January / February 2021 by Latino Leaders

ENRIQUE “RICK” HERNANDEZ CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MCDONALD’S

www.latinoleaders.com

Januar y / Februar y 2021 Vol. 22 No. 1

INSIDE THE MIND OF THE VISIONARY LEADER OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST RESTAURANT CHAIN

PUTTING THE AUTHENTIC MEXICAN SALSA ON THE MAP; THEIR SECRET RECIPE? FAMILY, EDUCATION & QUALITY.

THE MARTINEZ FAMILY

SPECIAL FEATURE

BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR LATINOS THE EFFORT OF CORPORATE AMERICA IN BRINGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LATINO EMPLOYEES AND EXECUTIVES IS ON THE RISE; KNOW WHAT COMPANIES ARE DOING IT THE BEST AND MORE EFFECTIVE WAY.

COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN IN THE U.S. OUR LIST OF COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE SUCCESSFULLY STABLISHED A COMPANY IN THE US. EXCLUSIVE:

PLUS:

THE STORY OF ONE OF THE LEADING LATINAS IN WINE: LAURA CATENA FROM BODEGA CATENA-ZAPATA, THE COMPANY THAT HAS PUT MALBEC BACK ON THE WORLD’S MAP.

WHAT ARE JESSE CORTEZ, FABIAN NUÑEZ, XAVIER GUTIERREZ AND EVELYN RIOS ORTIZ DOING?

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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 Editorial Art & Design Carlos Cuevas Luis Enrique González Moisés Cervantes Human Resources Manager Susana Sanchez Administration and Bookkeeping Claudia García Bejarano

WE’RE HAPPY to present our 2020 Winter edition. This one is usually a very robust edition since it has many relevant features. A new year has arrived full of hope; hope for a cure and protection for the Covid-19 virus, hope to start unifying the Country after the political drama we lived in the past four years, hope for a better economic perspective, not only here, but globally and also hope for a more inclusive environment across the board. This edition comes with a wonderful collection of features and interviews with some of the most important leaders of our times. As part of our feature on “Companies with Mexican origin” we are presenting a fantastic story of a family business that has grown beyond borders. The Martinez family are a successful and thriving business whose model has been: Quality Family and Education for many years. They are a leaving example of the American dream. Another fantastic and exclusive interview is with Enrique “Rick” Hernandez. He is the current Chairman of the Board of McDonald's Corporation, the first Latino ever to held that position. The conversation we had with him reveals the visions inside of a man that has been a trail blazer in many avenues both as owner of his home business and also as a corporate director for many years. Rick's interview is a great opportunity for Latino Leaders to present insights from a man that is widely admired. And finally the feature that makes us very proud to present is the “Best Companies For Latinos to Work.” This feature is an effort from our team of researchers and editors to find those companies who are raising the bar for inclusion and diversity and have become an exceptional company to work for and develop a long career. All these 25 companies have very successful strategies of diversity already in place, making them an example to follow. We hope you enjoy reading the list and hoping, like us, that every day we can have more companies like these in our list. Enjoy this edition. Jorge & Raul Ferraez

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, January/February 2021. Subscription rates: In U.S. and possessions, one year $15.00. Checks payable to Ferraez Publications of America, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Latino Leaders, 15443 Knoll Trail, Suite 210, 75248 Dallas, TX, USA.© 2001 by Ferraez Publications of America Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. The periodical’s name and logo, and the various titles and headings therein, are trademarks of Ferraez Publications of America Corp.

Member of The National Association of Hispanic Publications

Audited by Member of

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

XIMENA VIVANCO EDITOR

tarting the first edition for a new year felt refreshing in some way. I mostly paused for a moment, analyzed some of the past months and felt more than ready to turn to a whole new chapter. I’m excited once again to be here and to continue not only the amplification of stories of great Latino leaders but to also start new connections and discover new worlds. In this edition you will find two special lists that our team and advisors helped us compose. In the first list you will find a variety of companies. From small to very w ell known brands, these companies have represented Mexican values and the investment the country has been doing in the United States for years. Next, we were excited to work closely. With these top 25 companies which we consider the best environment for Latinos to work. What do we mean by this? From career mobility to inclusiveness, these companies continue to work with Latinx communities and their future.

The edition also contains special interviews with leaders such as board members, a Mexican family operated growing business, the first Latino president of an NHL team and a working mother and young executive who talks more about the future of Latinas. Finally, we continue to highlight wineries lead by Latinos. In this occasion, we had the opportunity to get to know more about Laura Catena and her “bodegas” which have been named the World’s Most Admired Wine Brand. There’s so much to dive into, so please enjoy. Our stories would never be what they are if it wasn’t for your readership and your continued support with sharing them as well. Wishing you all the best!

Abrazos, Ximena

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CONTENTS

JAN/ FEB

•P. 13 Companies With Mexican Origin Our list of “Companies With Mexican Origin” •PG. 18 Meet the Martinez Family and their global family business, Casa Martinez •PG. 20 Exclusive Interview A Conversation With Rick Hernandez, Chairman of McDonalds’ Board •PG. 25 Best Companies For Latinos To Work Our annual list of the Top 25 Best Companies For Latinos To Work •Pg. 28 An Inside Look Of Nicklaus Children’s Health System •Pg. 32 Zoetis, A Global Veterinary Medicine Company. •Pg. 48 Supporting Latino Wineries Exclusive Interview With Laura Catena, From the World’s Most Admired Wine Brand

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DE LA VEGA ON LEADERSHIP

CONNECTING QUALIFIED LATINOS WITH CORPORATE BOARDS A NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR PROGRESS One of the challenges we’re facing today is how do we help America’s top companies find qualified Hispanics to serve on their boards.

he comment we often hear from such companies is that they are having a hard time finding qualified Hispanic candidates. Indeed, while Hispanics continue to make progress in the US, whether in terms of jobs, education, home ownership, or contribution to the economy (see sidebar), they are not finding their way into the top boardrooms. I’m not talking about numbers and quotas but about inclusion and diversity of thought in the very suites where some of America’s top decisions are made affecting an important and growing segment of the population.

The stats

As of the end of 2020, Hispanics represented only 2% of all SP& 500 board seats, according to the recent SpencerStuart report. 1 That’s the same as it was 10 years ago, which means there has been no progress in the past decade. In a country where Hispanics make up 18% of the total population, that 2% is perplexing. It’s even more so in states like California where Hispanic population was 39% of the state’s population in 2019 and where it’s expected to grow to 48% by 2050, according to Pew Research Center.

A challenge

Surprisingly, while companies seem to have trouble finding qualified Hispanic candidates, we hear from Hispanic leaders who aren’t being tapped for board seats. In my life and career, I’ve never shied away from obstacles or challenges, and this is a huge one. I believe it’s time to move on from examining the problem to focusing on solutions that will make a lasting difference.

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Luckily, Jorge Ferraez, publisher of Latino Leaders Magazine and a tireless promoter of Latino accomplishments, feels the same way. Together we have decided to come up with a solution that can help both companies and qualified leaders break through this situation for once and for all.

An irrefutable list

We’ll reveal the details of our planned initiative soon, but let me share the main points. Jorge and I have agreed to identify 100 to 200 Hispanic candidates who are qualified to serve on top boards. Those candidates will be vetted, coached, and mentored. They will also receive exceptional learning experiences to make them super qualified to do an outstanding job for the boards and companies they serve. We will publish that list and make it available to every Fortune 1000 company, to all the search firms in the U.S., and to any other relevant parties. This means any recruiter or corporation looking for new directors will have accurate and current information on Hispanic candidates who are irrefutably qualified to serve on boards.

