston area and Evansville, Indiana, where he also leads electric generation. Prior to this role, Kenny was CenterPoint Energy’s Senior Vice President of Electric and Technology Operations. In addition, he led CenterPoint Energy and Vectren Corporation’s integration implementation into one company, including process improvement, change leadership, technology integration management office and strategic sourcing and purchasing.
AutoZone (268)
ALBERT SALTIEL Senior Vice President, Marketing
Memphis, TN
AutoZone, is the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the U.S. a $13 Billion specialty retailer that has over 6,000 stores across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil. Al joined AutoZone in 2013 and serves as a member of the Executive Committee and the principal architect for the AutoZone brand, marketing, E-commerce and digital integration. Prior to joining AutoZone, Al was the global chief marketing officer of Navistar International Corp., a role he assumed after spending two years as president of NC2 Global LLC, a Caterpillar and Navistar joint venture that serves the global commercial truck market. He began his career at Inland Steel Company. He holds an Executive Scholar certificate in sales and marketing from Northwestern University, an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. Saltiel’s work has been recognized with more than 30 awards in recent years.
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
to NRG Energy in April 2014. Pizarro joined Edison International in 1999, moved to SCE in 2001 and progressed through several leadership roles before joining EME. Before he was a senior engagement manager with McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles providing management consulting services to energy, technology, engineering services and banking clients. Pizarro earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and held National Science Foundation and Department of Defense graduate fellowships. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Harvard University.
Pacific Life (269)
ANA TERESA SEGARRA Vice President, Pacific Life Foundation
Newport Beach, CA
Vistra Energy (270)
STEPHANIE ZAPATA MOORE
Unum Group (266)
Executive Vice President, General Counsel
LISA IGLESIAS Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Chattanooga, TN
Appointed in January 2015, she joined the company from WellCare Health Plans, Inc., a managed care company, where she served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary from 2012 to 2014. She joined WellCare in 2010 as vice president, securities and assistant general counsel. Prior to that, she served as general counsel and corporate secretary at Nordstrom, Inc. As the general counsel of Unum Group, Iglesias has overall responsibility for the legal affairs of the corporation handling transactions, contracts and investments, SEC reporting, corporate governance, corporate compliance and ethics, regulatory matters and relationships, government affairs and litigation. "Leading inclusively and creating an environment where all voices are heard and valued benefits everyone and generates improved results."
Houston, TX
As executive vice president and general counsel of Vistra, Moore advises the company’s leadership team on legal, regulatory and corporate governance matters, in addition to overseeing the corporate secretary’s office and leading the company’s legal and compliance team. Prior to her current role, Moore served as vice president and general counsel of Luminant, a competitive power generation subsidiary of Vistra and its predecessor Energy Future Holdings. Moore’s primary responsibilities included coordination and delivery of all legal services for Luminant. She also oversaw contract administration and Luminant’s compliance program.
Live Nation Entertainment (275)
FRANK GUTIERREZ SVP, Business Development - Strategic Alliances
Beverly Hills, CA
Frank leads business development activities for Live Nation and Ticketmaster with special emphasis on Sponsorship, E-commerce and Mobile integrations, and Venue technology. Directly
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Automatic Data Processing (227)
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responsible for $10M+ in annual revenue generation, and supports the larger Alliances organization which generates in excess of $100M annually. He manages product development with the Ticketmaster team and control an offshore team of engineers to execute upon the deals. Clients include Google, ebay, PayPal, Amazon, American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Beats Music, Sirius XM, Wenner Media, Time Inc, Allianz, T-Mobile, Samsung. Frank has lead other Business Development teams such as Fandango's. His background lies in Television and Cable and spent some time in Latin America in his early career. He carries a strong background in Technology and dot.coms, with specific strengths in E-Commerce, Web and Mobile Development.
Discovery (287)
AES (310)
KIT HERRERA
GUSTAVO PIMENTA
Senior Vice President Human Resources
Chief Financial Officer
New York, NY
Entergy Louisiana (293)
EDUARDO "ED" JIMENEZ Vice President, Business & Economic Development
New Orleans, LA
Baxter International (282)
JOSE ALMEIDA Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer
Deerfield, IL
Prior to joining Baxter, Almeida served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Covidien plc from 2012 through 2015 and was named a director of the company in 2011. Almeida previously served as president of Covidien's Medical Devices organization. Almeida also served in several leadership roles at Covidien's predecessor, Tyco Healthcare, including president of its worldwide medical device business and vice president of worldwide manufacturing. Almeida held leadership positions at Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc., American Home Products' Acufex Microsurgical division, and Johnson & Johnson's Professional Products division. He began his career as a management consultant at Andersen Consulting (Accenture).
Ed is responsible for developing revenue growth initiatives and goals and establishing commercial programs and policies that support the annual sales plan including economic development, major industrial accounts, and competitive large residential and commercial developments. Prior to joining Entergy in 2011, Ed served as director of business development for Louisiana Economic Development (LED) managing lead development strategies for the state department. Previously, he was Vice President of sales for Your Other Warehouse (YOW), a subsidiary of The Home Depot, where he was responsible for the strategy and direction of YOW's sales operations across the company's diverse product lines.
AES (310)
ALDEMARO ALGARRA VP, Global Human Resource Services and Technology
Arlington, VA
Norfolk Southern (283)
ROBERT MARTINEZ Vice President, Business Development & Real Estate
Norfolk, VA
AES (310)
ANDRES GLUSKI President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Arlington, VA
Adobe (285)
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
JOE RAMIREZ Vice President Licensing & Associate General Counsel
San Jose, CA
Joe has over 35 years of experience in the Silicon Valley as a legal practitioner, building and leading teams in the software and hardware industry. He has hands on experience in SAAS, forming strategic alliances, indirect sale channels, government contracting, operations, marketing and enterprise sales. Worked for a variety of start-ups and blue-chip companies including being general counsel of 3 NASDAQ companies.
Andrés previously served as CEO of both AES Gener in Chile and La Electricidad de Caracas in Venezuela. He held senior positions in banking, telecom, the IMF and the public sector before joining AES in 2000. During his tenure as President and CEO, he has led AES through a dramatic transformation by focusing on simplification, risk improvement and innovation. He has led the company through a $5 billion divestiture program, increased the credit rating by multiple notches and initiated a quarterly dividend, which has grown at an 8% annual rate. Andrés has also overseen the largest construction program in AES’ history, with more than 5,000 MW of new power generation completed. He has been invited to serve as an expert witness at US Congressional hearings on the subject of energy policy and Latin America. He currently serves on the US-Brazil CEO Forum and the US-India CEO Forum.
Arlington, VA
Throughout his career, Gustavo has been integral in developing enterprise strategic plans that have transformed business models and realized long term organic and acquisitive revenue growth, operational efficiencies, improved margins and lowered corporate risk. As member of the AES Executive Leadership Team he develops strategic plans that have materially simplified the overall “equity story” while positioning the company as one of the leading renewable developers in the world. He is a strategic and financial advisor to AES board providing quarterly financial updates, attending all Audit Committee meetings and serving as director at three AES holding companies. His previous experiences come from Citibank, KPMG both internationally and nationally.
O'Reilly Automotive (314)
HUGO SANCHEZ Vice President of Marketing and Advertising
Springfield, MO
Hugo Sanchez graduated Magna Cume Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology as well as an Associates degree in Communications from Drury University in Springfield, MO. He has worked for O’Reilly Auto Parts since 2001 where he started in a part time role in the Houston, TX distribution center. He’s progressed through the company primarily working in the marketing department in coordinator, supervisor, manager and director roles. He is currently the Vice President of Marketing/Advertising where his areas of responsibility are retail marketing, business to business marketing, sports/events marketing, loyalty marketing, media, creative and digital/omnichannel.
Assurant (315)
LINDA RECUPERO SVP, Global Head of Enterprise Communication
New York NY
Linda is an experienced global leader of internal and external communications. She has experience working across many global industries, including banking and financial services, technology, professional services, among others. Her work has focused around media relations, C-suite communications, writing, crisis and issues management and social media.Previously, she was the Global Head of Communications at Nasdaq Inc.
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MAURICIO GUTIERREZ
ROBERT SANCHEZ
President, Chief Executive Officer
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
Houston, TX
Gutierrez joined NRG in 2004 and helped build the company from a regional wholesale generation business to a national, Fortune 500, diversified energy company. Prior to becoming President and CEO, he held the position of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure as COO, Gutierrez led NRG's engineering and construction activities related to new generation and repowering projects.
Edward Jones (Jones Financial) (336)
PATRICK CHAVEZ Chief Privacy Officer and Associate General Counsel
St Louis, MO
At Edward Jones, he leads the firm's privacy efforts to protect information and data of the firm's associates and clients and, among other things, develops policies and procedures related to preparing for and responding to privacy and cyber incidents or attacks. He also leads the firm's Records and Information Management activities and provides legal guidance and advice to the firm's business areas on matters related to eDiscovery, privacy, cybersecurity, and information governance. Prior to Edward Jones, Patrick was a litigation partner at Williams Venker & Sanders, where he litigated matters and counseled clients in the areas of: medical malpractice, commercial liability, products liability, eDiscovery, privacy, and cybersecurity. Patrick has also spoken and written extensively on topics related to eDiscovery, privacy, and cybersecurity. "The path to senior leadership is rarely a straight line, and it requires taking the time to invest in relationships and being patient. Success doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if Latinos lean in and embrace the challenge."
Ryder System (354)
Miami, FL
Ryder System is a leading commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions company. He was named CEO and chairman of the board in 2013. Over the course of 30 years, he has held many senior executive leadership positions including president and COO, CFO, president of Fleet Management Solutions, CIO, SVP of Transportation Management within Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and VP of Asset Management. He’s been at Ryder since 2003. In earlier roles, he played a key part in implementing the strategy to centralize Ryder’s asset management function and improve its cost management, which drove an improvement in the return of capital and earnings of the company. Since 2012, he has led the development and execution of Ryder’s growth strategy. Before Ryder, Sanchez held engineering positions at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and Florida Power & Light. "Diverse backgrounds and perspectives in a workforce can help companies better understand and respond to customers’ needs, resulting in increased profitability and long-term value.”
Miami, FL
Pilar is responsible for all of company's global compliance and ethics functions, Enterprise Risk Management program and Privacy. She joined the company in 2013. Prior to Ryder System, Pilar was the Senior Director of Global Corporate Compliance in Biogen for five years. She started her career as Assistant State Attorney of Florida's 6th Circuit Attorney.
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 61
Huntsman (382)
LUCIANO REYES Vice President, Corporate Development
The Woodlands, TX
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (388)
RAFAEL O. SANTANA President and Chief Executive Officer
Wilmerding, PN
"Take risks and get outside your comfort zone. It is human nature to fear taking a risk on something new."
Foot Locker (397)
JUAN MEJIA VP Human Resources, North America
National Oilwell Varco (374)
JOSE BAYARDO Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
New York, NY
Prior to joining NOV in 2015, Jose served as Senior Vice President, Resource and Business Development at Continental Resources, Inc. and spent nine years serving in various roles at Complete Production Services, Inc. including Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Prior to joining Complete Production Services, Jose was an investment banker with J.P. Morgan. Jose brings a wealth of financial experience to NOV having worked both in the oil and gas industry and in investment banking during his career.
PILAR CABALLERO Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer & Chief Privacy Officer, Deputy General Counsel
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Area Studies. He went on to also earn an MBA from the University of Houston.
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Ryder System (354)
Casey's General Stores (378)
DARREN REBELEZ
New York, NY
An accomplished Human Resources professional with 15+ years of experience leading people strategies within both public and private organizations. In his current role he partners with key business leaders to provide strategic planning, direction, coaching and support on all HR initiatives, programs and processes. Juan began his career at Foot Locker as a Human Resources Analyst in 2006, and advanced to roles of increasing responsibility including Compensation Analyst, Human Resources Manager, Sr. Director of Human Resources, supporting the company’s Global Technology Function, as well as VP, Corporate Human Resources. Prior to joining Foot Locker, Juan held HR roles at Winston Staffing Support Services, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Jimmy Jazz, Inc. "Your opinion is valuable, your point of view is valuable, and all your life experiences are valuable. The items that make each of us unique is what sparks creativity which leads to better decision making."
President, Chief Executive Officer
Des Moines, IA
Darren has a wealth of experience as a senior executive in the convenience store and restaurant industries, most recently serving as the President of IHOP Restaurants, a unit of Dine Brands Global, Inc., which franchises and operates restaurants under the Applebee’s Grill & Bar and IHOP brands. Prior to joining Dine Brands, Darren was employed by 7-Eleven, Inc, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Before 7-Eleven, Darren held numerous management roles within ExxonMobil, and before that, at Thornton Oil Corporation. Darren was an Army Ranger and Gulf War veteran. A native of San Diego, he is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he
Motorola Solutions (403)
MONICA BOADA MUELLER Vice President, Government Affairs at Motorola Solutions
Chicago, IL
Monica is responsible for the company’s government affairs in the United States and internationally and oversees the company’s country management organization. Before, Monica managed the company’s global giving and volunteerism efforts serving as the Executive Director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation, thecharitable and philanthropic arm of the company. She also served as
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
NRG Energy (324)
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
the senior director of inclusion, diversity and outreach. During her nearly 19 years with the company, Monica has held various leadership roles with the company’s Government Affairs organization, where she led operations, international and state-level government advocacy, and the Motorola Solutions Political Action Committee. Before Motorola, Monica managed the Chicago office of Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra, and previously managed his first campaign for state-wide office. Additionally, she served as a legislative liaison, and later as special assistant to the director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA).
Quest Diagnostics (410)
MANUEL O. MÉNDEZ
Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Swisher Hygiene Inc., which was later acquired by Ecolab, Inc. and from June 2007 to July 2010, Mr. Villasana served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Pet DRx Corporation, which he helped take public and which was later acquired by VCA Antech, Inc. From August 2000 to June 2007, he served as Senior Corporate Counsel of AutoNation, Inc., the largest automotive retailer in the United States. Prior thereto, he was a corporate attorney with Holland & Knight, LLP, and Shutts & Bowen, LLP in Miami, Florida. Mr. Villasana began his career as an attorney with the SEC in Washington, D.C.
MasTec (430)
ALBERTO DE CARDENAS
SVP ,Chief Commercial Officer
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate
Secaucus, NJ
Manuel joined Quest from QIAGEN N.V., a worldwide provider of Sample to Insight solutions for molecular testing, where he helped accelerate growth and led a global commercial team as SVP, Head of Global Operations and member of the Executive Committee. Before joining QIAGEN in 2014, he served as EVP Americas for bioMérieux from 2010-2014. Manuel has held a variety of sales, marketing and general management roles with Abbott Laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific and OraSure Technologies – with leadership positions in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asian markets.