We can make a difference

FAST FACTS ABOUT HISPANICS IN THE U.S. A large and growing segment • U.S. Hispanic population is 60 million, or 18% of U.S. total. ( Pew Research Center 10/14/19 – 7 Facts for

Hispanic History Month)

• Growing 7.6 times faster than non-Latinos ( Pew

Research Center 10/14/19)

• Forecast to reach 111 million by 2060 (US Census

Bureau 10/9/18)

A young cohort • Median age is 29.5 compared to 40.6 for non-Latinos

(Pew Research Center 10/14/19)

A productive segment • Latinos represent 67.7% of the US labor force, 5% higher than the non-Latino population ( The 2020 US

Latino GDP Report, Latino Donor Collaborative)

A major contributor to the economy • Latino GDP in 2018 was $2.6 trillion, equivalent to the 8th largest GDP in the world—larger than Italy, Brazil, and South Korea (The 2020 Latino GDP Report, Latino

Donor Collaborative)

Entrepreneurs • 87% of all new businesses in America are Latinoowned (The 2020 Latino GDP Report)

Jorge and I are very excited about this initiative, • 40% of Latino business owners are Millennials (2019 and we look forward to sharing the details soon. Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative) We believe it will solve a problem for compaHomeowners nies that are keenly interested in bringing the • Latinos accounted for 62.7% of total net home viewpoints and insights of qualified Latinos, an ownership gains between 2008-2018 (2018 State of important segment of the population. Homeownership, National Association of Hispanic Real At the same time, it will help qualified HisEstate Professionals) panic leaders break through the boardroom ceiling, thus making sure their views are part of the conversation when major corporate decisions are made from now and into the future. I want to thank Jorge and Latino Leaders for 1 SpencerStuart’s Board Diversity Snapshot: Six Recommendations for Becoming a More Diverse and Inclusive Board stepping up and taking a leadership role in solving the problem. It’s a partnership for progress that we’re FOLLOW US FOLLOW US confident is going to make an impact. @LatinoLeadersUS

www.latinoleaders.com

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. JAN/ FEB 2021 LATINO LEADERS 7

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LCDA

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC COMPANY BOARDS LEAVE LATINOS OUT 84.6% OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC COMPANY BOARDS LACK A LATINO/A DIRECTOR In their most recent research, the Latino Corporate Directors Association launched the Latino Voices for Boardroom Equity initiative to hold public corporations accountable for the lack of Latinos on their boards of directors. A ESTHELA centerpiece of this effort is tracking Latino board AGUILERA appointments. PRESIDENT AND CEO.

he California Boardroom Equity Scorecard and Tracker provide investors, stockholders, and the Latino community with a snapshot of the California public board landscape by publishing a report on a quarterly basis. The first published Q3 scorecard reported that Latino representation on corporate boards went from a total of 77% in 2019 down to 73% in 2020. While Latinas held 2.7% corporate board seats in 2019 and went up to 3.2% in 2020. Similarly, the Q4 2020 Scorecard reveals many California boards still lack diversity — nearly one-third, 31.2% of California public corporations have no ethic or racially

“A commitment to diversity and inclusion is incomplete without Latinos who are two in ten Americans. There is an ample talent pool; the Latino Voices initiative serves as a resource to US public companies with the goal of connecting them with Latino talent,” said Esther Aguilera, LCDA President and CEO.

diverse directors on their board. Latinos remain the least represented ethnic or racial group on California boards, despite the fact that 40% of California’s population is Latino. •Latinos still hold a total of only 2.3% of California Public Company Board seats. •Hispanic/Latino CA public board composition has increased by .2% from 2.1% to 2.3%. •Board seats held by Black/African American and Asian saw a slightly larger quarterly increase compared to Hispanic/ Latino, 0.6% and 0.3% respectively. Of the 40% of new board appointments this quarter that went to women, only 2.5% of those went to Latinas. In Collaboration with:

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LEADERS HUB WITH JOE

FINDING MEANING

THE SCIENCE of meaning has made substantial strides in recent years. Surprisingly, stress and meaning often go hand in hand. Scientists have found that stress is strongly and positively linked with meaning in life. In “The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief”, the author Ryan Niemiec, PsyD describes that when you go through the physical and psychological challenges of stress, you take something considerable from the experience. You see life with greater perspective, you feel that those stressors were not suffered in vain, that they meant something important, and you feel different in some way. By studying the work of philosophers, theologians, educators, and scientists over the centuries, researchers have been able to break meaning down into three types: 1.Coherence: making sense of life (thinking-oriented) 2.Significance: sensing life’s value, that it is worth living (feeling-oriented) 3.Purpose: having a particular life direction, goals and aims in life (behavior-oriented) Breaking meaning down in this way can help you better understand yourself and discover where you are strong and where you can use a lift. Taken together, these three types of meaning represent your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that underlie what is meaningful to you. In one of my previous articles, I mentioned character strengths as the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel, and behave. Knowing and applying your highest character strengths (known as signature strengths) is the key to you being your best self. They are essential (Core to who you are), energizing (Uplifting and give you a boost of energy or joy), and effortless (Come easy and natural to you). Researchers have discovered that the following character strengths may play a role in creating more life meaning: 1.Curiosity: Being open to new experiences. Desire to build knowledge. 2.Perspective: Ability to see the bigger picture in life. 3.Social Intelligence: Aware of motives and feelings of themselves and others, and how to fit into different social situations. 4.Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: Ability to notice

and appreciate beauty, uniqueness, virtue, skill, and the exceptional in everyday life. 5.Gratitude: Feeling and expressing a deep sense of thankfulness in life and to others. 6.Spirituality: Meaning, purpose, life calling, the expression of virtue/ goodness, and practices that connect with the transcendent. If your job feels meaningless, focus on your core values. Scientists have found that employees who used four or more of their signature character strengths had more positive work experiences and were more likely to consider their work-as-a-calling than those who expressed less than four. For instance, craft your current job with an eye towards purpose. Job shaping is a strategy that can help spark your dormant enthusiasm for work. Reflect on how your signature character strengths, talents/ skills, and passions could help your organization deal with the current moment’s challenges. The overall goal is to align your core values and purpose with the work that you do and with the values and culture of the organization. As a result, an aligned organization will perform better to key metrics. If you want to learn more about creating organizational alignment and employee engagement to improve business results, contact AlliancesHub, a CEO Advisory and Coaching firm. Interested in discovering your signature character strengths profile? Take the free Values in Action (VIA) Survey by accessing the following link: https://www.viacharacter.org/pro/allianceshub/account/register

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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COMERICA CORNER

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CROSS BORDER BUSINESSES

ith over twenty years of experience, Mark Vasquez is an attorney and Managing Partner from Texas at DeForest Abogados, a firm with over 70 attorneys, offices in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, Queretaro, Leon, New York and Texas and diversity of desks. Mark concentrates his practice on corporate, cross-border transactions, corporate finance, international business, M & A, real estate and tax law. His work includes providing legal advice and counseling to a broad based business transactions focusing on complex corporate and tax matters, with an emphasis on cross-border transactions involving a wide range of individuals and businesses doing business in the United States, Mexico and Latin America. As well as assisting foreign families and business investing in the United States. Mark never really knew what a lawyer was when he was growing up. As a boy raised in the border, his interest over law developed over time when he had left to college. Through his education his interest of the intersection of law and business peaked. He decided to attend law school after his fascination of the interplay between both Mexico and the United States. Mark began his career with clients such as investors and entrepreneurs from small to medium and large companies wanting to do business

across the border. He began building his portfolio through different speaking engagements he participated in and doing some outreach. He expresses how relationship management was key in order to getting more referrals and maintaining a high end portfolio. Through his success, he went on to open an office in Mexico City. “It gave me the presence I needed to to be able to make it easier for not only Mexican clients but also Latin American clients who spoke Spanish.” Today, Mark continues doing speaking engagements around Mexico and acts as Chair of Commerce. He truly believes the demand for cross border business will continue to grow. Businesses are wanting to expand their operations and not even 2020 stopped them. Mark has established a long and close relationship with Comerica Bank due to their expertise with international business and handling large transfers. “They are fast and easy to work with,” says Mark. Mark’s motivation to keep on doing what he really feels passionate about has brought him to his most recent opportunity, merging with DeForest Abogados. He is now in charge of the Texas market, giving him more space to grow and more capability in Mexico. By alliances and relationships, Mark has learned how to grow his business organically while simultaneously offer the same opportunity to other business both in the U.S. and internationally.

Mark Vazquez, Attorney & Managaing Partner, DeForest Abogados

"MARK HAS ESTABLISHED A LONG AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH COMERICA BANK DUE TO THEIR EXPERTISE WITH INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSAND HANDLING LARGE TRANSFERS." FOLLOW US @latinoleadersmag

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WILLIAM HANHAUSEN ART

“VALGO”

DESCRIBES LATINO ARTISTS “De tanto perder, aprendí a ganar; de tanto llorar se me dibujo la sonrisa que tengo...” wrote Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine short-story writer and poet in his poem “Valgo...”.

Y adapting his words into the art world, this poem describes and narrates the story of all artists. To Latino Artists in their struggle to be recognized in these uncertain and racial turbulence times. From losing so much, Latino Artists learn to win. They have hit rock bottom so many times that they know the floor by sight. And now they not only look up to the sky, they look down to ruts for strength and stamina. Every time they go down, the next day they rise again with something new. They have realized how to survive isolation, they know where to start, they know their work is beyond than good. Every Latino Artist tries to make sure every element, every step in their work is perfect, understanding that really everything is as imperfect as it should be (including themselves) as all imperfection, is perfect. This world has so many misunderstandings that cause people to behave like dogs running without leash, when instead they should learn how to walk like a turtle and appreciate the journey to success, knowing that in life nothing is over till death. Being this the reason why they enjoy the moment and venerate whatever tradition they have from their motherland. Latino artists know that being faithful to their traditions is not an obligation but a living pleasure reality. They understand life is beautiful with its coming and goings, with its favors and disfavors. They know that success doesn’t belong to them untill they earn it. They will thrive as long as they are and want to be unpretentious and genuine. They know at all times and against all, that true recognition does exist. It is not easy to find it.

That whoever respects them will always show it without needing to be asked. They learned to live and enjoy every aspect of life, They learned from mistakes but they don't live stuck in a memory that prevents them from moving forward as irremediable mistakes. Strong wounds are never erased, but there is always someone really willing to heal them when they won't look for a false recognition because they know recognition will look for them. And yes, they know, the best of these is yet to come! Poetry is an art, and as I stated in the past, Latin-American Art is not Latino Art, it is the one pillar of this culture that convenes with our constantly flourishing 03 Latino culture reflected and represented 01 “Pondering the time in Harlem” by Elmer Guevara, by or Latino Artists. 2020 (@Dominique Gallery). 02 “Laugh Now, Cry Later” by Na’Ya Perez, 2021 (@ Regular Normal). 03 "In the Flesh” by Laneigh Ramirez, 2021 (@ Dominique Gallery). 04 “Pink Bouquets III” by Rosarito Salgado, 2020 (@ Domingo Comms.).

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN

BEST

COMPANIES WITH

MEXICAN LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

ORIGIN

DUE TO THE INCREASE of Hispanic population in the United States, the country carries a unique bicultural and binational knowledge of cross border business and relationships, allowing Mexican investments in the U.S. to continue its growth. Today, there are over 12 million jobs supported by trade with Canada and Mexico. Companies with Mexican origin continue to invest their operations in the U.S. These companies established in the U.S. not only grow within our boundaries but also at a global level.

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with MEXICAN ORIGIN

Latino Leaders compiled a list of the Mexican businesses that have invested in operations in the U.S. These businesses not only bring their services and products but provide employment to U.S. citizens as well. 3DROBOTICS S

BARCEL USA

CARGO LIFT USA M

Jordi Muñoz Revenue: $27,000,000 US Employees: 139

Milton Matus Revenue: US Employees:

ALPEK C M

BIMBO BAKERIES B

oftware

hemical

COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN

BEST COMPANIES anufacture

anufacturing

Jose de Jesus Valdes Simancas Revenue: 1,000,000,000 US Employees: 5,836

akery

Daniel Servitje Revenue: US Employees:

Ricardo Barroso Revenue: 450,000 US Employees: 4 Cargo Lift specializes in products for lifting and securing cargo. The company manufactures all types of slings (wire rope, chain and synthetic) and distributes related accessories such as hooks, shackles, links, etc. The services provided are proof load test, inspections and/or certifications of products and courses on lifting.

CASA MARTINEZ F I ood ndustry

nteractive iosks and Digital Signage)

Jorge Eurán Revenue: US Employees: 5

Jorge Oteo Revenue: US Employees:

ARCA CONTINENTAL C C B S C. oca

ola ottling and nack

BIOGREEN

Arturo Gutiérrez Revenue: 7,000,000,000 US Employees:

BORDERLANDS BREWERING COMPANY R estaurant

Es Teran Revenue: US Employees: 27

AUTHENTICO FOODS F M ood

anufacturing

Alejandro Castro Revenue: 10,000,000 US Employees: 61 Authentico Foods, Inc. is a food manufacturer located in Chicago, focused on authentic, all-natural Mexican food products. The company was formed through the merger of two prominent and long-standing brands, La Guadalupana and El Ranchero.

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oncrete

ovies

BLUE WATER INTERNATIONAL INC W T &P ater reatment

Treatment Daniel Muñoz Revenue: US Employees:

ement Manufacturing

Frank Craddock Revenue: US Employees:

CINÉPOLIS M &E

AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO Alvaro Luque Revenue: US Employees: 36 The Avocados From Mexico marketing group, located in Irving, Texas, encompasses a group of seasoned marketers with strong backgrounds in the CPG and produce industries. AFM represents the Mexican avocado industry with an import value of $2.82 billion dollars.

CEMEX C &C

ntertainment

Luis Olloqui Revenue: US Employees:

urification

CASA LOLA KITCHEN OF MEXICO F I ood ndustry

Carlos Cortez Revenue: 950,000 US Employees: 18 Casa Lola Kitchen de Mexico is an authentic dining experience specializing in traditional Mexican cuisine.

COLINAS FOODSF M P

eat rocessing and oodservice

Emilio Salazar Revenue: 2,200,000 US Employees: 8

CORPORATIVO RANMAN R E D eal state

evelopment

Vicente Rangel Revenue: US Employees:

LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

ALVENI, LLC IT (I K

Jesus & Adriana Martinez Revenue: US Employees: Casa Martinez is a family owned and oeprated business. The business rests on a foundation of the rich culinary traditions and ancient recipes from their Mexican heritage.

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN

DAK AMERICAS F M

FAMSA USA F

INTERCERAMIC V

DEACERO

FLEISCHMANNS PRODUCE P

ISGO P I

GRUMA F S

KALTEX T

GRUPO BAL V

KATCON GLOBAL A

iber

anufacturing

Francisco Javier Gonzalez Revenue: US Employees:

urniture

Salvador Llanos Revenue: US Employees:

roduce

Roberto Tenorio Revenue: US Employees:

DRIS, LLC F A

inancial dvice and Insurance Services

Ricardo del Rio Revenue: 250,000 US Employees: 2 Insurance Advisor in both sides of the border, holding licenses to operate in TX, NY, CA, FL and CO, as well as in México. Over 36 years of experience, specializing in advising clients on international Liabiliy programs, Property & Casualty, as well as using life insurance as a financial tool.

DIAZTECA P I

roduce mporter

Rodrigo Diaz Revenue: US Employees:

Jesus Menendez Revenue: US Employees:

ood ector

EL POLLO LOCO R

arious

Alberto Bailléres Gonzalez Revenue: US Employees:

BOCAR GROUP / AUMAR A M anufacturer

Wilhelm Baum Revenue: US Employees:

estaurant

Bernard Acoca Revenue: US Employees:

Rafael Kalach Mizrahi Revenue: US Employees:

utomotive

Carlos Turner Revenue: 60,000,000 US Employees: 70 Mexican company based in Monterrey, Mexico. Founded in 1993. Participating in design, development and manufacturing of exhaust, after treatment, light weight composites, and thermal insulation solutions for ON and OFF road, light and heavy duty, gas, diesel and EV applications. From ATV's and motorcycles to heavy duty trucks, passenger vehicles, construction and agriculture vehicles. Operations in USA, Mexico, Korea, Luxembourg, Poland, Germany, India, China. Presence in Michigan since 2009.

MEXICHEM / ORBIA P ,B ,I

KIDZANIA T P

GRUPO SALINAS R S

LALA US D

INNIT, INC. F T

LA MODERNA USA

etrochemical

EOSIS CONSULTING INC C

lastic njection Manufacturer

Ismael Gómez Revenue: US Employees:

extile

Juan Gonzalez Moreno Revenue: US Employees:

uto

arious

Victor Almeida Revenue: 145,000,000 US Employees: 600

anking ndustrial

Antonio del Valle Revenue: US Employees:

heme ark

Xavier Lopez-Ancona Revenue: US Employees:

onstruction

LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

Jorge Lopez de Obeso Revenue: US Employees: A consulting company with over 14 years of experience in the market and participation in more than 100 projects. Eosis is registered as a participating company in Austin Energy Integrated Modeling Incentive. Their staff consists of a LEED accredited professional team of architects and environmental engineers, including a LEED Fellow.