Asbury Automotive Group (428)
DANIEL CLARA
Alberto has been Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary responsible for all of MasTec's corporate and operational legal matters and corporate secretary matters since November 2005. From March 2003 to November 2005, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel and from January through March 2003, Vice President and Corporate General Counsel of Perry Ellis International, Inc. From September 1996 through December 2002, Alberto was a corporate and securities attorney at Broad and Cassel. From September 1990 to July 1993, he was an accountant at Deloitte & Touche LLP.
MasTec (430)
ALBERT ITURREY
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
62
GEORGE VILLASANA Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
Duluth, GA
George served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. since April of 2012. In addition to overseeing Asbury’s legal department, Mr. Villasana oversaw the company’s corporate development and real estate department. Prior to joining Asbury, from February 2011 to April 2012, Mr. Villasana served as
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 62
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Coral Gables, FL
George joined Mastec as EVP in 2014 and CFO in 2013. From June 2007 until joining MasTec in 2013 Pita served as EVP and CFO to Stuart Weitzman Holdings, a manufacturer, designer and retailer of fine women's footwear and accessories. From April 2002 to June 2007, he served in various capacities at Perry Ellis International, including as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2004 - 2007.
FM Global (447)
ENZO REBULA Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Johnston, RI
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding (450)
HORACIO D. ROZANSKI Chief Executive Officer
McLean, VA
O-I Glass (453)
OSCAR ENRIQUEZ
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Duluth, GA
Asbury Automotive Group (428)
GEORGE PITA
Coral Gables, FL
Senior VP of Operations
Clara joined Asbury in July 2002 as a Client Advisor in the Management in Training program at Crown BMW. In his 18 years at Asbury, he has had a long career in multiple leadership roles as sales advisor, F&I manager, new car manager, used car manager, general sales manager, general manager, market director and VP of Market Operations. He is responsible for developing and implementing programs for operational excellence to support Asbury’s business strategy, and he leads initiatives to drive profitable returns through increased sales and service while delivering exceptional guest experiences.
MasTec (430)
Coral Gables, FL
VP Sales, Marketing and Business Development Latin America
Perrysburg, OH
MasTec (430)
JOSÉ MAS Chief Executive Officer
Coral Gables, FL
Mas was appointed CEO of MasTec in 2007 and during his tenure MasTec’s revenues have more than quadrupled and earnings have grown six fold. Since assuming the top executive position at MasTec, Jose has diversified the company into the growing fields of oil and gas pipeline construction, electric transmission line construction, renewable energy, and wireless infrastructure construction while expanding its traditional communications business, which includes both broad-band infrastructure and installation to the home satellite services. Mas has grown up in the business and over 20 years worked his way from the field to the boardroom. Mas is a graduate of the University of Miami where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. He serves on the U.S. Department of Commerce National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprises.
O-I Glass (453)
ANDRES A. LOPEZ CEO
Perrysburg, OH
Lopez’s focus is to enhance the performance of the business to benefit customers, employees, investors and other key stakeholders. Lopez has established himself as a strong and successful leader, serving as chief operating officer during 2015 and playing a leading role on the acquisition of Vitro’s Food and Beverage business in Mexico, the U.S. and Bolivia. He has also served as president of O-I Americas, with a focus on strengthening O-I’s North America operations. Prior to that role, he served as president of O-I’s South America operations, where he led the region through significant organic and acquisition-based growth, adding new capabilities in Brazil and Argentina. Lopez has held various other leadership positions at O-I, including global vice president of manufacturing and engineering; vice president of manufacturing, North America; and country general manager for O-I Peru.
05/01/21 2:59 p.m.
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
Washington DC / Baltimore, MD
AK Steel Holding (467)
JAIME VASQUEZ Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer
ELENA OTERO VP of Marketing International
Lafayette, CA
Clorox (474)
AILEEN ZERRUDO Vice President, Global Corporate Communications, Corporate Responsibility and Crisis Management
Oakland, CA
Franklin Resources (493)
DAN GARZIA Vice President, Digital Marketing
EVP & Chief HR, Marketing & Communications Officer
Marcia is responsible for global human resources strategies that enable the company’s business goals and support the needs of employees around the world. She also provides leadership to the communications, corporate social responsibility, strategic marketing and government affairs functions to enhance and protect the company’s overall brand and reputation. Marcia has helped establish a distinguished, award-winning company culture. Most recently, Marcia served as senior vice president of human resources, communications and corporate affairs for Ingersoll Rand. Prior to Ingersoll Rand, Marcia was chief human resources officer at Merck & Co., with global responsibility for human resource strategies, programs and policies. Marcia has more than 30 years of experience leading organizational transformation, talent and succession management, culture change, corporate social responsibility and communications. She has held previous leadership roles at Honeywell, Anheuser-Busch Companies and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Camping World Holdings (555)
MAURICIO RODRIGUEZ
Half Moon Bay, California
Dan has 20 years of B2C and B2B product experience, with a particular focus on creating solid new digital practices and leading global teams responsible for product management, customer growth, engagement and loyalty. Prior to Franklin Templeton, he held leadership roles at BlackRock, Electronic Arts, Travelocity, Travelers and start-ups, where he led the pioneering of new digital distribution channels and businesses, such as Travelers’ direct-to-consumer business and day-1 full digital release of video games on XBOX and PlayStation for Electronic Arts.
International Flavors & Fragrances (540)
SUSANA SUAREZ GONZALEZ Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
New York, NY
Susana Suarez is an accomplished EVP and board member with more than 30 years of success across a broad array of industries such as scent, taste, nutrition, health, chemical, mining, engineering, oil and gas,
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 63
AMELIA MURILLO Vice President, Human Resources
Scottsdale, AZ
A-Mark Precious Metals (565)
BRIAN AQUILINO Vice President, Operations
MARCIA AVEDON Davidson, NC
Clorox (474)
Carlisle (563)
Trane Technologies (552)
West Chester Township, OH
Associate General Counsel
Chicago, IL
Mauricio has ten plus years of experience in a broad spectrum of commercial real estate transactions with a focus on triple net leasing, acquisitions, and dispositions. He joined Camping World Holdings in 2016 as Associate General Counsel. Previously, he was counsel at Care Capital Properties.
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
ROELA SANTOS
and infrastructure. Leveraging extensive experience in corporate human resources management, she leads the talent agenda at IFF including CEO succession, culture integration, talent acquisition, talent technology, digitalization, growth management, and executive development. In 2016 she joined International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF). Prior to joining IFF, she spent over 25 years at Fluor (Fortune 200) starting in 1991 as part of a unique fast track program, where she lived in over 15 countries performing high paced roles in a variety of functions.
Los Angeles, CA
Mr. Aquilino has been with A-Mark since 2001. Mr. Aquilino has over 25 years of operations experience, including positions at AT&T and Covad Communications.
A-Mark Precious Metals (565)
SHARON EIDEN CORNEJO Vice President of Marketing
Minneapolis, MN
Watsco (566)
ANA MENENDEZ Chief Financial Officer
Coconut Grove, FL
Ana has served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since November 2003, as Treasurer since 1998, and as Assistant Secretary since 1999. She is a certified public accountant. Ana supervises all financial and accounting aspects of the Company, including taxes, risk management, benefits, treasury and cash management, the Company's system of internal control and other compliance activities. She also is the leader and principal contact for the Company's banking relationships and actively participates at a senior level in a variety of strategic activities. Ana served on the Advisory Board of the College of Education at Florida International University from 2013 through 2015. She is a member and board chair of the Miami branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Genesis Healthcare (589)
Chewy (559)
MARIO MARTE Chief Financial Officer
Dania Beach, FL
Mario is responsible for leading Chewy’s financial activities, including Accounting, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Financial Planning & Analysis, Commercial and Operations Finance, Treasury, Tax, and Investor Relations / Capital Markets. Most notably, in June 2019, he led Chewy’s IPO on the NYSE (“CHWY”).
RICHARD CASTOR Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Kennett Square, PA
Richard is responsible for the Company's information systems, key system initiatives, and related services. He has over 30 years of information technology experience with health care companies including Genesis HealthCare, NeighborCare, Aetna, U.S. Healthcare and GlaxoSmithKline.
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Science Applications International (466)
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Mattel (593)
ROBERTO ISAIAS Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer
El Segundo, CA
Roberto oversees all aspects of Mattel’s Supply Chain including Engineering, Logistics and Planning, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Safety and Quality. Under Roberto’s leadership, Mattel has made transformative improvements across the Company’s supply chain, reducing costs and time-tomarket while also improving service to retailers. He has held a variety of leadership roles in Latin America and has been instrumental in establishing Mattel as the largest toy company in the region.Prior to being named Chief Supply Chain Officer, Roberto spent five years as Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Latin America. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spanish Latin America, overseeing all of Mattel’s operations in Latin America except Brazil. Earlier in his career, Roberto spent 12 years at Procter & Gamble in various commercial and supply chain leadership roles.
Tutor Perini (600)
JORGE CASADO Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Los Angeles, CA
Jorge is responsible for planning and directing Tutor Perini’s IR and communications programs, fostering relationships and communications with analysts, current and prospective investors, the media, and other stakeholders—all with a goal of increasing investor understanding and interest in the Company. Prior to Tutor Perini, Casado worked at Tetra Tech, Inc. a consulting and engineering firm specializing in water and natural resources, infrastructure and environmental services. There, he served in various technical and operational project and financial management roles. While directing Tetra Tech’s investor relations program, Casado also worked on the company’s active mergers and acquisitions program, performing target firm screenings, assessments, financial valuations, drafting term sheets and offer letters, and conducting due diligence.
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Spectrum Brands Holdings (629)
64
Maura was a Vice President and Senior Analyst in the High Yield Group at Wachovia Securities, where he covered various consumer product, service, and retail companies. He began his career at ZPR Investment Management as a Financial Analyst.
DAVID MAURA Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
New York. NY
Maura was a Managing Director and the Executive Vice President of Investments at HRG Group, Inc. Previously, he served as a Vice President and Director of Investments of Harbinger Capital Partners LLC. Prior to joining Harbinger Capital in 2006, Maura was a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at First Albany Capital, Inc., where he focused on distressed debt and special situations, primarily in the consumer products and retail sectors. Prior to First Albany, he was a Director and Senior High Yield Research Analyst in Global High Yield Research at Merrill Lynch & Co. Previously,
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 64
Dentsply Sirona (642)
JORGE GOMEZ Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Charlotte, NC
Jorge previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Cardinal Health Inc. since January 2018. As a member of the company’s Executive Committee, Jorge played a strategic role in the overall management of the company, and the development and execution of the company’s financial strategy. Additionally, Jorge’s responsibilities included driving sustainable cash flow generation, allocating capital to maximize value creation and managing risk across the entire enterprise. Prior to serving as Cardinal’s CFO, Jorge held a variety of senior leadership roles in several segments across the company. He served as chief financial officer of the Medical segment, chief financial officer of the Pharmaceutical segment, corporate treasurer, corporate controller, and head of corporate development. Before joining Cardinal Health, Jorge held multiple executive and managerial roles at General Motors, including posts in New York, Singapore, Belgium, and Brazil. He began his career with Jefferson Smurfit in their finance development program.
Mercury General (646)
GABRIEL TIRADOR President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Los Angeles, CA
Mercury General Corporation is the leading independent agency writer of automobile insurance in California. He became the second person to hold the title of CEO in the company’s 58-year history when Mercury Founder and Chairman of the Board, George Joseph, selected Tirador to succeed him in 2006. Gabe began his career as an accountant and from 1986 to 1998 held various financial positions including Senior Accountant for KPMG LLP and VP and Controller for the Automobile Club of Southern California. He was appointed Mercury’s VP & CFO in 1998, President & COO in 2001 and CEO in 2007. Gabe has played a key role in growing Mercury’s revenues to over $3.4 billion per year and expanding its operations beyond its California home to a total of 11 states. He is an inactive Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Gabe graduated from California State University, Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. Gabe was born in Cuba, but was raised and has lived in California most of his life
Parsons (648)
SERGIO BAUTISTA Vice President, Human Resources
Centreville, VA
Sergio is responsible for leading the development and delivery of global HR solutions to acquire, develop, engage and retain a high-performance workforce that enables business growth, flawless performance execution, innovative solutions and competitive differentiators across the Federal Business Group. He serves as strategic HR business partner, advisor, change agent and transformational leader on the executive leadership team. Previously, Sergio served as VP and Director of Human Resources in Del-Jen, Inc., a Fluor Corporation Company.
Carvana (651)
ERNIE GARCIA Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer
Tempe, AZ
Prior to founding Carvana, Garcia held various roles at the DriveTime Automotive Group, Inc. from January 2007 to January 2013. From January 2007 to December 2008, he served as a financial strategist. He was a managing director of corporate finance from December 2008 to November 2009. From November 2009 until January 2013, he served as a Vice President and Treasurer and Director of Quantitative Analytics. As Director of Quantitative Analytics, Garcia was responsible for the firm’s ongoing development of consumer credit scoring models, and its utilization of those tools in retail vehicle sales deal structuring and vehicle price optimization. Prior to DriveTime, Garcia was an associate in the Principal Transactions Group at RBS Greenwich Capital from 2005 to 2006, where he focused on consumer credit based investments.
Spirit Airlines (658)
LAURIE VILLA Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Miramar, FL
Laurie is responsible for developing and executing human resources strategy in support of Spirit's overall business plan and strategic direction of the organization, specifically in the areas of succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, training and development, benefits, labor strategy, internal communications and compensation. She provides strategic leadership by articulating Human Resource needs and plans to the executive management team and to the board of directors.
07/01/21 6:29 p.m.
Mednax (691)
EFRAIN RIVERA
JORGE ZEMBORAIN
DOMINIC J. ANDREANO
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
General Counsel - Latin America, Intellectual Property
Executive Vice President , General Counsel and Secretary
Rochester, NY
He joined Paychex in 2011 as senior vice president, CFO, and treasurer. Rivera was formerly corporate vice president and CFO at Bausch & Lomb, a global eye health company. At Bausch & Lomb, Rivera held several senior management positions, with responsibilities ranging from managing the company’s commercial operations in Latin America and Canada, to leading finance for Bausch & Lomb’s global vision care division, to overseeing the firm’s treasury operations, including management of a $600 million investment portfolio. Most recently, he served as vice president of finance and administration at Houghton College in Western New York. Rivera holds a Doctor of Management degree from Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Additionally, he earned his Master of Business Administration from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester, and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University in New York City. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Houghton College. “Aspire to find opportunities to participate in solving pressing business issues and share credit for success freely.”