EYM GROUP R E eal state

Eduardo Diaz Revenue: US Employees: A multi-brand, multi-unit restaurant company, a Franchisee of Denny’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and Panera Bread that operates in eight states with 8,000+ team members.

icardo alinas

Finance, Retail, Media Revenue: US Employees:

airy

Jorge Ramos Revenue: US Employees:

ood ech

Eugenio Mnivielle Revenue: 1,000,000 US Employees: 17 Founded in 2013, with $50m+ in R&D and 40 patents granted, Innit has built a powerful connected food platform that offers consumers a personalized solution to support and facilitate their daily food journey. Innit has enabled millions of consumers to access deep nutrition information, with personalized guidance both in the US and Europe.

Esteban Abascal Revenue: US Employees:

LARA MEDIA SERVICES M C arketing and

ommunications

Victoria Lara Revenue: 717,000 US Employees: 7

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RASSINI

MARTINEZ BRANDS I /D F W

RGNY W &S

SUN HOLDINGS, INC. R E

onsulting

eal state

Jose Antonio Yuriar Revenue: US Employees:

mporter Spirits

istributor of ine

Eugenio Madero Revenue: US Employees:

ines &

ine

MEXCOR INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRITSF W & I /D mporter

istributor of ine

Guillermo Perales Revenue: US Employees:

THE MORRIS GROUP P C

pirits

roduct

Maria Rivero González Revenue: US Employees:

Javier Martinez Revenue: US Employees:

Spirits Eduardo Morales Villanueva

COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN

LONDON CONSULTING C

ROTOPLAS I W S

TREMEC A M

SAPI TECHNOLOGIES S

TRIPLE HD F P

SIGMA FOODS F P

VILORE

ntegrated

ater olutions

utoparts

Carlos Rojas Mota Velasco Revenue: US Employees:

ines

omercialization

Luis Morris Revenue: US Employees:

anufacturers

Antonio Herrera Revenue: US Employees:

Revenue: US Employees:

oftware

MEXILINK INC I /G D oods

istibutor

Salvador Escalona Revenue: US Employees: 120 Mexilink provides leading brands a comprehensive 360⁰ strategy to grow market share in the US from importation to consumption.

ood rocessing

Mario Páez Revenue: US Employees:

MISSION FOODS F P ood roduction

Juan Gonzlez Moreno Revenue: US Employees:

NEMAK A utomotive

Revenue: US Employees:

SMM SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT Jorge & Javier Villalobos Revenue: US Employees:

Marco Mena Revenue: US Employees: Vilore Foods is the exclusive importer, distributor and marketer of leading Hispanic brands in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1983, Vilore was named in honor of the founder of Conservas La Costeña, Don Vicente Lopez Resines, whose great vision of perseverance is present in all facets of our company. Their main mission is to create “Best-In-Class” Hispanic selling strategies that satisfy the continuing and growing need for real Hispanic consumer products.

VITRO

SOFTTEK I.T. S

Adrian Sada Revenue: US Employees:

ervices

OK FOODS P

istributor

Heriberto Vlamik Revenue: US Employees:

Blanca Treviño Revenue: US Employees:

oultry

Revenue: US Employees:

VENTUREPOINT EVERYWHERE INC F O S

SOURCE LOGISTICS R E eal state

PROLAMSA Jose Aurelio Tamez Revenue: US Employees:

lexible

Marcelo Sada Revenue: US Employees:

WATER INTEGRATED TREATMENT SYSTEMS, LLC W W T P

SUKARNE M P

eet rocessing

Jesus Vizcarra Revenue: US Employees:

aste

ater reatment lant

Ricardo Martinez Revenue: 13,000,000 US Employees: 41

List Mexican Companies.indd 15

ffice pace

Luis Escobar Revenue: 750,000 US Employees: 5

LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

mporter

resh roduce

Emilio Salazar Revenue: 1,500,000 US Employees: 2

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN AUTHENTIC FOODS, INC.

FAMILY EQUALS OPPORTUNITY Lorenzo Almanza

Authentico Foods, Inc. is a food manufacturer located in Chicago focused on authentic, allnatural Hispanic products. The company was formed through the combination of two longstanding brands, La Guadalupana and El Ranchero. ONE MAJOR quality that sticks out for President and CEO Alejandro Castro is the concept of family. Family is the true aspect that brings the company together. It dates back to Castro’s early days growing up as a predecessor to his father and grandfather. “When I was 12 years old, I started going with my dad to work. I started with bagging groceries and after with washing windows. I found my way to the backroom of the grocery store one day where I was making masas and tamales,” he said. The company first began in the 1940s when Castros’ grandparents bought a bakery called La Victoria, and changed the name to La Guadalupana to their devotion of Our lady of Guadalupe. The devotion his grandparents had soon allowed them to turn the bakery into a much bigger concept. “Over the years the bakery grew to a convenient store, then to a grocery store.” His father’s footsteps soon followed his grandparents, and it was because of this that Castro was able to grow even more. He describes that it was his dad who first had the idea of growing the company beyond just a grocery store. He adds on that his father “did help with the business and eventually bought the company from my grandparents and grew the grocery store to a manufacturing plant and another mini market.” “He invested his money in real estate and the company grew and we started distributing mazas and tamales throughout the Mid-West from a plant.” Castro reiterates that because of his youthful experience he was able to take “the helm of the company.” “I was running the mini marts, the grocery stores, the USDA manufacturing plant, and managing his real estate investments.” This experience would be the start of Authentic Food. From here, Castro brought the company from his family

in 2017 and expanded La Guadalupana to even further heights. “I then took the company straight to just manufacturing, at the point we got out of the grocery business, out of the real estate business and just focused on manufacturing and distribution of our mazas and tamales,” he said. It was his intelligence that propelled him to buy El Ranchero with an investment in 2019 and start the merger of Authentic Food Inc. The combination allowed him to expand beyond tamales and masa by also adding chips and tostadas. His philosophy of family was something he learned to develop not only as an employer, but as an owner as well. “If you’re one of my family and you’re coming here, I make it very clear you have to work a hundred and ten percent because everybody else is looking at you and knowing you’re a family member,” Castro entailed. While being the President of a company is not easy, Castro reiterates that none of this would be possible without family. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of my family and the integrity my grandfather instilled upon my father, as well as myself,” Castro said. He truly believes that his grandfather “would be proud of the fact that we’re still a family run business.” “My father would still be proud of the fact that I have the values he and my grandfather entrusted in me.” Castro hopes to continue his family’s legacy and make Authentic Food the staple of brand authentic American-Mexican food in the Midwest. Today, company is interested in evaluating opportunities to expand its Hispanic product offering through strategic acquisitions.

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO

AMERICA’S LOVE OF AVOCADOS

THE STORY of Avocados From Mexico (AFM) is one of a unique collaboration with a win-win outcome for the United States and Mexico. AFM is a non-profit marketing organization that brings together the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association (MHAIA) and the Mexican Avocado Producers and Packers (APEAM) to promote the consumption of Mexican avocados in the U.S. This has helped fuel the United States’ love for avocado and builds a bond that benefits both countries economically – not to mention the health attributes avocados provide to consumers. According to a recent economic analysis from Texas A&M University*, imports of Mexican Hass avocados made substantial contributions to the U.S. economy during the 2019-2020 growing season. In this timeframe, more than 2.1 billion pounds of avocados were imported into the U.S. from the Mexican state of Michoacán – fueling consumers’ love of the healthy fruit while also positively benefiting and growing U.S. national and state economies. Comparing the results of this report to those in previous years reveals the growing importance of Mexican avocados to the U.S. economy. The contribution of avocado imports to total U.S. output increased 273% from $1.7 billion in 2012 to $6.5 billion in FY 2019/20. The report also showed that, as a result of the growing demand for avocados, domestic U.S. growers have benefited from higher price points and a larger market for their products. Avocado farming continues to be a viable and sustainable business venture in Mexico:

The economic analysis concludes that the $2.82 billion of U.S. imports of Mexican Hass avocados made significant contributions from U.S. imports of Mexican Hass avocados to the U.S. economy as avocados move through the food supply chain and stimulate various market activities. The contributions include: • $6.5 billion in output or spending • $4.0 billion to the U.S. GDP (value-added)

• 33,051 jobs for American workers • $2.2 billion in labor income • $1.1 billion in taxes

the Mexican avocado industry creates approximately 78,000 direct and permanent jobs and 310,000 indirect and seasonal jobs, providing a productive living in a region that was once one of the largest sources of migrant workers in the U.S. “The numbers of the report show the expansive growth in economic benefits that avocado imports from Mexico have provided to the U.S.,” said Alvaro Luque, CEO of Avocados From Mexico. “Through our win-win partnership between the U.S. and Mexico, Avocados From Mexico has become an economic engine that supplies the growing demand for avocados in the U.S. and benefits the wholesale, retail and foodservice industries at both state and national levels. Despite the challenges this year, the avocado category has continued to grow in volume and economic value.” The record-breaking volume year for avocado imports is driven by the skyrocketing demand for avocados: consumption of the fruit has grown over 600% between 1989/90 2019/20, an impressive 10% average annual growth rate over that period. The unique microclimate, volcanic soil and timely rainfall of Michoacán, Mexico allows avocados to be grown year-round, which is why its orchards supply nearly 82% of the avocado imports into the U.S.

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COMPANIES WITH MEXICAN ORIGIN CASA MARTINEZ

CASA MARTINEZ: INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS Cesar Arredondo

A decade ago, the makers of a Mexican salsa dreamed of entering the increasingly hotter U.S. salsa market, where the popular sauce had already dethroned ketchup as Americans’ favorite table condiment. Against many odds and competing against 100s of established brands, Casa Martinez salsas were born and today populate the shelves of more than 8,000 stores, including the nation’s largest supermarket chains.

esus Martinez Sr. was already an accomplished businessman in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa when he set his eyes on the United States. To succeed, a product makeover seemed to be in order. Martinez and his wife, Adriana Ibarra de Martinez, decided to move their family to Arizona to study and understand the American market up close. “We had to learn how to do business in the U.S. and as a family, we decided to develop a new brand,” he says. “We created Casa Martinez.” With the name settled, the Martinez family started knocking on doors to sell five types of salsas. While the brand was new, it consisted of the same varieties that made it popular in Mexico. The first big break came early on when a regional chain of 12 stores in Southern California began to place regular orders of Casa Martinez salsas. Then came Safeway, a national supermarket chain based in Pleasanton in Northern California, and the company saw a “big jump” in sales. Nowadays, Casa Martinez salsas are sold at many other major retailers like Costco, Walmart, Albertsons, Safeway, and Kroger. From the get-go, the family also decided not just to focus on the Latino market but rather on the mainstream market. By then, the company had made some inroads in several European countries as well as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Japan. The company now plans to introduce Casa Martinez in many other nations such as Canada and China next year. As part of their growth strategy and adapting to an evolving media landscape, they also develop a robust plan for Casa Martinez via omnichannel. The Martinez family also understood what the best selling point of their salsas was. “We are an authentic Mexican product,” states Jesus Martinez Sr., company founder and chairman of the board of directors.

Jesus Martinez, Founder of Casa Martinez

Authenticity means making the salsas in Mexico with fresh, locally grown produce and following traditional recipes. The Mexican brand benefits from having its main production plant in Sinaloa, considered Mexico’s “capital of the produce,” according to Martinez Sr. The richly agricultural state is a top producer of tomatoes and chiles, two main ingredients of fresh salsa, as well as many other vegetables and fruits. It is no surprise that food processing is the state’s top industry. So proud are of their salsa’s authentic Mexican origin that the company’s website uses that country’s internet country code top-level domain: www.CasaMartinez.com.mx. The salsas also bear the “Hecho en México” label. Leading the Casa Martinez team along with Jesus Martinez Sr. are his daughter Adriana, who serves as president of the company, and son Jesus Jr., as chief operating officer. Under their leadership, Casa Marti-

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nez has penetrated all states in America and expanded globally, from Europe to the Middle East to Asia. The siblings’ synergy both as business partners and family has been key to their success as they continue to practice all the values their parents instilled in them. “There’s nothing more important than having solid family values such as respect, honesty, hard work, integrity, and communication when it comes to growing a family business into the next largest authentic Mexican products company,” says Jesus Jr. "Family values and unity are two ingredients in Casa Martinez’s recipe for success that propel the company to conquer bigger markets nationally and abroad", recognizes Mrs. Adriana. She mentioned how the family made many sacrifices and faced many challenges to make it in the U.S., uprooting from their natal land, learning a new culture and language, and understanding the extremely competitive American market, among others. The recent COVID-19 health crisis tested the resilience of this Mexican family. As the American economy took a hit and many businesses struggled or even closed for good, Casa Martinez managed to do the unthinkable: find opportunities in the middle of a pandemic. As of 2020, the brand’s sales growth has almost doubled the national category average in the conventional channel, according to Adriana. “Casa Martinez is a category leader with a growth rate of 37.5 percent, which mostly comes from the fact that we are so authentic and fresh,” she says. Yet, no achievement is taken for granted by the Martinez clan. While present in all states, they press on to reach new clients in every one of them and place more items on the shelves. “My Vision is that Casa Martínez is the number one brand in quality, authentic Mexican products in the U.S.,” says Adriana Martinez. A graduate of

The Martinez Family

the University of Arizona with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting, she has led all business development, growth strategies, and partnerships. Adriana gave up a future working with the nation’s top accounting firms to instead take Casa Martinez to new levels. Her accomplishments include co-founding and leading Marba Foods and International to handle salsa production and distribution. She recently announced the launching of a cooking program in support of the brand. Adriana’s passion and drive have not gone unnoticed in the business world. Recently, she was honored as a 40 Under 40 Awards honoree by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Tucson, Arizona. And under her helm, Casa Martinez was recognized as Southern Arizona’s Mexican Corporation of the Year in 2019. Other family members have also proven their commitment to Casa Martinez. Jesus Martinez Jr., the COO, once was a professional baseball player. His parents always supported his baseball dream of playing in Major League Baseball and instilled in him the great value of education. After concluding his time in baseball, he finished college, earned a master’s in business administration, and joined the family’s business to oversee the company’s operations in the U.S. The Martinez family considers that education is fundamental to success in life and in business.Now, another family member is getting ready to help carry out the Martinez business legacy. Eighteen-year-old Olga Martinez understands the importance of education in having success in business and is currently pursuing a business administration degree at the University of Arizona. With three Martinez generations powering an entrepreneurial vision born two decades ago, the family is poised to score more accomplishments in the years to come both domestically and globally. “The most important thing is to support the consolidation of our company in the United States,” concludes Jesus Martinez Sr. “We have grown a lot (but still) have a lot to do.” JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 19

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LEADERSHIP

ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ

LEADING MCDONALD’S BOARDROOM FORWARD AND UPWARD ENRIQUE "RICK" HERNANDEZ JR. CEO & PRESIDENT OF INTER-CON SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MCDONALD’S CORPORATION.

PPORTUNITY. That is what Enrique Hernandez Jr. learned to spot early on in his teen years. Sent by his parents to a private Catholic high school run by strict Jesuit priests in Los Angeles, he viewed his rigorous education as a gift. When a high school friend encouraged him to apply to Yale University, a young Rick did just that, along with submitting applications to a number of other Ivy League schools. He got into Harvard University, graduating with a BA in business and economics and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Today Hernandez is a top U.S. corporate leader. The businessman and lawyer leads a multi-million dollar international security firm with thousands of employees working across three continents, has served in the board of directors of Fortune 500 companies, and currently serves as the non-executive chairman of the world's largest restaurant chain: McDonald’s.

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A Golden Arches board member for 25 years – the last six as Non-Executive Chairman – Hernandez is still loving it. According to the businessman, the keys to his success in Corporate America are two personal qualities he’s held from a young age: being a hard worker and a good listener. “I have always tried to measure up to the responsibility that I have, whether it’s as a student at Loyola High School or as a corporate director,” he told us. “I truly try to do the best I can. So even from an early age, I would get up really early to be thoroughly prepared... I work hard at it, whatever I happen to be doing.”