Amerco (663)
Richmond, VA
Alliant Energy (675)
JAMES H. GALLEGOS Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Madison, WI
Jim joined Alliant Energy in 2010 as Vice President and General Counsel. In 2014, he was named Senior Vice President and General Counsel. In February 2015, Jim was named Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. In 2020, he was named Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. From 2003 to 2010, he served as Vice President and Corporate General Counsel for Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Corporation. Prior to joining Alliant Energy, Jim also worked in a number of roles for Qwest Communications International, Inc., from 1995 through 2003. Prior to Qwest, Jim was a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, and previously he served as a Law Clerk for a Federal District Court Judge. Before going to law school, Jim worked in the marketing departments as a Market Analyst for the SOO Line Railroad and the Burlington Northern Railroad.
SEBASTIEN REYES Vice President, Communications & Investor Relations
Workday (676)
CHANO FERNANDEZ
Phoenix, AZ
He serves as Head of Communications and Investor Relations for AMERCO, parent company of U-Haul International, one of America’s most recognizable brands. Sebastien is responsible for Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, Digital Media Production, Community Relations and Sustainability for over 22,000 retail locations serving millions of U-Haul customers annually. He has been named a “40 Under 40” by both the Phoenix Business Journal and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
iHeartMedia (668)
HEATHER LOPEZ Vice President, Human Resources
New York, NY
Heather is skilled human resources professional with over twenty years of comprehensive human resources experience. Before becoming Vice President, she was the Director of Employee Relations. Previously, she was a Human Resources Business Partner with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage where she partnered with senior leadership to develop and implement human capital strategies.
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 65
Co-CEO
Pleasanton, CA
Chano Fernandez is responsible for the entire customer relationship, which spans acquisition, services, customer success, and customer support. Previously, Chano served as co-president, and before that served as executive vice president of global field operations, and as president of EMEA and APJ. Prior to joining Workday in 2014, Chano served for seven years as senior vice president and head of innovation sales at SAP EMEA. Before that, he was vice president of EMEA sales at Infor, responsible for global and large accounts. Chano also served as a founding partner and general manager at Blue C, and as a senior consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Sunrise, FL
Dominic J. Andreano joined the Company in September 2001 and was appointed Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in May 2012. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Andreano previously served as Deputy General Counsel for the Company from January 2009 until May 2012, as Associate General Counsel for the Company from January 2004 until December 2008, and prior thereto as Director, Business Development. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Andreano was an associate in the corporate securities department of Holland & Knight, LLP in Miami from June 2000 until September 2001, and an associate in the healthcare corporate department of Greenberg Traurig, P.A. in Miami from September 1997 until June 2000.
Ashland Global Holdings (694)
GUILLERMO NOVO Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Novo joined Ashland’s Board of Directors in May 2019 and he became CEO of Ashland December 31, 2019. Previously he was the President and CEO of Versum Materials and a member of its Board of Directors. He also served as EVP, Materials Technologies of Air Products. He joined Air Products in 2012 as SVP, Performance Materials, Strategy and Technology. Prior to Air Products, he was employed by Dow Chemical Company where he most recently served as group vice president, Dow Coating Materials. Novo began his career in 1986 with Rohm and Haas Company and over the next 24 years progressed through a variety of commercial, marketing, and general management positions, living in South America, the U.S. and Asia. In 1998, he was named a vice president at Rohm and Haas, and in 2006 he became a corporate officer and one of five group executives on the corporate leadership team. He holds an industrial engineering degree from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from the University of Michigan "In the end, performance is paramount. In business, the value in diversity is a more creative and innovative workforce that can improve the bottom line.”
Pitney Bowes (699)
Domino's Pizza (679)
VICTORIA PETRELLA Vice President International Marketing
Ann Arbor, MI
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Brink's (669)
KIRK S SANTOS Chief Learning Officer & HR VP, Financial Services
Stamford, CT
As the CLO, Kirk leads a global, matrixed team of 60+ Pitney Bowes and NIIT L&D & Talent professionals that provide subject matter expertise enabling our prioritized talent development initiatives. The team is aligned both at an enter-
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Paychex (662)
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
prise-level and by Lines of Business to their most strategic priorities for a $3B+ Company with ~12,000 professional and front-line employees. He has been a featured guest speaker and panelist in support of various organizations and institutions focused on higher education and Hispanic initiatives.
PriceSmart (744)
LAURA SANTANA Executive Vice President, Information Technology
San Diego, CA
Applied Industrial Technologies (700)
JASON VASQUEZ Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Popular (820) Tetra Tech (761) Vice President, Corporate Business Development Support (BDS)
Pasadena, CA
MARCUS TORRES Vice President of Product Management, Platform Business & Foundation
Santa Clara, CA
CAMILLE BURCKHART
GLORIA (MEOLA) LUGO
Cleveland, OH
ServiceNow (703)
founding partners of the law firm Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez LLP. Recognized by Chambers Global as “one of the best lawyers in Puerto Rico,” Alvarez was an integral part of the firm’s success for 18 years. Among his main practice areas are: banking, corporate and commercial law; corporate and public finance law; securities and capital markets.
Gloria has been with Tetra Tech for 20+ years. Her other roles include Senior Marketing Coordinator, Proposal Manager, and Director of Corporate Business Development Support.
Southwestern Energy (776)
CARINA LOVATO GILLENWATER
Synopsys (723)
Vice-President, Human Resources
Spring, TX
JAMES MORGADO
EVP & Chief Information & Digital Officer
Puerto Rico
Camille oversees Popular’s technology and digital strategies as well as the Bank’s operations and is responsible for many key innovative services Popular has launched. She started her career at Popular under what was then a newly founded division focused on developing an online banking platform for the Bank. Today, Popular’s digital app, Mi Banco, is the top banking platform in Puerto Rico and has been awarded Top Online and Mobile Banking for Puerto Rico and Latin America for 10 consecutive years by Global Finance.
Popular (820)
BEATRIZ “BETINA” CASTELLVI
Vice President of Finance
San Jose, CA
Avaya Holdings (807)
EVP & Chief Security Officer
JIM CHIRICO President, Chief Executive Officer
Santa Clara, CA
Boyd Gaming (728)
LAURA DE LA CRUZ Regional Vice President of Marketing
Las Vegas, NV
Laura is responsible for marketing and revenue growth of the 12 Las Vegas Boyd Gaming casinos. She. has also held the position of Director of Marketing at Harrah's Entertainment where she was for more than 15 years.
Jim joined Avaya in January 2008 from Seagate Technology, where he was Executive Vice President, Global Operations, Development and Manufacturing. He began his career at IBM in 1980, progressing through line leadership and corporate assignment positions to become a Site General Manager and WW Manufacturing Leader.
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
Popular (820)
JAVIER D. FERRER Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer
MAURICE CUEVA Vice President & Director of Financial Planning
ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ
Branchville, NJ
Senior Vice President, Chief Production Officer
Alejandro leads the B-F Global supply chain and manages Brown-Forman properties around the world, including manufacturing operations as well as corporate facilities. He was hired by Brown-Forman in 2007 as Director of Bottling Operations in Louisville before being promoted to the Vice President, General Manager of Casa Herradura in November 2008.
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 66
Castellví has been Executive Vice President and Chief Security Officer of Popular in charge of cybersecurity, data privacy and fraud since May 2018. Prior to becoming Executive Vice President, she was Senior Vice President and General Auditor of the Corporation from November 2012 to April 2018. She was previously Financial and Operational Risk Manager.
Selective Insurance Group (814)
Brown-Forman (730)
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Puerto Rico
Popular (820)
IGNACIO ALVAREZ President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Puerto Rico
Alvarez has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Popular, Inc. since July 1st, 2017. Prior to this appointment he served as President and Chief Operating Officer. Previously, served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. Before this, he was one of the six
Puerto Rico
Javier is responsible for overseeing the legal function, corporate strategic planning, corporate governance, governmental affairs and ethics areas; and supporting the Internal Audit group. He is a member of the Senior Management Team, director of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and has more than 30 years of experience in the legal and financial services industry.
Popular (820)
CARLOS VÁZQUEZ Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Puerto Rico
Carlos J. Vázquez was named in 2013 as Chief Financial Officer of Popular Inc., parent
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HERNAN MUJICA Chief Information Officer
Louisville, KY
Hernan is responsible for all technology strategy and execution for the nation's leading casual dining brand. Previously, he was Senior Director of Home Depot where he was responsible for Merchandising and Marketing systems including core merchandising applications, CRM, and Business Intelligence. Before Home Depot, Hernand was Managing Director of BearingPoint where he lead as a CRM Practice leader.
ROSEMARY MERCEDES Executive Vice President, Chief Communications Officer
New York, NY
Mercedes defines Univision’s overall communications strategy, including the media relations approach for all corporate and business matters, industry issues, as well as Sports and Entertainment content publicity. Throughout her time at Univision, she has been instrumental in establishing Univision as America’s Hispanic Superbrand and positioning the strategic opportunity the Hispanic consumer represents as an economic growth engine of the future. She reports to the CEO and partners with Univision’s C-Suite to develop communications approaches that advance the Company’s objectives. Mercedes also co-leads Univision’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Taskforce.
Colony Capital (840)
DAVID A. PALAMÉ Managing Director, Deputy General Counsel
Energizer Holdings (834)
RUBEN MELLA Vice President Communications
St Louis, MO
Ruben leads Energizer’s corporate communications team with an on-going program to win the hearts and minds of colleagues. He's a significant contributor to Energizer's first investor day event in five years. He serves as a member of the COVID-19 Task Force, collaborating to execute internal communication efforts. He's an experienced executive in all aspects of investor relations. Previously, he was Vice President of Investor Relations in Aegion Corporation and Director of Investor Relations in Monsanto. Previously, he spent more than 12 years in Anheuser-Busch starting out as analyst and moving up to Director of Investor Relations.
Los Angeles, CA
Palamé is responsible for legal, operating, capital markets, regulatory and compliance activities and other support for the Colony Credit business. In addition, Palamé serves as Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel at Colony Capital, Inc., where he is responsible for global legal, private capital formation, investment allocation and support for the Colony Capital business. Prior to joining in 2007, Palamé was an associate with the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and served as a law clerk to the Honorable William J. Rea, United States District Court for the Central District of California at Los Angeles.
CARLOS ALBERINI Chief Executive Officer
Los Angeles, CA
MARGARET LAZO Chief Human Resources Officer
New York, NY
Lazo leads Univision’s human capital strategy including leadership development, succession planning, advancing diversity and inclusion, organizational design, employee relations, and compensation and benefits. She joined Univision from GE Capital where she most recently served as Human Resources Leader for the North American Commercial Lending and Leasing businesses. Prior to GE Capital, Lazo served in a number of human resources leadership roles at NBC Universal, including EVP of Human Resources for the cable & broadcast entertainment and digital properties
Top Latinos in corp 2020.indd 67
GEO Group (878)
PABLO PAEZ Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations
Boca Raton, FL
GEO Group (878)
DAVID VENTURELLA Senior Vice President, Business Development
Boca Raton, FL
David has more than 26 years experience in federal law enforcement operations. Prior to joining GEO, he served in various leadership positions including as the Director for the Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In addition to his 22-year career with ICE, Venturella has worked in the private sector in business development and strategic planning. He served as Vice President of the Homeland Security Business Unit for USIS in Falls Church, Virginia, where he was credited with increasing annual revenues by an average of 15 percent during his tenure. He also served as Director of Business Development for USIS in the company’s Professional Services Division and served as Director of Business Development for the Global Security and Engineering Services Unit with L-3 Communications in Chantilly, Virginia.
Knights of Columbus (895)
FRANK MANTERO Vice President Enterprise Brand Marketing
Guess (843)
Univision Communications (837)
both House and Senate Appropriations Chair, as well as President of the Florida Senate in his final term.
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Texas Roadhouse (829)
Univision Communications (837)
GEO Group (878)
JOE NEGRON Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
Boca Raton, FL
Negron serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary overseeing GEO’s corporate governance, financial and regulatory disclosures, and litigation related matters. He has 30 years of experience in business law and complex corporate and commercial litigation. He has worked for several prestigious Florida law firms throughout his career, most recently in the litigation practice at Akerman LLP. Negron also served in the Florida Legislature for fifteen years, including service as
New Haven, CT
Frank joined the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in 2020 in New Haven, CT, as Vice President of Enterprise Brand Marketing. In this role, he manages all brand and enterprise marketing strategy for one of the world’s leading fraternal and service organizations with two million members and more than $114 billion of life insurance in force and a $25 billion investment portfolio. He previously served as Head of Global Communications at Bunge, Ltd., in St. Louis, MO, a $40 billion, 35,000-person global agriculture and food company developing the messaging and brand platform. He joined Bunge from Inspira Health Network in metro Philadelphia, where he led marketing and public relations for a nearly $1B community healthcare network. He began his career working at multiple agencies in Atlanta and New York City, supporting technology, telecommunications and consumer clients such as IBM, Sony, MCI and Coca-Cola. "Diversity in leadership - unapologetically disruptive in changing the status quo -- will be a crucial differentiator between growth companies and laggards."
LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
company of Puerto Rico’s largest bank, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, and one of the top 50 financial holding companies in the US. Leading to this appointment he was president of Popular Bank, the company’s US-mainland operation. Before joining Popular Inc., Mr. Vázquez spent fifteen years in a variety of corporate finance, capital markets and banking positions with JP Morgan & Co. Inc.
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
Arch Coal (922)
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (978)
Deckers Brands (989)
RENATO PALADINO
MATTHEW PEREZ
TOM GARCIA
Vice President and Head of Business Development
Vice President Human Resources
SVP, General Counsel, Corporate Sustainability and Compliance Officer
Parsippany, NJ
St. Louis, MO
Foundation Building Materials (955)
RUBEN MENDOZA President, Chief Executive Officer
Santa Ana, CA
Mendoza is the founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) with over 25 years of direct industry experience. Prior to starting FBM in 2011, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of AMS, a leading distributor of wallboard, suspended ceiling systems, lath and plaster products, doors and other building products. Mendoza originally joined AMS in 1991 and assumed the Chief Executive Officer role in 2003 after several years of serving as the Vice President of Sales. AMS grew significantly under his leadership, particularly across the West Coast and Northern Mexico through the opening of new locations and strategic acquisitions. “I believe that Latino Executives can advance into more positions just the way I did, by adopting a strong entrepreneurial mindset and taking calculated risks."