Lending an ear is also crucial for Hernandez. “I am very respectful of others,” he says. Of those leaders that believe they already know and have all the answers to problems, he adds, “basically, they are not good listeners.” The Harvard alumnus prides himself on fostering a boardroom atmosphere that aims to “harness the collective wisdom” of its members. It is a practice he has brought with him into the boardrooms of some of America’s biggest businesses, from Nordstrom to Chevron to McDonald’s. To unlock that “collective wisdom,” Hernandez structures meetings to hear from every board member. Ample time is allotted at the end for fellow directors to express any misgivings and share ideas and solutions to move forward. Such actions, Hernandez says, in turn build collegiality. For Hernandez, adding this secret sauce to boardroom dynamics is something that has always come naturally to him, but which he acknowledges, “isn’t present all the time” on corporate boards.

Board service has been part of Hernandez's professional life for nearly four decades. Freshly graduated from Harvard Law School in 1980, he went to work for the now-defunct Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison in the firm’s Los Angeles office, but left after four years to join his father’s business, Inter-Con Security Systems, also in L.A. While working in the family business and living up to his Jesuit education mantra of being a “man for others,” Hernandez also joined the nonprofit Los Angeles Children’s Hospital board. A fellow board member recruited him to join the corporate board of Great Western Bank, a New York Stock Exchange company that was the nation's second-largest savings and loans company at the time. He likens working for such a big corporation so early in his career to “breaking into the big leagues” for a baseball player. “That was the beginning,” Hernandez says. “Once I was there, it seemed like other opportunities just came my way.” Great Western eventually was acquired by Washington Mutual, where Hernandez became one of three directors. Other board appointments would follow, including Nordstrom Inc., and the Tribune Company. Then came the McDonald’s board of directors, which he joined in 1996. Hernandez was appointed non-executive chairman ten years later. Much has changed in America’s corporate boardrooms since Hernandez took a seat at the table as a young, ambitious director. Corporate social responsibility stands out for Hernandez. He recalls a time when some people challenged the notion of the board of directors making donations to nonprofits, which some investors considered a misuse of corporate assets. The Supreme Court settled the matter, and today, corporate giving is table stakes.

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LEADERSHIP

ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ

McDonald’s has a history of being ahead of the curve when it comes to giving back, and its brand has long been synonymous with Ronald McDonald House Charities (“RMHC”). Established in 1974, RMHC is a children’s charity that enables, supports, and facilitates family-centered care. With 360-plus houses in 64 countries, RMHC provides the comforts of home to the families of hospitalized children receiving care in nearby medical facilities. The charity also deploys mobile care units providing dental, medical, and healthcare resources to underserved communities. Last November, McDonald's launched the campaign #HereForRMHC, committing $100 million to Ronald McDonald House Charities over the next five years. It’s a campaign that Hernandez is deeply proud of – and one he says is rooted in McDonald’s values.

2020 proved to be a challenging year for corporate directors. To Hernandez, the coronavirus pandemic accelerated a trend he’s already seen taking root in corporate boardrooms across the country. “In the last year, with COVID serving as a kind of umbrella, it has become more apparent that directors serve not only the shareholders but also the communities of people that work within the company, and the communities of people with which the company interacts.” In November, amid the Coronavirus pandemic, McDonald’s unveiled a refreshed corporate purpose to “Feed and Foster Communities.” Says Hernandez, “We have to be actively engaged in trying to make a better community. At McDonald’s, that’s exactly what we’re doing.” He adds that in addition to serving food, the restaurant chain also serves people. “It's a company that's really made up of local people,” Hernandez says. “The franchisees live and work in the communities, the same communities. They are serving their neighbors. I think that's a powerful thing. It's not that we're estranged from the customers we have; we are amongst our customers.”

Hernandez suggests the COVID-19 health crisis and other recent social and political events point to a paradigm shift in boardrooms, as companies awaken to the need to be more engaged. He also warns that corporate board members must be forward-looking or face the consequences. “You have to think proactively or you're going to be a dinosaur company.”

According to Hernandez, the increased proactive mindset of corporate boards that has developed in recent decades has also led to new dynamics in the boardroom. Adding to that is the relatively recent rise of activist shareholders, which Hernandez says are keeping Boards more accountable. One example Hernandez cites is the matter of political contributions by corporations. Following the Capitol riot in early January, a wave of companies halted contributions to federal lawmakers who objected to the presidential election certification. In January, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski condemned the riots in the nation's capital and endorsed a statement from leaders of large corporations that denounced President Donald Trump and other politicians. That was followed by the company's announcement that it would suspend its political donations. "We have already paused all of our political giving while we review our policies and procedures," McDonald's said in a statement provided to media. "Going forward, we will ensure that all contributions continue to align with our values and the purpose of our business."

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Hernandez says that corporations are looking at political contributions differently, asking how they fit into their values. While serving on corporate boards, Hernandez has also turned his family business into a global force. Inter-Con Security Systems was established by his father, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department, and his mother, who worked as a secretary at Sears. “They started the company from the kitchen table of our three-bedroom house,” he recalls. Hernandez joined Inter-Con in 1984 as Executive Vice President and Assistant General Counsel and became President two years later. Under his leadership, the small business grew to become one of the largest of its kind worldwide, with over 25,000 employees. According to the company's website, the Pasadena-based company offers security personnel and management, executive protection programs, risk assessments, tactical exercise plans and programs, emergency medical services, classified information safeguarding, and investigations. Now the family company is in its third generation of family leadership. Hernandez’s son Henry - also a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School – is Chief Executive Officer. Being Latino has informed business decisions made by Enrique Hernandez Jr. throughout his life.

When Inter-Con wanted to go international, it first looked south of the border. “We saw opportunity there, and we just kept on going all the way down to Chile,” says Hernandez, whose grandparents were from Mexico.

The company also operates in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela. The growth in Latin America served as a roadmap for expansion to other countries around the world, including Benin, Canada, Ghana, Liberia, Togo, and Tunisia.

With a deep understanding of the Latino community, Hernandez and his brother Roland saw tremendous potential growth in the Spanish language television market back in the early 1980s when there was just one network – Spanish International Network – later renamed Univision. As early investors, the brothers were instrumental in the founding of NetSpan in 1984. Three years later, the network was rebranded as Telemundo – today a Spanish language media powerhouse. Roland would go on to lead the company, serving as CEO from 1995 -2000. That early investment was no accident. Of his prescience Hernandez says, “We understood this market that other people weren’t focused on. We were able to understand it, we were able to serve it.”

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BEST

COMPANIES FOR

LATINOS IN THE PAST YEARS, we’ve learned that the population of the United States and its workforce will become substantially more Hispanic. According to the U.S. Labor Bureau, one in every two workers that enter the workforce in 2025 will be Hispanic. That’s not far away from now. In fact, it’s already happening. Today, companies focus on the recruitment of the next generation of top Latinos by having to create unique hiring initiatives and strategies. This year, we monitored some of the best companies for Latinos to work based on opportunities such as financial stability, clear paths to career advancement and an inclusive environment.

LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

TO WORK

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BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS

BEST COMPANIES for LATINOS

We compiled a list of best companies for Latinos, using such criteria as employee diversity, programs to recruit, promote and retain Latinos, ERG programs and Latino representation in the boardroom and C-Suite level. CARNIVAL CORPORATION T &L ravel

CHIPOTLE R

eisure

estaurant

Gus Antorcha, President of Holland American Line Employees: Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

Employees: 95,183 Diversity: 66% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

Carnival Corporation employs a talented, passionate and diverse workforce of over 150,000 people under normal operations.

THE COCA COLA COMPANY B F P

CATERPILLAR I

everages ood rocessing

Maria Elena Lagomasino, Board Director; Beatriz Perez, Executive Leadership; Manolo Arroyo, Executive Leadership; Alfredo Rivera, Executive Leadership Employees: 18,000 Diversity:

ndustrial

Juan Gallardo, Board Director Employees: Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS T

LATINO LEADERS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021

elecommunications

Mauricio Ramos, Board Director Employees: 96,000 Diversity: 48% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG Known through its Spectrum brand, Charter was named a Top Company for People of Color by the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications and a Top Company for Women to Work by Women In Cable Telecommunications. Charter aims to attract, retain and develop the best talent in its industry, reflecting the diversity of its customers and markets. In 2020, it received the Corporate Leadership in Hispanic Television and Video award from Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News for its commitment to Hispanic customers and the addition of five Latino targeted TV networks.

FOX CORPORATION M &E edia

ntertainment

Claudia Teran, Executive Vice President & Corporate General Counsel Employees: 8,872 Diversity: 33.30% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG Fox Corporation's Employee Resource Group HOLA (Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Advancement) aims to develop Hispanic/Latinx leaders, enrich FOX’s diverse culture, and drive positive impact across the company. David Espinosa, EVP of Distribution Strategy and Business Affairs at Fox Corporation, currently serves as the group's Executive Sponsor.