Evercore (988)
ELSA FERREIRA Managing Director, Chief Information Security Officer
New York, NY
Elsa leads the Firm’s information security strategy and is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Enterprise Information Security program and ensuring the availability and protection of Evercore’s information assets. Prior to being appointed CISO, Ms. Ferreira was a director in the internal audit and risk management department, where she was responsible for auditing business processes, designing and assessing controls, and managing risks associated with changes in the information technology and security landscape. Prior to joining Evercore, Ms. Ferreira was a manager at EisnerAmper, where she worked with public and private financial and insurance organizations to conduct operational reviews, system evaluations, and audits to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory authorities.
Tom Garcia is a member of Deckers Brands’ Executive Leadership Team, where he oversees all legal, sustainability, human resources, and compliance matters. Under Tom’s sustainability leadership, Deckers, a global footwear and apparel company, joined the United Nations Global Compact and launched the company’s Sustainable Development Goals, with initiatives resulting in Deckers’ recognition as one of Barrons’ 100 Most Sustainable US Companies in 2019. Prior to joining Deckers, Tom was Assistant General Counsel at Mentor Corporation, a medical device company acquired by Johnson & Johnson, and Associate Attorney at the law firms of Hatch and Parent, and Buchanan Ingersoll.
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Centric Brands (957)
MARTHA SILVA Vice President Human Resources-Global Talent Acquisitions and Talent Management
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LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
New York, NY
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE RAFAEL SANTANA
Q&A WITH RAFAEL SANTANA RAFAEL SANTANA IS THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE TECHNOLOGIES. Tell us a bit about your background, childhood and family. Growing up in Brazil, my parents taught my sister and I the value of hard work and sacrifice. These values were evident in my community and in its resilience. At a young age I was exposed to sports, which opened up an opportunity for me to move to the United States for a year during high school and compete as a swimmer. At the time, I could hardly speak or read English. That experience taught me grit, how to be resourceful, how to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, and that no challenge is too big to overcome. What are some of your most transformative leadership experiences? There have been several experiences throughout my career that have shaped me as a person and leader. The one that stands out the most is when I was tapped to serve as president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas’ Turbomachinery Solutions business, based in Italy. There were many converging forces happening at once, including significant integration activities to bring distinct business units, cultures and product portfolios under one umbrella. Concurrently, the Oil & Gas market was undergoing a significant downturn. The business needed to shed costs, consolidate operations and drive productivity. Tension and ambiguity ran high. To overcome these hurdles, we focused on building a high-performing team grounded on communication, speed of decision making, accountability, and trust. Together, we led a turnaround of the business, created a culture grounded in purpose and passion, and drove significant margin improvement and growth in a contracting marketplace. That experience and the lessons learned stick with me to this day. What is the most important Latino issue to you and why? Education. Access to education is a pathway to success. We need to focus on getting the graduation—both at the high school and at the highest level of education— rates to rise. We are in a historic and fast-paced season of change. The exponential growth of technology brings along a myriad of opportunities and open doors—and we must be ready for it. We must have a generation ready to thrive and excel in this new environment. As a prominent business leader, how are you thinking about elevating diversity in business as you set priorities in the coming years? At Wabtec, we are intentional about embracing diversity and inclusion as an integral part of our business. We believe diversity and inclusion should be embedded and executed in every aspect of the business and are taking deliberate steps to integrate it into our daily business operations, our programs, 70 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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processes, and policies – in recruiting and hiring, in employee learning paths and career development, as well as in succession planning. With a sincere commitment to this approach, we aim to put the company on a stronger path to success. 2020 has been a challenging year around the globe given the CoVID-19 pandemic. How has this year changed the way leaders engage with their teams? For so many, the pandemic has been a time of stress, anxiety and uncertainty for our people. In times like these, leaders – at every level – play a vital role in building clarity and confidence … and helping people manage through uncertainty. For any leader managing through a crisis, your top priority should be delivering clear, consistent and empathetic communication to employees – and doing it often. Employees want (and need) to understand the actions the company is taking to protect their health and how their work lives will be impacted. They need to understand the vitality of the business and what does the pandemic mean for the company’s financial outlook short- or long-term? Most important, they need to feel connected – to their leaders, customers, and to the company’s business strategy during a time of unprecedented disruption.
WABTEC IS A LEADING GLOBAL PROVIDER OF EQUIPMENT, SYSTEMS, DIGITAL SOLUTIONS, AND VALUEADDED SERVICES FOR THE FREIGHT AND TRANSIT RAIL SECTORS. 05/01/21 14:46
TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE AMERICA
BANCO POPULAR
THE PERSERVERANCE OF A LEADER Hard Work, Integrity and grit are some of the many values that define Latino Leader and Entrepreneur Juan Meija. His persistence in “el mundo de la vida” propelled him to have much success in life. Mr.Meija’s mission was simple: work hard and always push yourself to want more.
“WHEN YOU’RE 52 years old and you experience the kind of personal tragedy I did, your whole life perspective kind of changes,” expresses Alvarez.
Ignacio’s Familia Support
Alvarez connects his ability to overcome personal struggles, to his family connection and his upbringing as a child. For the Latino CEO nothing in life came easy, but having a positive support system made all the difference in his life. “My life story is kind of interesting because my wife was also a lawyer and she was the general counselor for Banco Popular,” Alvarez said “She passed away with cancer in 2010 and at that point the then CEO and chairman approached about my job."
Personal Struggles to Personal Success
After the passing of his wife, Alvarez was able to grow and develop as a CEO for Banco Popular. He prides himself for being able to get to authoritative status with the bank and is pleased with the opportunity he was presented with. “One was 52 years old and I had the chance to do something different with a little bit more purpose in the sense that Banco Popular was a special organization with a special role in society especially in Puerto Rico.” Alvarez is very skilled in using his intangibles as a leader within the com-
pany and leads with a sense of unity and connection. If there is one thing he knows, it's that there is no “I” in team. His motto is simple: no matter your social status within the company, everyone can contribute in some way. “As a leader I think you have to show empathy with your workers and employees and with your top leaders you have to require a sense of transpareny,” Alvarez said. “When we get around the table, let's open up, let's discuss openly." “I want open and thoughtful discussions, but once you get out of that room and we agree on something, then we’ve got to execute it and act as a team," Alvarez expressed.
bank like ours makes difference to the communities we serve, why everyone doesn't need to bank with one of the big six banks in the United States.” One thing that allows Banco Popular to stand against other companies is their sense of resilience and will to fight through difficult situations. As a Latino, Alvarez takes this heart and connects his role as leader to his roots within the Hispanic Community. “One of the great things about the Hispanic culture that other cultures can learn from is that in these difficult and tragic family moments, families really do come together, and everyone pinches in,” Alvarez said. ”
The growth of Banco Popular
While teamwork is one thing Alvarez commits himself to, he also understands there are some challenges he must fight individually. Looking into the future, he is trying to find ways he can expand the bank and truly stand out compared to other big-name bank corporations. “My sense of leadership is I listen to people, I try to get their input, but at the end of the day you know I make a decision and move forward,” Alvarez said. “I think we live through difficult economic times especially in Puerto Rico and the difference between us and others is we take those difficult times as opportunities that arise, we’re willingly to make the strategic decision to go forward because we believe in the future.” “The difficult thing we need to do is continue to try and show people why a
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE AMERICA BANCO POPULAR
LEADING BANCO POPULAR CFO Carlos Vazquez expresses gratitude for opportunities:
Carlos lives by the motto, “Stay curious, ask the right questions and try to always be learning and again with all the effort and touch of luck hopefully the level of success will continue to grow.” “When I finished my MBA, my wife was studying law in the main land, so I decided to stay in the main land for a year or two until she finished her law degree before heading back to Puerto Rico,” Vazquez said. Vazquez got offered a job at J.P. Morgan in New York which then expanded to a 15 years career there. Over time, his experience at Chase Bank allowed him to develop into a household name within the financial industry and lead him to be named Executive Vice-President for the Risk Management team at Banco Popular. “When I joined Popular, I joined to set up the banks risk management group, we had never had one and I came to set that up,” Vazquez said. He then started running the consumer credit business and personal loans program. Today, his role as CFO would not be possible without his passion for finance. One thing that attracted him to the business was how “the administration is always changing, it never is never the same from one year to the next.” While Vazquez has nothing but love for his career, none of it would be possible without the love and support of family. “The biggest drop of luck is my spouse, I have the pleasure of being married to an incredible person that is smarter than me, that supports me, that brings me assistance, that brings me down to earth and frankly is the most important thing,” Vazquez said.
Javier Ferrer, EVP and Chief Legal Office: At a young age, Javier's
passion for lending a helping hand first started when he was a part of the law industry. “I think a lawyer is a lot about service frankly, and I was really attracted at the notion of service, the notion of fairness, being in the middle of solving problems, of doing the right thing,the impact it has on one society,” Ferrer said. His journey within the Finance Industry first began when he first took on the role as President/Vice-President Chairman of the Board for the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico. Six months later he found his big break at Banco Popular. His role in the company is complex, he must advise the senior management team and leadership group, while also handling responsibilities such as acquisition, transactions reporting matters, and litigations within the organization. “I’m always looking for challenges to tackle,” Ferrer said. “I point the figure and just get very passionate.” Since joining Banco Popular, the company has continued to present new ideas and innovate ways to appeal to customers all over. His goal for the company going forward is simple. He hopes to continue serving clients, backing them together with the employees. “It’s critical employees are taken care of, without them we couldn’t move things to keep pushing forward.”
Carlos Vazquez
Javier Ferrer FOLLOW US @latinoleadersmag FOLLOW US LatinoLeadersMagazine
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE BANCO POPULAR
Lorenzo Almanza
Carlos Cuevas
THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE BANKING SYSTEM
BETTINA AND THE IMPORTANCE OF AWARENESS
Banco Popular has found ways to adapt to the ever advances of technology, and that is all in part to their Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer, Camille Burckhart. Burckhart first began her adventure with Banco Popular in August 2001, where she started off working for the training program. Her interest in technology grew from there as she was promoted to Project Manager Internet Strategy. “I started working right out of college at Banco Popular as an analyst,” Burckhart said. “Eventually I started the technology division in the bank when we saw our area was focused on technology.” Her love for technology first began during her college years when she was exposed to a variety of classes. She soon realized the effect technology had on society and how she wanted to be a part of the ever-changing process. “Even though my background was in finance, I quickly realized how technology can quickly change and accomplish anything you wanted,” she said. It was her love with the use of technology, that she has been able to adapt and grow within the community. Along with dedicating most of her time to the bank, she also spends most of her time being a Director for Nuestra Escuela, a program designed to offer support to students interested in building projects that fit their needs. “There’s organizations like Fundacion Banco Popular which really focuses on education as well.” With the future in the rear-view mirror, Burckhart believes technology will have a big impact on the future and that educating people within the industry will be key. “The evolution of the financial industry will be in how can we maximize the use of technology to make banking a lot more initiative and a preference to people’s likes without them having to ask for something.”
WITH MANY companies transitioning to online work, companies understand the risk that comes with it, including online hacking. Banco Popular has relied on Chief Security Officer and Executive Vice President, Betina Castellvi. Her understanding and knowledge of awareness and cybersecurity has allowed the company to move in the right direction. “A lot of this has been awareness, empowerment and fixing what needs to be fixed so we can catch it quickly,” Castellvi said. “In the United States and in the world, we don’t have that sharing fully deployed, so they go faster, and we don’t learn about the tactics as fast, so I think that’s a big challenge.” Castellvi believes the company has the right resources and man power to combat any future attacks. It is her belief that the company is moving in the right direction. “I think that with remote work, we’ve expanded the challenge significantly, but what I tell everybody is relevant is that this is not a matter of the team protecting the corporation, it’s a matter of everybody,” she explains. “I think we’ve invested a lot of time trying to empower everybody to understand what it means to be careful, to be protective because it only takes one person to click on the wrong email to do the wrong thing to the system” The CSO currently holds a Jurius Doctor Degree from the University of Puerto Rico and is also admitted to the bar. “Having a law degree was really a compliment, I never worked as a lawyer really, I just saw it as an opportunity to learn and I applied it in every job that I had,” she said. It is because of her background that she focuses a lot of her time on education. “We need to have stronger education methods, we need to know who you are, not only by what you are telling me but I want to know what source you’re using, where you’re connecting from.”
Camille Burckhart, EVP && Chief Information & Digital Officer DDigitalDigitaOfficer, Banco Popular
Betina Castellvi, Officer, EVP & Chief Security Officer, Banco Popular
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE AMERICA UNUM
Q&A WITH LISA IGLESIAS Q&A
EVP & GENERAL COUNSEL AT UNUM
paralegals, compliance managers and leQ Please Tell Us About Your Roots & Upgal assistants. I advise the Chief Executive rising? Officer, executive team, and Board of DiA Each of my four grandparents emigrated rectors. I also manage Unum’s Enterprise from Spain. Traveling alone as teenagers, reer as a lawyer? Why is it so importAudit Team and Corporate Services team. they settled in New York City where they ant to increase representation in the eventually met and later married. My par- Q Can you tell us about your career path, industry? how did you get to your current position? A I would encourage Latinas to pursue a caents grew up a few blocks from each other in the Bronx, where they met and got mar- A After law school, I practiced at a law firm in reer in law as we need their experience and South Florida as a securities, mergers, and ried. They valued education and attended viewpoints in the profession. The markets acquisitions attorney. Two years after havcollege on scholarships. My mother became attorneys and their companies serve are ing my first child, I decided to work with a a nurse anesthetist, and my father earned a diverse, and it is important we represent local temporary staffing and recruiting firm PhD in Latin American Geography. As the entire diversity of that marketplace. that was on an acquisition binge. A few my father’s career progressed, they moved Various opinions educate others about the years after merging with another company, around to different universities. I was born needs of those diverse communities that the CEO promoted me to General Counin Florida, but we moved to Western Canmight otherwise be overlooked. sel. I changed the culture and modernized ada when I was two years old. I lived there There is tremendous opportunity for the law departments. I served as General through high school but returned to Floriwomen to grow and lead in this indusCounsel for almost 10 years before switchda for college and law school. try. Insurance companies typically have a ing industries and becoming the first Genhigher percentage of women in the general Counsel for a fashion retailer. Q When and how did you realize you eral workforce, but they continue to be When the economy collapsed in 2008, wanted to become a lawyer? underrepresented in leadership positions. that company’s plans changed, and it wasn’t Studies show gender-diverse teams have the right time to build a new law departA I always thought I would enter law enforcehigher sales and profits than male-domiment. I took some time off and later joined ment, and even interned with the FBI’s nated teams. More female talent in an ora healthcare company as SEC Counsel to White Collar Crime unit. Trying to be ganization creates greater job satisfaction, help rebuild its compliance and corporate practical, I changed my undergraduate mastronger organizational dedication, less governance culture after an FBI raid led to its jor from Criminal Justice to Accounting at burnout, and higher engagement. top officers being indicted. I resolved related the last minute. After practicing as a CPA Unum has pledged to implement the shareholder litigation and secured an early in public accounting for 3 years, I decided Paradigm for Parity 5-Point Action Plan, release of that company’s deferred prosecuto go to law school. designed to help companies increase the tion agreement. I was promoted to General number of women of all races, cultures and Q As a Latina, what would you say were Counsel a few years later and stayed at the backgrounds in leadership positions. the biggest challenges during your company for 5 years, until Unum called. This year Unum also launched a Mulprocess of becoming a lawyer? ticultural Leadership Development ProA Growing up, I never met an attorney. My Q What has been one of the most regram to prepare racially diverse employees warding moments you’ve experiparents valued education and it helped for the next level of their career. enced in your career? them leave the Bronx and improve our standard of living considerably. However, A I will always remember while working for AT A GLANCE the staffing company a large customer most of our family and friends were from went bankrupt and the company – along that Spanish neighborhood. They didn’t “Unum helps millions of people gain affordable access to disability, life, accident, with its franchisee – were at risk of havgo to college and became mechanics, critical illness, dental and vision benefits ing to repay much of the revenue we had worked for the post office, became cooks through the workplace — benefits that help received from the customer. I secured a or clerks, with most of them staying close them protect their families, their finances and complete release from that requirement. I to our neighborhood. My parents didn’t their futures. came to appreciate the impact and signifiknow anything about the U.S. college sys cance of that event for the franchisee, after tem, law school, or even legal careers, so I • 39 million people protected worldwide he and his wife let me know the successful had to figure it all out. • $7.5 billion in benefits paid negotiation saved them from financial ruin •1 in 3 companies on the Fortune 500 offer Q What is your job title and tell us about as they were about to retire. Unum benefits to their employees your role? A I am the General Counsel for Unum Q What would you say to young Latinas today thinking about pursuing a caGroup. I manage a team of attorneys, 74 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
JUAN MEJIA
MEJIA’S MOTTO IS SIMPLE: WORK HARD AND ALWAYS PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD HARD WORK, Integrity and grit are some of the many values that define Latino Leader and Entrepreneur Juan Mejia. His persistence in “el mundo de la vida” propelled him to have much success in life. Mejia’s mission was simple: work hard and always push yourself to want more. “I wanted to grow up being just like my father and my mother from a professional perspective,” Foot Locker HR Representative, Mejia said. Juan’s childhood and rhetoric from his parents allowed him to see the better fight in life. “As a result of their perseverance, they really still instilled very good work ethic, obviously having a mindset where we're constantly learning.” As a result of his exposure to hard work, Juan was able to find his calling in life and use his assertive mindset to land a corporate position with Foot Locker. “I worked in several different HR roles following my graduation, from recruitments to HR generalist, but back in 2006 that’s when I was extremely fortunate to land an HR analyst position with Foot Locker,” Mejia said. “One of the reasons I say that I was fortunate was because the core value of the company really matched the core values I grew up in: Teamwork, integrity, those things really resonated with me and I’ve been very fortunate to progress through different roles and increase responsibility.” After landing an HR position, Juan’s drive did not stop there as he was focused on using his work ethic and skills to best promote a safe environment for the company. The advice his parents gave him as a child resounded in his head, as he continued to use that tightknit family bond from his childhood and center it around the growth of the company.
“I think one of the reasons that brought my success is how I don’t look to accomplish things by myself,” Mejia expresses. “I look to accomplish things as a team and really surround myself with a diverse group of team members that have unique qualities that can help us create and innovate solutions within the organization” One of the top initiatives Meija centers his time on, is the well-being of others. The care-free attitude presented further demonstrates the mission Juan instills in Foot Locker and the motto of the community’s best interest. Putting others first is what best allows any company to move forward and Juan is fully committed to that mantra. “Within Footlocker Inc. and really within myself, one of the things I really pride myself on is really having a strong leadership presence, so what that means really is that I’m committed to helping team members navigate uncertain situations with empathy,” Mejia said. “I think first and fore most we need to recognize that every single one of our team members are in a different place in their career journey and their experience, so it’s important that we create an environment where people can have point of view.”
Before the COVID pandemic, Mejia led Foot Locker with the mindset of inclusion and diversity. Having people from all different types of backgrounds and hearing what they have to say really allows any company to flourish as one, at least that’s the perspective Mejia sticks by. Even with a Pandemic in place, Juan’s attitudes of hard work and inclusion never changed. “To executives and leaderships positions like myself, I would say that we also have an accountability and responsibility to invest in our community, not only in creating a diverse workspace in hiring Latinos and creating a diverse representation at all levels.” “You always want to make sure that you challenge yourself and that you bring peers and a diverse workforce to make the right decisions,” he expresses.
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TOP LATINOS IN CORPORATE
LIZ LEVY-NAVARRO’S Journey as a Corporate Board Director
“Latinos are very unrepresented in the U.S. boardroom, making up less than 3% of corporate board members, yet representing almost 20% of the country,” CEO and Public Board Director Liz LevyNavarro said.
LIZ LEVY- NAVARRO is part of this very small community. She seeks to both have a positive impact on the boards she serves on, as well as to help grow the number of qualified diverse professionals that serve as board directors. “For me, the positive aspects of being a corporate board director are having a voice at the very top of a company and participating in ways where quality governance and strategic thinking can add value to corporate decision making,” Levy-Navarro said. With her background and success as an entrepreneur, she has honed the ability to communicate, collaborate, and to be open to new approaches and thinking in the most difficult of situations. Those qualities are also essential in the boardroom. Yet, her journey to achieve her first corporate board appointment was not easy. “While I serve on several public and private boards, this positive result did not come about without rejection along the way,” Levy-Navarro said. “You need to be patient and continue to network when you pursue board service, because getting on your first board can take two to three years to achieve, with the board search process taking upwards to twelve months.” When someone starts their corporate board journey, it’s important to emphasize and profile an area of expertise that is important to a board and a unique strength. As CEO with a career in advising Fortune 500 executives on issues of business growth, Levy-Navarro’s success has been in value creation and digital commerce. So, she highlighted those talents and experience. In starting her board journey, she connected with a prior mentor/coach, who encouraged her and referred her to others to accelerate her ability to gain her first board appointment. “She actually introduced me to the Advisory Board that she had previously served on because she knew they were actively looking for another board member with a profile like mine, and that is how I got onto my first board,” she said. Levy-Navarro’s current and former board experience includes Wilshire Mutual Funds (NASDAQ listed); AIG US Life Company; Board Chair for Alper Services; Burke Distributor Holdings Company; and Gold Eagle Company. “The role of a board is to oversee, not manage, the company. To ensure that the company’s strategic direction and financial situation best serves its shareholders and addresses the needs of its stakeholders.,” she said. “A board member should be that strong, wise adviser who collaborates with the other board members to add value and provide insight to management so the company pursues a strong path forward year after year.” Levy-Navarro believes companies benefit when they include more Latinos, people of color, and women on their boards. “To me, diverse boards are not just the right thing to do, they’re an imperative to strong governance. A diverse board brings different and valuable perspectives and experiences that improve a board’s decision making and oversight capabilities.”
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15/01/21 13:44
eLEARNING “THE FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION NEEDS TO REINVENT ITSELF TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE PATHWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL, REGARDLESS OF A PERSON’S SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, RACE OR ETHNICITY, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, ACADEMIC READINESS, AND AGE.” -Linda Battles, Regional Director, WGU Texas
Covid has changed many things; one of them being Education. The “new normal” is a concept that is still undefined, but many Colleges and Universities are making solid steps to re-invent and evolve the way high education is instructed. The following education institutions are big and bright examples of what the future could bring us. Though their leadership, in the next pages you will now their innovative strategies, which will mean better access for Latino Students as a benefit.
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EDUCATION
UPENN NURSING
NURSING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION The underrepresentation of Latinos within the university system is highly demonstrated and something that has been discussed for quite some time. One university who is breaking these statistical barriers is The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
D
R.VILLARRUEL’S passion and commitment to nursing first began at an early age. Her parents really instilled in her the values of education. “Since I’m the only girl in the family, my parents gave me the choice of becoming a nurse or a teacher,” Villarruel said. “What my parents wanted me to make sure I do, was that I had a job where I wouldn’t have to depend on a man.” The degree of nursing is not easy, and this Dean believes that there are many opportunities for nurses to grow beyond the profession. “Nursing is a career that has evolved. The whole area of research has just blown up, so nurses are making extraordinary changes and impacted how to manage pain, how to improve systems of care in the hospital, how to ensure good patient outcome to nursing, and how to ensure good care as people are transitioned from the hospital to their home,” Villarruel said. With COVID in full-effect, Dr. Villarruel wants her nurses to continue trying diverse strategies and adapt to whatever challenge may come their way. If there is any profession that can adapt to change, it is the nursing program at Pennsylvania University. She holds to the belief that the school has evolved in the past six months. “How we engage with students, has been both a challenge and an opportunity. In some ways, access has been easier and we’ve been able to bring our international colleagues into the classroom, we’ve been able to attend a lot more meetings because we’ve been able to do so virtually,” she said. One area the Nursing Dean hopes to make an impact on is within the Latino community. She truly stays strong to the idea that with the Latin population growing, more opportunities will be presented for them. “When I was a faculty member at Penn before I became a Dean, I formed the Philadelphia chapter of
Lorenzo Almanza Courtesy Luis González
Dr.Antonia Villarrueal. Dean Penn Nursing the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. We brought Latina nurses together to celebrate nursing, to celebrate their heritage, and to think about how we could collectively make an impact in the community,” said Villarruel. Today, the chapter is still striving. “I want opportunities for my students, I want opportunities for my college, and we want opportunities to lead in the way we’re prepared to lead,” she said. “Nurses are actually being included in leadership positions, here in Philadelphia we have three nurses of the largest hospitals in the Philadelphia area who are the Chief Executive Officers and they’re running the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Veterans Administration. Why? Because they have leadership capabilities they know how to run teams, they understand the patient experience, and they use evidence to instill their practice.” Dr. Villarruel leads and calls for a different future. “The sky is the limit,” she says. In the next years, “you’re going to see a lot more nurse entrepreneurs who are making money and who are doing good products and delivering great patient care.”
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E-LEARNING EDUCATION
Elsa Cavazos
DIVERSITY IN UNIVERSITIES The future leaders of the world could not be prepared without a proper example. Dean Balaji Rajagopalan from the College of Business of Northern Illinois University is exactly that.
BALAJI COMES from the Southern part of India and says he comes from very humble beginnings. He migrated to the U.S in 1989 to further his education. “Many come with aspirations and ambitions but also come from very humble backgrounds,” he said. According to him, the University he works for strives to keep the school audience as diverse as possible. “We wanted to make sure that our efforts and initiatives were relevant and impactful for every student that joined the cultural business not for a select fee,” Balaji said. He believes public education is an essential when it comes to creating future leaders but also conscious citizens. Because the purpose is to have a better understanding of society, everyone must be represented. “We can’t prepare the leaders of tomorrow without the ability for them to understand people with different perspectives, people with different backgrounds,” he said. Balaji added, social justice and equality are important topics of conversation educational institutions must have in order to keep diversity as a priority. “We have to have the difficult conversations, we should embrace and educate our students. Diversity also means empowering voices that perhaps have been suppressed for a long period of time. Listening to those voices and acting on them . Educating minds and hearts,” he said. Balaji said by having different perspectives, students are able to be aware of what others are going through and essentially become better people. In business, by having more diverse people the more creative ideas can occur, he added. Because of the pandemic, the way the university usually works has now changed. Balaji said they are now focusing on delivering the same message and energy through technology. For instance, Zoom has now become a great tool. “We miss face-to-face but we can create that engagement by virtual means. It is different but the point is we can find ways to engage students in virtual seminars far more than in the past,” he said. “It has placed some challenges but also opportunities,” Balaji said. He believes technology is an essential tool for learning and is here to stay for years to come. The way students are now adapting to the pandemic brought a new learning model which has changed everything, not only education. Balaji says the idea learning stops at some point should be forgotten and the constant want and need of absorbing learning should be a part of the dna of leaders. “That is the only way that they can lead organizations,” he said. Another tip he has for future leaders is to have an optimistic outlook on life and the challenges it may throw. “Leaders have to have a positive approach, they are going to be challenged in many ways but it is their approach that will make all the difference,” Balaji said.