LOWE'S R etail

Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

COMCAST M &T edia

echnology

Maritza Montiel, Board Director Employees: 168,000 Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG In 2020, 44% of Comcast's U.S. full time employees were people of color and 36% were women.

CONAGRA BRANDS F M ood

anufacturing

Raul Alvarez, Board Director Employees: 300,000 Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL H ospitality

George Muñoz, Board Director Employees: 136,000 Diversity: 66% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

Employees: 18,000 Diversity: 40% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG For the sixth year in a row Conagra received a perfect score of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

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Employees: 74,000 Diversity: 29% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

Ramon L. Laguarta, Chairman & CEO; Cesar Conde, Board Director Employees: 120,000 Diversity: 35.38% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

ULTIMATE KRONOS GROUP T

NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION F S

PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE I

UPS D

inancial ervices

Employees: 22,000 Diversity: 42% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

NEW YORK LIFE I nsurance

Ralph De la Vega, Board Director Employees: 11,300 Diversity: 74% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S HEALTH SYSTEM H ealthcare

Jose Perdomo, SVP; Arianna Urquia, CFO; Iris Berges, VP; Helenemarie Blake, CCO; Dr. Marcos Mestre, CMO; Elizabeth Menocal, VP Employees: 4,000 Diversity: 83% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

everages ood Processing

nsurance

Employees: Diversity: 36% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON E U lectric

LEAD serves as a resource for employees, supporting members to achieve their full potential, driving awareness of Latino’s contributions, and supporting SCE’s business objectives. At the end of 2020, Latinos made up 34% of Edison’s workforce and 46% of SCE customers. LEAD has grown 69.55% since 2016. Given these numbers, we see that LEAD has a unique role to play in partnering with the company on internal and external strategic initiatives and in expanding its membership to include Latino employees from across the company.

irline

nergy

Jorge del Alamo, Sr. Vice President & Controller Employees: 1,393 Diversity: 29% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

NVIDIA I T

nformation echnology

Employees: Diversity: 53% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

elivery

Juan Perez, Chief Information & Engineering Officer Employees: 540,000 Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG We break out our U.S. management employees by two categories: senior/middle management and entry level management. For senior/middle management, the total number across the minority groups is 34% and for entry level management, the total number across minority groups is 49%.

tility

Pedro Pizarro, President and CEO, EIXMichael Montoya, VP Chief Ethics & Compliance Employees: 12,937 Diversity: 34% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES A NUSTAR ENERGY L.P. E

echnology

John Machado, Chief Technology Officer Employees: 13,000 Diversity: 44% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS

PEPSICO B F

iopharmaceutical

Juan Suarez, Managing Director Deputy General Counsel;Ryan Martinez, Managing Director Investor Relations;Grace D. Lieblein, Board Director Employees: 56,000 Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG By fostering a Culture that embraces and utilizes diversity, Southwest promotes teamwork and fosters innovation that contributes to our overall success. Additionally, Southwest is proud to give back to the communities they serve. They focus on communities as a natural extension of Southwest’s People-centric approach to citizenship. They seek to connect People to what’s important in their lives, and the communities where they live, work, and play.

VALERO ENERGY E nergy

Julia Rendon Reinhart, Chief Human Resources Officers & Senior Vice President HR & Administration Employees: Diversity: Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

VERIZON O G il and

Diego Scotti, EVP & CMO; Melanie L. Healey, Board Director Employees: 133,395 Diversity: 43% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG

ZOETIS P

harmaceutical

Juan Ramón Alaix, Board Member Employees: 11,000 Diversity: 21.40% Latinx in C-Suite/Board Latinx ERG Zoetis' DE&I focus and commitment begins with their leadership team of diverse backgrounds, experiences and ethnicities (50% of the executive team are women). TheTalent, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team is led by Evelyn Ortiz, a Latina and experienced Zoetis business leader.

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BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS NICKLAUS CHILDREN’S HEALTH SYSTEM

A CLOSER LOOK AT NICKLAUS CHILDREN’S HEALTH SYSTEM Dr. Marcos Mestre was

appointed Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in October 2020. In his role, he works on advancing the collaboration among the 309-bed pediatric specialty hospital’s clinical and administrative leadership, and community physicians to ensure quality clinical care and operational efficiency. DR. MESTRE joined the hospital’s parent organization, Nicklaus Children’s Health System (NCHS), in 2005 as a pediatric hospital medicine physician. He went on to become director of the division of hospital medicine and president of the medical staff. Most recently, Dr. Mestre served as senior medical director, pediatric services and section chief for pediatric hospital medicine for Nicklaus Children’s Pediatric Specialists, the NCHS clinical group practice. Dr. Marcos Mestre has been recognized on the America’s Best Doctors list. How is your organization tackling the need of a more diverse base of employees and executives? Nicklaus Children’s Health System values our diverse workforce where 83% of our employee population is part of a minority group. Notably, 68% of employees consider themselves Latin. While we are a remarkably diverse organization situated in an extremely diverse city, we also understand that people’s background, culture and who they are outside of work, does not stop when they clock-in for work. This is why, we believe that a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program should guide the path of our decision-making, espe-

cially when considering programs and practices that directly impact our employee and patient populations. This became even clearer in early 2020 with events, such as the death of George Floyd, that impacted the entire world and caused a ripple effect of actions leading to major changes in the employment arena. Employees and potential candidates began watching companies closely to see how they would react to what was going on around the world. In its 70-year history, Nicklaus Children’s has always prioritized listening to our employees to understand what is important to them as professionals and individual contributors in our community. In the late 50s and throughout the two decades that followed, our facility played a key role in caring for children whose families had fled communism in Cuba. Special clinical teams were assembled to help this underserved and fragile population. Many more examples such as this come to mind. However, as the topic of social injustice gained widespread attention last year, we knew we had to listen and pay attention much more closely. We began our newly ignited DEI journey with an organization-wide survey asking questions around our environment, support and resources. Survey results indicated that employees wanted more education

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around DEI topics, more resources to be able to celebrate and understand DEI, and a better understanding of compliance practices for DEI issues. In order to understand the survey results better, we then took the journey to the forefront by implementing listening sessions (nine total, six virtual and three in-person – two of which were in Spanish). Our executive leadership team sat down with several groups of employees from across the organization to listen to their thoughts on DEI and how Nicklaus Children’s could support them in this area. With the help of an outside moderator, employees were clear in their concerns and freely voiced their opinions on how we could support them in this journey and our leaders listened. Because of this feedback, today, we are proud to share that DEI is a huge part of who we are as an employer so much that Focus on Us is the name of one of our four strategic pillars. Under this pillar, one of the 15 goals in our three-year strategic plan is around being an employer of choice by focusing on DEI. By making it part of our strategic roadmap, Nicklaus Children’s is ensuring all levels of the organization are committed to focusing on recruiting, retaining and engaging with our diverse workforce. Moreover, based on employee feedback from both the survey and listening sessions, we’ve brought together an operational team to focus on the top DEI-related initiatives including the creation of a DEI Champions group that will lead organizational efforts such as the creation of affinity groups

and the review of our hiring process. We are tracking our diversity metrics on a more regular basis and have even included several questions into our employee engagement survey process. The first survey that included these questions was completed in November of 2020 and all questions scored higher than the national average (90th percentile) for healthcare systems as indicated by Press Ganey, our survey administrator. Diversity, equity and inclusion cannot be a one-and-done initiative. Nicklaus Children’s is truly committed to maintaining our diverse workforce and enhancing it by ensuring we are providing the resources and support that our employees need to flourish as professionals and in their personal lives. We will continue to listen, adjust when needed, and celebrate the beauty of our diverse workforce.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Advanced Pediatric Care Pavillion

What are the benefits Nicklaus Children’s Health System is looking for with a better diverse and engaged labor force? Nicklaus Children’s Health System is headquartered in Miami, Florida – one of the country’s most varied melting pots. Our employee population mirrors our community and, most importantly, our patient population. We understand the needs of the children and families that we are privileged to serve; this is a key differentiator that makes us an employer of choice. Our employees value the texture and richness of our community and the people who live here because they are them. Their values are aligned with our organizational values – and that’s not a coincidence. JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 29

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BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS NICKLAUS CHILDREN’S HEALTH SYSTEM

More than the benefits we offer, Nicklaus Children’s gives employees the opportunity to belong to a family with a common goal – creating a healthy future for every child. Ultimately, this means being there through all stages of health and life for children and their families, both physically and mentally. To be a trusted partner to children and their families, not only in times of illness, but throughout their life journeys. The same compassion we have for our patients and their families, we have for our employees too. When you join our organization, you become part of the Nicklaus Children’s Family.