Two other traits he added were integrity and the ability of having a transformative mind. Balaji mentioned even asking a question of why and challenging the status quo can make a huge difference. To add to the topic Balaji said caring about others is important to be able to provide a good to the world. “It is not enough for them to simply talk about it but they have to be authentic and care about the people around them. They have to be role models,” he said. Understanding and accepting failure, is also a piece of advice he talks about to lead an organization and become a proper leader. Balaji was asked his thoughts on standardized testing and its importance as a way of selecting students. Though he understands the use of them, he said those tests do not necessarily embody the intelligence of a student as a whole. “There is research that shows that the students that come from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately challenged by standardized tests,” he said. “Our university's decision is set in the context of continuing to serve the group we have committed ourselves to serve,” Balaji said. Circling back to the topic of diversity, Balaji mentioned besides their student population being one of the most diverse, there are campus organizations who support the cultural exchange. “We have an excellent Latino resource center on campus that serves the entire NIU community,” he said. “We have a student organization, ALPHA which is the Latino Professional in the college of business led by one of our faculty members. It is one of the most active organizations and engage with high school students and it exemplifies how we can partner with students and be a partner in supporting them,” Balaji said. He added it is by creating opportunities such as this organization and resources, students in college of business can be successful and the diversity the school promotes can be supported with evidence. For future projects, the university is working on an innovation creativity lab where Balaji said brainstorming will be enhanced. “It is one of the most exciting projects, we have a vision to embrace the idea of experimentation of ideas and creativity,” he said. “Some of these ideas might turn into real businesses, we have created an entrepreneurial mindset in our students,” Balaji said. Finally, work ethic, resilience and the ability to adapt are key traits Balaji considers are helpful when it comes to becoming a business leader. Regardless of knowledge, those three are essential to succeed. “One of the alums was asked by a student, what do you do when something didn't work for you and he said I just worked twice as hard,” he said. “As we look at what is happening in the world and the changes we have to open to change because the world is changing,” Balaji said. WINTER EDITION 2020 LATINO LEADERS 79
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LEADERSHIP
HALFTIME INSTITUTE
CARLOS CARPIZO’S EXPERIENCE AT THE HALFTIME INSTITUTE CARLOS CARPIZO, a former tech executive for two Fortune 1000 companies, social innovator and author of At Risk of Greatness suffered from an accident in 2006 resulting in him having a different perspective on life. Fast forward to 2017 and while being the President of a mid market company, Carlos was introduced to Bob Buford’s book, “Halftime: Moving from Success to Significance.” It was through the book that he learned about the “halftime” concept and the Halftime Institute. The “halftime” concept carries the meaning of a time to pause, reflect on what one has accomplished, who you’ve become, and what will matter most to you in the next season of life. It’s an opportunity to make a course correction or commit to stay the course so that you are equipped to direct your time and resources purposefully. This resonated with Carlos and he knew that it was just what he needed. After some research and consideration, Carlos went on and pursued the Fellows Program, offered by the Halftime Institute. Carlos was intrigued most specifically to this program for two main reasons: it was faith based and it included sessions for his wife, leading this to be not only an an opportunity for himself but for his family as well. “The main memory that I have from the Fellows Program at the Halftime Institute experience is a feeling of gratitude, camaraderie and peace,” states Carlos. “The activities of the Fellows Program cover a broad spectrum from downright fun to heart wrenching. A good mix of individual and group activities. A highlight for me was the thriving family retreat where the spouses join.” A year later from the program, Carlos regained his mission and had a clear understanding of where he wanted to go next. The Fellows Program had helped him realize that after his long trajectory and career accomplishments it was now time for him to focus on a greater significance which was to increase economic growth and social inclusion for young adults in disadvantaged areas of the U.S. and Mexico. It was through surrendering and the support of his Halftime brothers that Carlos felt ready to embark on his next full time pursuit.
Halftime Institute serves clients ranging from mid-30s to mid-70s and across all industries, ethnicities, and genders. The reality is that a “halftime” is triggered by a mid-life transition depending on your stage of life. Clients in the Halftime Institute find their significance and sometimes some corrections which have to be made to their existing careers or ventures, all through teaching, coaching, and connecting. “The biggest personal challenge for me was definitely developing my road map, alongside my coach and cohort, which includes having a clear personal mission,” explains Carlos. It is clear that for one to find their purpose there can be multiple paths but for Carlos it was all about a mix of faith and pain. “My message to other leaders is: if you feel like you are a penguin living among flamingoes the fellows program will take you to your colony of penguins. Or the other way around if you prefer.”
halftimeinstitute.org halftime.org halftime.org HalftimeInstitute Halftime Institute
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EDUCATION E- LEARNING
THE WGU TEXAS DIFFERENCE WGU Texas’ mission is to improve lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity. WGU TEXAS is an accredited, nonprofit, competency-based, 100% online university established to expand access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Texas and nationally recognized Western Governors University (WGU), WGU Texas is open to all qualified Texas residents. We offer more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. Degree programs are carefully chosen with workforce readiness in mind. Our special competency-based model for online learning is designed for the working adult, and our commitment to keeping costs down means better ROI for graduates. Our model delivers bachelor’s degrees at 1/5th the cost of the national average and 42 percent of our graduates complete their degree without incurring student loans. All degree programs are accredited through WGU by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) which is the highest form of regional accreditation based on performance, integrity and quality and qualifies institutions and enrolled students to access Title IV federal funds to support teaching, research and student financial aid.
ous scholarship, grant, and financial aid program, WGU Texas serves students who may not otherwise attend or succeed in college. Last year, WGU awarded more than $16 million in scholarships to students. Visit wgu. edu/access to learn more about our commitment to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to earn a degree.
Solving the College-Readiness Gap
Providing the foundation for success as a WGU student. WGU Academy helps solve the growing college-readiness gap by providing individuals with an affordable, low-risk on-ramp that prepares them for eventual enrollment at WGU Texas. Students can complete two college-level courses in addition to a noncredit program, which helps develop confidence, persistence, and a positive academic mindset WGU pioneered competency-based education and remains the only institu- before taking on a regular degree program. tion offering it at scale. WGU Texas awards degrees based on the skills and Upon completing the program, students are knowledge that each student possesses and can demonstrate—not the num- guaranteed admission to WGU Texas. ber of credit hours on their transcript. Students learn at their own pace progressing through a degree program by demonstrating mastery of competencies as courses are completed. If a student can learn faster, spend more time on WGU Texas is focused on learning outcomes schoolwork, or lean on knowledge from previous work or school experience, as they relate to workforce skills that employers demand.. they can accelerate. As people return to school to keep pace With 24/7 access to online learning resources to engage with on their schedule, students learning journey is tailored exactly to where their knowl- with the evolving job market, and as the edge currently is—and where it needs to be. Faculty provide personalized, pace of technological innovation accelerates, one-on-one learning support. Students are paired with program mentors who workers need to continually learn new skills. help them understand the competencies required for their program and get Working with industry, WGU mapped over over any obstacles to completing their courses, and course instructors guide 7,000 skills across our programs and courses, students through the content one must master to pass the course assessments. connecting course competencies to employer and workforce needs and in-demand skills. Our model allows adult learners to affordHigher education can and should be affordable and accessible to all students. ably, conveniently upskill and reskill in ways WGU Texas is committed to increasing access to high quality, affordable, that are marketable to employers. and attainable programs that are connected to the workforce. WGU Texas’ diverse student population includes underserved populations, first-generation and low-income students. Most of our students are working adults, with 74 academy.wgu.edu/ percent working full-time while enrolled in our programs. Through a gener-
Competency-Based Education
Upskilling and Reskilling
Equity and Access
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EDUCATION WGU
INCLUSIVE AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATION FOR ALL LINDA BATTLES
REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WGU TEXAS
Q&A
learning model, we are able to continue despite Q You recently joined WGU as Regional Director. How did you end the pandemic. Additionally, we are solely focused up with the role and what does it entail? on student learning. Unlike most traditional inA After working in Texas state government and higher education public stitutions, we do not conduct research, engage in policy for 25 years, I was ready for a new experience in higher educasports, etc. and because learning is delivered ontion -- but not just any university. I wanted to work at a student-cenline, facilities costs are significantly less. tric university that values diversity, equity, and inclusion among its Q uestion: Can you tell us about any specific student body, faculty and staff, and executive administrators. initiatives dedicated to work closely with In February, I came across the Regional Director job posting at WGU the Latino community and their advanced Texas and I joined the university in April. I have been a longtime supeducation? porter of the institution since it was created in 2011 by then-Governor Rick Perry through an Executive Order to expand access to high A One of our primary initiatives is to expand equitable access and success to higher educaquality, competency-based, online education for working adults. tion for underserved populations, specifically I assist the Chancellor/Regional Vice President with the South Region’s low-income, Latinx and African American popoperational strategy. I provide oversight of initiatives that drive the ulations. In January, we’ll launch the Equitable university’s commitment to delivering high-quality education and Access Grant, a need-based grant to encourgraduates that meet workforce needs. I expand our partnerships age these underserved populations to enroll at across the state and grow brand awareness and enrollment, particularWGU Texas to earn their bachelor’s degree from ly among underserved populations. one of our four colleges of business, IT, teaching, and health professions. And our Online AcQ How did your career in education start? cess Scholarship helps low-income or rural stuA I started working as a legislative aide (and later became Chief of Staff/ dents who don’t have access to technology and/ Legislative Director) for State Representative Irma Rangel (D-Kingsor broadband internet complete their degree at ville) who was the first Mexican American woman elected to the Texas WGU Texas. House in 1976. It was under Irma’s mentorship that I learned about the importance of expanding access to higher education, particularly for Q Where do you see the future of education? A The future of higher education needs to reinvent low-income and students of color. itself to provide multiple pathways to opportunity In 1997, I had the privilege of working on landmark legislation — the for all, regardless of a person’s socioeconomic staTop 10 Percent Automatic Admission Law (H.B. 588, 75th Texas tus, race or ethnicity, geographic location, academLegislature). Irma filed this bill in response to a 1996 decision by the ic readiness, and age. We need to support learners 5th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibiting the use of racial preferences where they are and give them the opportunity to in university admissions in Texas. In 2000, I transitioned to the Texas transform their lives for the better through educaHigher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). tion. Employers need to support lifelong learning Q WGU Texas has been an online education school since before so that their employees can upskill or reskill to keep our current crisis. What are some advantages you think WGU up with an evolving technology-based workforce. had when other universities started going online? Most importantly, higher education institutions A WGU was designed to deliver higher education online to meet students need to put students at the center of all activities where they live, without the barriers of a traditional classroom with and decision-making. I’m proud to work for a uniin-person instruction. Because of our fully online, competency-based versity that embodies all of these characteristics. 82 LATINO LEADERS WINTER EDITION 2020
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E-LEARNING UT ARLINGTON
THE SUCCESS OF UTA IS BUILT ON THRUST AND TRUST Since the start of the pandemic, many universities and colleges have had to adapt to societal changes. One university who has gone above and beyond their calling, is the University of Texas at Arlington. The success of UTA has been quite noticeable thanks in part to Maria Martinez and her work as the Associate Vice Provost for Public Affairs. “TO SET THE STAGE, UTA has been doing online teaching for 20 plus years, our nursing program, our college of business programs,” Martinez said. Two things Martinez has done to make the university stand is: adapt her faculty through the engagement of online teaching and connect to their student needs. It is her belief that since the pandemic her faculty is “much more amenable on using some of the tools they’ve learned online and how to engage our students.” The success of her faculty has translated into the understanding and adaptation to their students. “I think for our students, some of them really love flexibility of their hybrid courses and their online courses, other students discovered that they really want the face to face interaction,” Martinez said “I don’t think we’re going back to fully face to face courses, I think we will continue to have a mix that the faculty and departments will get to decide what’s a good mix for their students” Like any other university, UTA has experience their share of difficulties during the pandemic. One of the current problems that exist is the technology gap between students and the ability to connect to their courses. “Our first-generation students which are largely Latino, many of them are struggling with a digital device,” she said. “Many of our students use their computer labs on campus, they don’t have computers at home, or they may not have internet.” While the struggle may be hard for their students, Martinez and her faculty continue to work in diverse ways to adapt to the needs of their students. “We shipped computers to students, we shipped hotspots to students and there’s also so much there as a public institution we can do,” she said. Another way the university is adapting to student needs, is through their connection to their professors and instructors. Her motto is: if a student can connect person-
ally with a professor, then they are more like to branch out and get that extra support they need. “We’re exploring ways that can connect with our peers and help each other,” Martinez said. Students continue to be the number one priority for the university as Martinez holds onto the idea that no child gets left behind. “Our goal is access through excellence, we want to make sure we are an affordable place for students to come and get an outstanding education.”
Dr.Troy Johnson brings history to UTA
With this pandemic in full swing, the University of Texas at Arlington hopes to continue to reach students of all background. This past school year, the university broke a record not many universities can say they have achieved. “We have a freshman class approaching 4,00 students and 37 percent of that class is Hispanic which represents a little over 1400 brand new freshman,” Dr.Troy Johnson said. “This percentage of Hispanic students is very uncommon at American Research Universities and even at Texans Research Universities.” The goals of the university go hand in hand with the students’ needs and wants. Currently, UTA has a high track record of retaining students for the following school year and connecting them to the best possible resources. “UTA has a lot of aspirational goals and leads to why Latinos choose to come here, we want to progress and get better, they see that, they feel that,” Dr. Johnson said. His motto is that the university must look beyond the school year and towards the future for students. One way the university has done this, is by creating a partnership with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The goal of the partnership is simple: “to develop this internship network that would provide placements into the workforce for these Hispanic Chamber of Commerce companies.”
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Maria Martinez Cosio
Ann Cavallo
“We’re really proud that we’re part of that and we’re ready for COVID-19 to straighten out a little bit, so we can get that going,” he said. The university hopes that the alliance between the two will set as a stepping stone for other universities to follow in their footsteps. “Our chamber of our vision in this one is that it would scale to other universities and their Latino students and how they would be able to benefit,” Dr.Johnson said. With the university breaking records, Dr. Johnson and his team understand that they are setbacks that may occur. Currently, the school is seeing “Many first-generation, low income students especially, behind in applying for admission.” The university believes that with the pandemic, many students are having a hard time applying to schools. “This is a moment in time that anyone that believes in a college degree, whether that’s me, your friends, your coworkers, it is very important to realize the risk our nation is in right now with the possibilities of our families and students going to be easily deterred from pursuing in college,” Dr. Johnson said. While struggles may exist in the future, the school believes that the only way that they may be overcome, is through unity and understanding. Dr.Johnson expresses the importance of unity by stating that, “We all learn by being together and it’s a better experience, the future will demand that, the future will demand that people will assemble.” His belief is that the university must continue to strive in the best way possible for their students. “We need to be sure we talk to people that you need to stick with it, you’ve got to go to college, you’ve got to apply for financial aid, there’s resource there to help you.”
UTA continues to build upon their faculty
The collaboration between students and teachers has been one of the top qualities that makes UTA stand out compared to the rest of the college spectrum. “The reaction has been very strong among our faculty to learn the tools and to learn the best ways to reach their students in this environment,” Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Ann Cavallo said. Cavallo has been an essential piece in training her employees and colleagues to best adapt to the new educational world. One thing that the department has done is provide the staff with numerous training and adaptation skills to best match the role of their students. “I have seen so much interest in improving their teaching,” Cavallo said. “I have seen faculty really step up during this pandemic and when
Dr. Troy Johnson
they were told to switch online, we had thousands of trainings, thousands of faculties come to us.” One thing that the trainings have included is the ability for faculty to connect with students on a personal level. The school uses a teaching strategy called “responsive pedagogy.” This sort of training allows staff to incorporate diverse ways that can match students best interest and needs. “Many of our programs include cultural responsive pedagogy, where we’re trying to teach faculty to incorporate some different strategies to include students that are underrepresented groups in not only STEM but all fields,” she said. Another way that the university has reached students is through the commitment of unity. Each department and faculty member have placed the needs of students on the top of their list as they continue to adapt to them the best way that they can. “We all know if a student is struggling and we are all together, one team,” Cavallo expresses. “The Division of Student Success, Student Affairs, The Faculty Affairs, Cohost and offices, we all work together because it’s about the students, we all want to help the students be successful,” she says. Besides the training of their faculty and staff, the university has also reached students through a variety of tutoring programs. “We have the IDEA center,” she explains. The center is “available for all students for tutoring and it’s where students find others like themselves who they can count on to help them through their course work.” Cavallo believes it’s important to have that peer you can connect with and someone who can help you grow as a student. The university continues to work in several ways to keeps students engaged and foster their education within the university. “They have shown so much dedication and care to wanting to improve the success of their students and wanting to be there for them,” Cavallo said. Cavallo’s initiative speaks volumes of the hard work she does for the university and the impact it has on students does not go unnoticed. “In terms of engagement, they’ve been very involved in the trainings we’ve offered, the number of engagements has been high, and they’ve been very involved in improving.” WINTER EDITION 2020 LATINO LEADERS 85
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LATINO LEADERS MAGAZINE SUPPORTING WINERIES WITH LATINO OWNERS AND EXECUTIVES. 2020 was a terrible year for many businesses and wineries didn’t escape from the landslide of catastrophes. Not only because most of them are small businesses and the uncertainty of the markets in the hospitality industry due to COVID measures resulted on lack of business, but the devastating fires in California, which this year made a big impact on wine production in Napa and Sonoma, among many other regions. Although the number of Wineries damaged or destroyed by fire was not dramatic, being close to 18, compared to the number of wineries in these regions, many crops are fatally tainted with smoke and burned wood aromas that resulted in some cases in up to the entire 2020 production spoiled. These businesses will last at least a year to be able to produce wine again. In order to contribute and support some of those wineries, Latino Leaders has selected a group of individuals and their wineries who are doing a fantastic job in growing and producing wine. These winegrowers make our Community proud. Please consider ordering their wines on-line or joining their wine clubs to support them and also to enjoy the delicious and outstanding wines they have been producing for years. It is now when our community can gather and support these small to medium businesses to help them survive and thrive again.
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WINE
EHLERS ESTATE
A MODERN VINEYARD FROM THE 1800’S. LAURA DIAZ MUÑOZ, Winemaker and General Manager of Ehlers Estate, grew up sharing sips of wine with her father while watching the fishing boats during their family vacations in the North of Spain. Her first sip of wine was an Albariño which solidified her love of wines. After completing her post graduate degree in enology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Laura started her career in La Mancha and worked in different wine regions in Spain. A few years later, Laura left Spain and traveled to New Zealand and Chile learning as much as she could about winemaking and the influence of terroir in different wine regions. Laura then decided to take a job at Napa Valley which leads her to her current role. It has been more than ten years that Laura has been making wine in Napa Valley. Some of her roles have included Associate Winemaker for Cardinale, Lokoya, Mt. Brace, La Jota and Winemaker for Galerie. SheFor over a decade Laura has been making wine in the Napa Valley as the Associate Winemaker for Cardinale, Lokoya, Mt Brave, La Jota and Winemaker for Galerie. Laura was brought on as Winemaker and General Manager to Ehler Estate in 2018. In the spring of 2019, Laura hired vineyard manager, Michael Wolf of Michael Wolf Vineyard Services, for farming and maintenance of the estate vines. His meticulous nature and practical experience in the field, along with his respect for the land and those that tend it have made him a natural fit for Ehlers Estate. Today, both of them continue the legacy of Bernard and Anne Ehlers, and Jean and Sylviane Leducq, who saw the potential that today you can taste in every bottle of Ehlers Estate wine.
Wine Club
Ehlers Estate offers three different options for their wine club. To learn more or to join, visit: https://www.ehlersestate.com/Wine-Clubs
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WINE
KELLER WINES
KELLER WINERIES ANA KELLER, Estate Director of Keller wines, was born in Mexico City, where her love for plants drove her to study biochemistry. In the '80s, the family relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and eventually purchased land in Petaluma. True pioneers to the region, the Keller family planted a first Chardonnay vineyard in 1989, a was a perfect fit for Ana's love: making wine became a second love. With family on both sides of the border, traditions and an understanding of ways to bring the best of both cultures is always on her mind. The diversity of Keller wines comes from years of vineyard exploration, a careful understanding of the grapes, and respect for the essence of their fruit. Their sustainably certified vineyard incorporates practices derived from organics and regenerative farming that the team has learned over the years. These practices include bee-keeping, owl and bat boxes, a flock of over 200 sheep that graze and fertilize the land, and careful management of the pond system that ensures their water supply. For the genuine wine enthusiast Keller Estate is the elegant and picturesque family winery that prides itself in exceptional hand-crafted wines. Our drive: sophistication and luxury for life’s special moments. An Estate in the Petaluma Gap AVA, Keller wines are defined in part by the cooling maritime breezes which bring in fog almost every night. It is this cooling "wind tunnel" effect that distinguishes the Petaluma Gap from their neighboring wine growing areas. The impact of the wind results in lower yields and grapes that reach physiological ripeness much later and at lower sugar levels while developing intense flavors with ideal levels of acidity.
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WINE
MARITA’S VINEYARD
WINE, IT STARTS WITH FAMILY MARITA’S VINEYARD is a family owned vineyard, located at the heart of Napa Valley, California. The delicate structure, bold fruitiness, and spicy elegance of their wine make it the pride of the Montes Family. This family has a long history of tradition, hard work, and love for this land. Marita’s Vineyard began with a dream of a father and his two sons to own a vineyard and produce great wine. In 2001, this dream materialized from the work of Bulmaro with his father’s dedication, work ethics, expertise, and skills. Bulmaro embarked on his wine-making journey. Today, Marita’s Vineyard puts into fruition Manuel Sr.’s dream of creating a phenomenal wine: the product of the highest quality based on hard work, experience, lifelong learning, and passion for perfection. Every single wine is treated like family: grown with love, attention, and positive energy.
The Team
Manuel Montes is the Vineyard Manager of Marita’s Vineyard. He was born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico. In 1961 at the age of 21 he came to Napa, where his father and brother were living, and began working in the vineyards. For 20 years he worked closely with Elwood Mee, a local legend and grape grower who had achieved a good deal of notoriety as a water witcher. In 2003, Manuel arrived to Marita’s Vineyard where he currently continues to show his love to every singe vine. Kurt Niznik, Winemaker at Marita’s Vineyard was born to Mexican-American and Slovakian-Slovenian parents. He was raised in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and educated at Yale University He moved to California to pursue his winemaking dreams in 1997 and worked his first harvest at Acacia Winery in the Carneros region of Napa. After spending several years in the cellars of wineries in both Napa and Sonomacounties, Kurt enrolled in the Master’s degree program in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, dividing his time between hitting the books and racking the barrels for two years before returning to Napa to continue his learning at Luna Vineyard. There he served as enologist, then assistant winemaker before leaving to be the winemaker for San Juan Vineyard in Washington. Kurt returned to Napa Valley to help start up the newly constructed Caldwell Winery in 2005, working under the guidance of consultant winemaker Philippe Melka to craft the Caldwell wines and running a custom crush operation for several clients using the Caldwell cave space. Today, Kurt works as a freelance consultant winemaker for a select few clients in the Napa Valley.
The Wine Club
The club provide three Wine Membership options. Shipments are sent twice a year in May and November. Marita’s Wine Club Members have priority of all new wine releases and library wines. To learn more or join t he club, visit: https://www.maritasvineyard.com/wine-club/
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WINE
PINE RIDGE VINEYARDS
A FAVORITE SUSTAINABLE WINE FOUNDED IN 1978 by Gary Andrus, Pine Ridge Vineyards sits in the heart of the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, famous for Cabernet Sauvignon wines of distinctive power and elegance. Today, the winery owns estate vineyards in five premier Napa Valley appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros. Gustavo Aviña, viticulture director at Pine Ridge Vineyards, grew up helping his father farm tomatoes in Mexico. When he and his wife came to the United States in 1988, Gustavo began working with some of the finest vineyard management programs in Napa Valley. Since 2003, Gustavo has worked intimately with every Pine Ridge Vineyards estate property. He and his team understand the soils and climates of the winery’s vineyards in five different appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros. “Our home appellation, Stags Leap District, is very special,” he says. “The soils are like nowhere else. They drain water and automatically give the vines the stress we want, the kind of stress that develops very intense flavors in grapes.” At Pine Ridge Vineyards, the team is passionate about producing wines that express the full character of their beautiful estate vineyards in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. The vineyard manager, Gustavo Avina, knows every block intimately, and the winemaker Michael Beaulac, is a master of artistic blending with an incredible palette of diverse terroir expressions. Everyone works together to produce wines that honor their unique origins with power, grace, and distinctive personality.
Sustainability
Pine Ridge Vineyards is committed to and has always embraced sustainable practices. Their Napa Green certification demonstrates the commitment as responsible stewards of the land. Their multidisciplinary in-house Green Team meets regularly to monitor and improve practices and to implement the latest sustainable practices, ensuring long-term viability of the business and quality of life in the community.
Wine Club
“Our wine club, called The Appellation Society, caters to wine enthusiasts seeking limited-edition and cellar-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varieties. As a club member you will receive premier access to our latest releases, complimentary tastings, private invitations to events, special discounts and much more.” https://www.pineridgevineyards.com/club/
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WINE
ROBLEDO FAMILY WINERY
FROM THE ROBLEDO FAMILY WINERY TO YOU Our Winemaking Philosophy
“It is a blessing for us to have some of the highest quality grapes to craft Robledo Family wine, especially since I have known these vineyards throughout my entire life, beginning when I was a young boy. My goal is to combine all of these elements to provide the best structure and balance for our wines. After this is completed, I feel that I’ve truly expressed the best of what our vineyards yield. I would say my wine making style is truly enveloped in our family motto: ‘Strength, Longevity and Grace.’” Robledo wines are a true reflection of the individual components of our vineyards throughout Northern California’s wine country. The craft began with our Los Braceros Red Blend, which truly showcases our ancestry from the migrant community, and now we are able to illustrate the culmination of our winemaking expertise with our Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, in addition to many of our other delicately crafted wines. We have fallen in love with this country, and we want everyone who enjoys our wines to experience that passion and love and to join our family - Robledo Family Wines.
Our two Main Characteristics that define our wines. Well Balance wine that are grown in the regions of Napa Sonoma and Lake County.
Our Family History
The story of the Robledos in the wine industry began in the 1940s when the Robledos lived at a labor camp in Healdsburg, California where they farmed fruit trees and worked in thevineyards. It was in the vineyards, though, that the Robledos found their life’s calling as workers and master grape grafters. Everardo (Lalo) Robledo, fourth son (second generation) of Luis, recalls working for hours hunched over on his knees grafting hundreds of vines in one day. Lalo learned to farm wine grapes with his brothers, cousins, and from his father Luis. Today the winery continues the Robledo tradition of culture, craftsmanship and commitment to producing outstanding wine under the leadership and management of the younger generation.
La Familia Wine Club
Become a "La Familia" Wine Club Member by selecting the option that suits you best. To learn more about the wine club. Or to join visit: https:// www.robledofamilywinery.com/Wine-Club
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WINE
TRUJILLO WINES
TRUJILLO WINES GROWING UP On a ranch, Michael Trujillo worked acres of hay, barley and vegetables along with sheep and cattle on land tethered to his family for generations. His grandparents were early century homesteaders of Spanish descent who settled in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, where they raised their children in a rich, agricultural life. Michael discovered his passion for winemaking in the early 1980s during a spring break from his college studies as an engineer. On a road trip to California, he stayed with a family friend who had a small winery in Napa Valley. It was a life- changing visit, as Michael began to work alongside Jim Allen and his brother Steve in the planting of Sequoia Grove’s vineyard on the Rutherford Bench. For his namesake wine, Michael blends grapes from several of the finest vineyards in Napa Valley and works closely with the growers in developing cultivation practices that yield notable fruit year after year. Trujillo Cabernet Sauvignon is the realization of Michael’s history, knowledge and experience, bringing his keen love of the vineyard together with more than 34 years of winemaking proficiency. When Michael launched Trujillo Wines, the inaugural 2011 vintage sold out quickly, inspiring him to create a second label showcasing varietal blends. Named in honor of his daughter, Sophia Madelyn, these wines are approachable upon release. Trujillo’s quaint, award-winning tasting room is located in the heart of St. Helena. Visitors have the chance to taste a range of exclusive wines from a white wine blend to limited production vineyard designate wines and reserve Cabernets. Michael recently resigned as the Director of Winemaking and President of Sequoia Grove Winery to put all his focus to Trujillo Wines and family. His wines consistently earn praise and winemaking medals, and have developed an enthusiastic following.
Trujillo Elite Membership
Trujillo Elite members receive new releases in advance of scheduled releases and have access to the special benefits. To learn more or join as an elite member visit: https://www.trujillowines.com/elite-membership/
“I FEEL LIKE I’VE ALWAYS BEEN IN MOTION, BRANDING COWS AND DRIVING HAY TRUCKS SINCE THE AGE OF FOUR. RANCH WORK TAUGHT ME OLD-TIME CRAFT SKILLS, THE LOVE OF TINKERING WITH FARM EQUIPMENT AND HOW TO GROW CROPS IN UNCERTAIN WEATHER, ALL OF WHICH PREPARED ME FOR CULTIVATING GRAPES AND THE PROCESS OF WINEMAKING.” MICHAEL TRUJILLO
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THE ARTIST OF “LOS 300”
THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF ART JORGE MARÍN PLASTIC ARTIST Marcela Ramos
Courtesy of Jorge Marín
Carlos Cuevas
The lucidity of an artist is reflected in the success of their work. Jorge Marin hasn’t only managed to get his hands to speak for himself, but he has also transmitted through his sculptures a real sen-sibility with the aim of generating reflective and peaceful societies.
J
orge´s attraction and taste for art has manifested since childhood, when the curiosity led him to explore his father’s art history books. From there on out the career of the proudly Mexican, has been solidly carved. “I discovered my vocation as an artist when I was very young. First, I entered to study Graphic Design and Restoration, then when I was 25, I realized I wasn’t completely hap-py, so I started to work in my own art”. Multifaceted and knowledge in different disciplines, Jorge started drawing. “One day a friend told me that he would take my drawings to sell them, and a bit skeptical myself, I lent them to him. A few
PROFILE: • Jorge Marín was born on September 22, 1963 in Uruapan, Michoacán. Academic training: Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design at the National School of Plastic Arts, today called Arts and Design School of UNAM. Bachelors degree in Real Estate Restoration at the National Conservation School for Restoration and Museography Manuel del Castillo Negrete of INAH.
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days later he came back and told me that they were already sold, then I decided to dedicate my life entirely to art. That first person who believes in you is always important. In the path of discipline, almost always takes the example of those who teach. “I immensely enjoy the universal culture, that’s why I couldn’t name just one teacher”.
Art as a way of life
The renowned world artist claims that in order to make a living from art, it’s required a long pro-cess of a lot of constancy. “Live from art is live the art”. And although and artist is individual, usu-ally more people are required to achieve the goals. “I have a team of people that help me in the managing exhibition projects and preserving of my pieces. I’ve done exhibitions all around the world and this is because art is my life.
Art in Mexico
Jorge had to live a generation of proactive artists. His work places it in Contemporary Figurative Art, which is art that represents real-world beings or specific objects. For Marín, art in Mexico is a capital. “A natural way to experimenting the world, and it’s also how our country dialogues with other nations”
Holders of Marín
The sculptor says that some people surprise him on the street or at events and tell him that they are collectors of his work. “I have nothing left but to thank them deeply, and they let me know that it’s like I’ve been working their own destiny. Connect from the deepest fibers of human sensitivity and every one of them interprets and communicates with the piece from their own experience”.
The purpose of Art
His attention is in the public space. “Art can help to rebuild the social fabric. It has to be part of the “basics basket”. It’s a tool, it can transform us into who we want to be. Build a peaceful, deeply and reflexive society. In this sense I am very honored to have been appointed by United Nations, as the UNICEF´S ambassador of goodwill”. In 2017 the Jorge Marín Foundation was created with the aim of preserving and protecting the work of this artist. In addition to promoting projects at national and international level to bring peo-ple the cultural
motivation, specifically in social participation with appropriation of public spaces as part of a life experience. “This is why every place I go with my work I seek to generate and artistic activation, where I can share through my interpretation and consciousness tools through my foundation, bringing people back to childhood and always reminding the true sense or art, that is to move and endowed with meaning”.
Pandemic in progress
From this health crisis that we are currently facing, part of the lifestyle that people are used to, will be modified, and although art always survives as the artist suggests, the ways of getting closer to art probably will change. “The history of art teaches us that in similar moments like this, masterpieces had been created as well”. The perfection of the details and aesthetics of his work, bronze-moulded - his distinctive element in the last decade- has placed him as a capable and unique artist to transmitting introspection. “I want to work very hard so that my art and what I’ve built thanks to it, performs as a megaphone to give voice to the most vulnerable people. Especially to children and migrants”, he ended. WINGS OF MEXICO IN BEIRUT The famous sculpture Wings of Mexico located in Beirut, Lebanon on October 2019 was a gift that the Lebanese community in Mexico gave to Lebanon. The location of the sculpture allowed the citizens of that country to interact with it, posing along with the huge bronze wings, becoming a living work.
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LATINOS IN HOLLYWOOD Joseph Treviño
THE NEW MASTER OF HORROR MOVIE DIRECTOR LUIS IGA WANTS TO SHOWCASE LATINOS AND THEIR UNIQUENESS WITH A COOL, FUNNY SLASHER FLICK.
Luis Iga, 41, creator and director of Murder in the Woods, had a surprise theatrical screening across the country in August. Iga, who is from Mexico but has spent half of his life studying and working in the U.S and later in the Hollywood film industry, believes his movie, an unabashed slasher, complete with all the trappings of classics like Friday the 13th and Scream but mixed with a comedic charm, is the perfect flick to enjoy during and after COVID-19’s dark, gloomy onslaught on society. “People need to have fun. Especially for our current times, I think it's the perfect time for these movies, everybody’s so stressed about what’s going on with COVID,” Iga says. “It’s a nice movie to get your mind off of things, fun, try to solve the mystery and get scared while you are at it while also laughing. That’s what drew me to the genre. Because growing up that’s what I liked. You know, when I didn’t want to think. I love social justice movies as well and movies that teach you something. But again, there’s a time and a place.” And the place and time for Latinos to go beyond drug dealers, gang members and other stereotypical characters is now, Iga says. Despite its seemingly plain plot of a vintage slasher, Murder in the Woods is different, he adds. For starters, the indie film, which had a theatrical release in August despite the pandemic, has an entire cast made up of Latino actors. Danny Trejo, known for the Machete movies, plays a sheriff. In addition, Iga, who was born and raised in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, directed it.
Beyond the barrio
Latinos, Iga says, are the top consumers of cinema. He adds that more than 50 per cent of the ticket sales of horror movies come from Latinos, so it makes sense that the new generations of Hispanics see themselves on the big screen. “Because African-Americans and Latinos, we kill it at the box office when it comes to horror. We love going to the mov-
ies. Sunday when you go to church then you go watch a movie. We need to show Hollywood that we need to be represented. We have more stories to tell. They don’t have to be about struggles, about cartels, they don’t have to be about the hood: it can be about many other things,” he says. “When we see all these young Latinos and they see themselves represented on the screen, their eyes open up.” But in Hollywood, old stereotypes die hard, Iga says. He adds that Latinos are mostly cast as cartel thugs, street hustlers or neighborhood ruffians. With Murder in the Woods, Iga wanted to get rid of the stereotypes by having an all-Latino cast who would mostly be comprised of teenagers who navigate between the English-speaking world of Los Angeles and their Hispanic heritage. Still, when it came time for auditions, the actors who are used to working in Hollywood, initially portrayed their characters as gang members, Iga says. “I never give directions to actors when they come and read the first time because I want to see how they read the material, what they bring in. And all of them when they started auditioning, they would give the “Cholo,” hood attitude. That’s what’s expected of them when they are auditioning,” Iga says. “ I said, “no, no no! You are in high school, you are in college, you’re friends, you are having a good time. You are not in a gang, you are not in a cartel. Right? So that’s what this movie is about.”
Never say die… in the woods
It was in 2015, after graduating from USC that he got investers to put down money for Murder in the Woods. Shot in 2015 and written by Chicago native Yelyna de León, Murder in the Woods has a pre-COVID vibe that has garnered the film rave reviews all over the world. Unpretentious, the flick shows the story of six teenagers (albeit, none of them gangsters, cartel fiends or barrio denizens but very, very Southern California English-speaking Latinos) who drive out to some woods in the outskirts of Los Angeles for a birthday party, where the prerequisite teen celebration takes place. For five years, Murder in the Woods awaited a theatrical premiere, being screened in many movie festivals but feistily avoiding a direct to digital release. But last August, right in the middle of the COVID pandemic, the flick which proved too tough to die, miraculously made it to dozens of theaters and especially to movie Drive-ins from California to Delaware to Texas. For Iga, the success of Murder in the Woods has pumped him up for his future projects. “I will keep in the fight.”
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LATINOS IN HOLLYWOOD MARCOS CLINE
WHO’S TELLING YOUR STORY? Marcos Cline-Márquez - Founder & Executive Producer, Altered.LA
THE CASE FOR DIVERSITY ON SCREEN AND BEHIND THE CAMERA
Carlos Cuevas
GROWING UP in a bi-cultural home, my views on diversity were molded by a number of things, including my family’s annual summer drive from Mexico City to a farming town of 400 people in central Illinois back in the ’80's. My mother, a child psychologist and deeply proud Mexicana (who much to my father’s and my chagrin has yet to get her U.S. citizenship), and my father, an economist and proud Midwesterner of Irish descent (who much to my mother’s and my chagrin has yet to get his
Mexican citizenship) would pack the car and we’d make our way over the border to visit my paternal grandparents for the summer. Our first stop was Nuevo Laredo, where we would buy the biggest piñata we could find. Usually it took up three quarters of the back seat. See, my birthday falls mid-summer and none of the country folk in that small farming town had ever seen a piñata until we showed up. Breaking it open was quite the spectacle, one that my great-grandmother hated because “something that pretty shouldn’t be destroyed." Our second and third most important stops were across the river in Laredo, Texas. Just west of the bridge joining my two countries was a mall that had a McDonald’s and a KB Toys. Heaven for a pair of Mexican kids like my brother and me. It was during those summer trips that I first realized that middle America was full of loving, warm-hearted, family-oriented folk (so was Mexico, but we already knew that). The fact that they thought my mom could make a better taco salad because she’s Mexican or that “there are so many Mexicans up in Keokuk (Iowa), they even opened up a Taco Bell for ‘em” didn’t register as racist, just uninformed. Today I realize that racism and ignorance go hand in hand. What these people lacked was information and knowledge. What they lacked was a window into the culture, life, and innumerable contributions made by Latinos to the United States. Something they (and the rest of the country) still lack today. When it comes to Latinos, most people continue to be clueless. Much has changed in the 30+ years since those trips. For starters, Latinos now make up 18.5% of the U.S. population and have become the country’s largest minority. Here in Los Angeles, we’re right around 50%. One would think that Hollywood would be bending over backwards to cater to us and, to some extent, they are. Darnell Hunt, dean of the UCLA College division of social sciences and co-author of UCLA’s 2020 Hollywood Diversity Report states that, “As of 2019, both women and minorities are within striking distance of proportionate representation when it comes to lead roles and total cast.” Given the potential dollars earned, Hollywood executives would be silly not to put faces onscreen that reflect their audience. In 2019, the films that performed best at the box office were the most diverse, with casts in the 41% to 50% minority range. Just look at the numbers for Aladdin and Jumanji: The Next Level. While progress is being made in front of the camera, the stories being told don’t carry the authenticity required
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to unlock the full potential of the U.S. Hispanic Market. There are two main reasons for this: 1- The content buyers (i.e. the studio and network executives) who decide what stories get told are not representative of the market, and 2- This same group satisfies their diversity quotas by focusing on what’s in front of the camera, ignoring such equally important factors as screenwriting, directing, wardrobe, and art direction, to name a few. Data suggests that Hollywood is behind the curve on diversity in C-Level positions (91% white, 82% men), as well as senior executive positions (93% white, 83% men). Same goes for essential crew. In other words, the fundamental structural change that is needed in Hollywood to accurately represent 20% of the population has not happened, leaving the cluelessness largely unchecked. Hollywood comprises only a fraction of the stories being told on screen today. Consumers absorb content in many different ways, one of which is through advertising. As a commercial producer, I’m here to tell you advertisers fall into the same trap as Hollywood. While many companies have taken the appropriate step of hiring a multicultural agency to design their messaging, they often continue to look to non-Latino production teams to execute the creative. Without taking that extra leap, even the multicultural stories being told will remain inauthentic. The lack in Latino below-the-line talent will persist rendering ineffectual our efforts to interpret scripts in a way that is culturally honest.
Ultimately diversity must continue to be addressed. But while those C-Level and Executive positions slowly evolve to look like the rich tapestry of America itself, you, the brand managers, marketing executives, and others, must empower the Latino writers, directors, DP’s, Art Directors, Wardrobe Stylists, and others who daily tap into their personal experience to help tell more faithful and genuine stories to your potential multicultural consumer. These artists work in an industry where success is largely driven by credits, yet the industry keeps dragging its feet when it comes to giving Latin behind-the-camera talent the opportunity to accumulate them. If reaching a diverse consumer base or audience is a priority, ask yourself: How diverse is your advertising supply chain? Are you establishing strategic partnerships with production companies or content providers who make an effort to first understand your brand and then bring their team’s personal experiences to telling your story? How is your vendor management being handled, and who is handling it? More importantly, how is your company story being told (and by whom)? Failure to deal with these issues will only result in the continued cluelessness I’ve witnessed since I was a kid. It’s time to change that. That’s my story, what’s yours? Reach out via Twitter, email, or heck, just give me a call.
"IN 2019, THE FILMS THAT PERFORMED BEST AT THE BOX OFFICE WERE THE MOST DIVERSE, WITH CASTS IN THE 41% TO 50% MINORITY RANGE." Successful multi-cultural messaging is not reliant on an individual or a one-dimensional approach, but on a team of people from various backgrounds, each with something to contribute. Whether you are making scripted one-hour dramas or six-second pre-rolls, truly embracing the multicultural market means valuing the contributions of people who may not look, talk, or think like you. Embracing diversity through casting alone, without altering the way we do business behind the camera, is merely pandering. If the faces onscreen are diverse, but their stories inauthentic, they will not seize the attention of this coveted market.
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LATINO LEADERS CELLAR
CELLAR WINTER EDITION Jorge Ferráez @ JFerraez_Latino @ferraez.wine Luis E. González
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INE IS AN important part of my everyday life. Not only it makes me enjoy a delicious beverage that enhances all your senses, but also increases my joy with food. It also brings me together with people, family, friends and even some unfamiliar acquaintances that you meet while having some wine experiences. Most of my best friends are wine lovers too. Sharing a bottle of wine with someone is an instant generous gesture that will unlock a great relationship. While browsing my favorite wine store I spoted this one. It took me three weeks of deciding to buy it and another month to open it. When I did it, it was a little disappointing, it didn’t gave me all that abundant fruit I was expecting, but the structure and complexity I found after a couple of sips, revealed it’s true potential.
01 GRAN ENEMIGO, CABERNET FRANC 2014 • Region: Mendoza, Argetina • Varietal: Cabernet Franc • Price: $90 • Aromas: Spice, raspberry and grape candy • Impression: Complex, balanced and deep • Structure: Full body, very dense • Drink with: Grilled Steak, charcoil better. • Why I loved this wine? Still closed yet, but has a bright future if well cellared. • My Rating: 91 pts.
I tried this one in a local restaurant with a decent pricing of around $90. It surprised me because of its roundness and expressive fruitness. Me and my friends ended up having two bottles. For me Burgundy is a NoNo in restaurants, it is usually expensive and risky, but this one proved me wrong that time.
02 DOMAINE MONGEARD-MUGNERET VOSNEROMANEE 2017
• Region: Vosne-Romanee, Burgundy, France • Varietal: Pinot Noir • Price: $90 (Restaurant list) • Aromas: Floral, spicey, peppery • Impression: Round, balanced and expressive. • Structure: Medium body, voluptuous • Drink with: Pork Loin, Roasted Duck, Chinese. • Why I loved this wine? Expressive and Balanced. Succulent • My Rating: 89 pts.
A long time favorite, I’ve been following this wine for more than two decades. It has evolved in style and quality. Less rough and more elegant, refined and luscious. This 2017 is the 30th anniversary of the first bottling. I think is probably the best Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.
03 VIÑA DON MELCHOR, PUENTE ALTO 2017 • Region: Colchagua, Central Valley, Chile • Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc • Price: $95 • Aromas: Red plum, fig, vanilla • Impression: Big personality, fine structure, layered. • Structure: Full body, complex, evolves while being drunk. • Drink with: Big juicy steak, T-Bone, New York cuts. • Why I loved this wine? Elegant and still powerfull. Chocolate notes at the end. • My Rating: 98 pts.
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