The Miguel "Mike" B. Fernandez Family Pediatric Trauma Center at Nicklaus Children's

The development of our mission, vision and values took into consideration the makeup of our community and the children and families who turn to us for healthcare expertise. Our patients are not from a single race, ethnicity, religion or culture. They are rich with individual traditions, wants and needs that extend into the type of healthcare they seek. Understanding their uniqueness is essential to their care journey and our responsibility in providing the best care to every child. We cannot do this alone. Our workforce needs to be engaged because children’s lives depend on it. Their lives depend on every employee’s commitment to delivering care to everyone regardless of who they are, where they are from or what they believe in. This is why having a diverse and engaged workforce is not just a benefit but a necessity for Nicklaus Children’s. For Latino talent interested in a career in health services, what are the main advantages of Nicklaus Children’s Health System? Nicklaus Children’s Health System is always looking for the next champion for children. As mentioned in the previous question, we are headquartered in Miami and all of our locations are within the sunshine state. Besides our amazing year-round weather, our community is diverse in every sense – from foods, to traditions and even places to visit. A talented Latino with a passion for improving the lives of children and their families will fit right in. Our organization is truly a microcosm of Miami life. We have a total rewards package that includes medical, vision and dental insurance options, a robust retirement plan that includes an employer contribution program, professional development opportunities at all levels, a tuition reimbursement program, and many other employee benefits, perks and rewards.

How do you provide professional development opportunities to your diverse workforce? Nicklaus Children’s Health System doesn’t just say what employees want to hear, we make sure to put action behind our words. This is why I’m proud to share my career progression story – in 2005, I joined the organization as a pediatric hospital medicine physician. Throughout my time, I’ve had the support of the leadership and professional development teams. I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity given to me including the chance to enrich my education my earning a master of business administration degree through the health system’s leadership development program. I have held various leadership roles until my most recent promotion in late 2020 to Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, the health system’s flagship hospital. I am not alone in this journey – our Senior Vice President of Administration and Special Projects, Jose Perdomo, has been with the organization for over 37 years and began at Nicklaus Children’s as a care assistant. Through professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement programs, and the support of many across the health system, he earned various degrees, including a juris doctorate ( JD). Jose has served the organization through various staff level and leadership positions that each have influenced the trajectory of our organization in very positive ways. We are just two examples of how Latin professionals have amazing growth opportunities at Nicklaus Children’s. Our professional and organizational development programs are key to retaining our talent and include dedicated teams that focus on creating career tracks for all positions at all levels of the organization. Our entire leadership team signs a leader compact that includes clear expectations on succession planning and developing talent from within the organization. Regardless of their background, we strive to groom high potential individuals and give them the opportunities to grow with Nicklaus Children’s. This culture of constantly investing in the growth of our people is inherent in everything we do. It is how we care for our caregivers so that they may continue to provide the best care to every child.

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BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS ZOETIS

OPPORTUNITY IN ZOETIS, A GLOBAL VETERINARY MEDICINE COMPANY Evelyn Rios Ortiz, Chief Talent, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Zoetis Inc. talks about why Zoetis is a thriving environment with opportunities for Latinos. What’s your role at Zoetis and what are some of your long term goals? I lead a team focused on developing and championing the strategy for DE&I. We work across the business with leaders and teams to ensure our DE&I focus is embedded throughout our company, a part of our culture and reflected in our business goals and processes. In the long-term, I hope to see our work help create a diverse organization that represents the communities where we live and work. We want every colleague to bring their best and whole selves to pool for our company and industry. It’s also an opportuwork and know that they are valued not only for what they nity for our business and colleagues to give back to the contribute, but also who they are as individuals. wonderful communities that we are part of. Can you tell us more about Zoetis’ most recent expansion of DE&I? In 2020, we amplified our focus on DE&I and we are taking concrete actions to attract more diverse candidates and foster a more inclusive environment through new partnerships with organizations that represent and support underrepresented populations like INROADS, Management Leadership for Tomorrow and MANNRS; development of our own colleague resource groups; and increased training and education on DE&I topics for our colleagues. We are at the early stages of our journey and change won’t happen overnight, but we are continuously learning and the actions we are taking speak to our commitment to DEI as a leader in the animal health industry. What do partnerships mean to you and what are some of these current partnerships you’re working with? I believe partnering with outside organizations and institutions is critical to expanding and diversifying the talent

Some of our current partnerships include: • Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANNRS) and INROADS, organizations that help underrepresented high school and college students learn about career paths and opportunities. • For me, personally, as a Latina from Newark, NJ, I am especially proud to be partnering with INROADS, and especially the INROADS College Links program, which helps students find a path to college success and career opportunities. I recently spoke to almost 50 high school students in Newark as part of this program and I am humbled to be in a position to now serve as a mentor to the same community I grew up in. • Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), an organization focused on ensuring underrepresented talent is represented in leadership pipelines.

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• Nurturing our long-standing partnerships with colleges of veterinary medicine to support leadership and diversity among future veterinarians. • Supporting the future of the veterinary industry through the Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship Program, in partnership with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), which focuses on addressing the issue of student debt, as well as the need to foster diversity in the profession (Zoetis has provided more than $7 million in scholarship through this program) • In addition to these external partnerships, we are also very focused on ensuring our culture provides a supportive environment where all colleagues can thrive by: • Expanding our colleague resource groups to bring together colleagues who share similar backgrounds, experiences or interests to help us work toward our DE&I goals. These groups are already a critical voice of influence on our DE&I priorities, and will help us reach additional candidates who may not normally think of Zoetis as a potential employer. • Broadening our own thinking about the skills, job requirements and places where we typically recruit. • Helping our managers learn new skills that will help them be more inclusive in talent management practices, including hiring and talent development.

Can you tell us more about the Latinx CRG and some of its initiatives? While our Latinx colleague resource group (CRG) is still in its formation stages, the group has developed objectives to grow membership, enhance Latinx cultural awareness within Zoetis, and start external outreach. In 2021,the CRG has plans to celebrate Latinx culture and identity throughout the year with fun regional facts, food, culture and entertainment, as well as focused efforts during Latin Heritage month. The group is also planning career development sessions for its members this year, and starting external outreach through volunteerism activities and connecting with other companies’ employee resource groups to exchange best practices. Why is Zoetis a thriving environment for Latinx professionals? Very importantly, Zoetis has shared our DE&I aspirations publicly to hold ourselves accountable for making changes and increasing the number of Latinx colleagues, and we are making progress. Zoetis already has an amazing culture founded on a set of Core Beliefs that value integrity, respect and impact. One of our Core Beliefs is “Our Colleagues Make the Difference,” and we also like to add that their differences make us stronger.

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BEST COMPANIES FOR LATINOS A NEW AGE EXECUTIVE

MEET NADIAN ZAK,

A “NEW AGE EXECUTIVE” Sarah Nichole Photography Carlos Cuevas

What does it mean to be a “New Age Executive?” How would you define it? The New Age Executive is an individual that is unapologetic about having a voice (and a personal life!). They challenge the status quo, might look different than what is conventional or expected, and have a close pulse on what matters most in an organization---people. They also don’t “live to work,” but “work to live,” and they look to serve, rather than to be served. The New Age Executive isn’t so much a person, title, or role, as it is a mindset. What’s the number one mistake that individuals with C-suite aspirations are making in their careers right now? Many individuals with C-suite aspirations strive for perfection. Perfection in their projects, presentations and leadership. Gone are the days that perfectionism is required in C-suite roles. Instead, companies are looking for leaders that have the “fail forward” mentality. Leaders that can be agile, quick to adapt, test, pilot and experiment. Perfectionism has now been replaced with progress and comfort-zone has now been replaced with resiliency. Why should companies start embracing the new age executive? How can they identify, attract and retain the new age executive? More and more of the workforce will be comprised of millennials that have the New Age

Executive mindset where work-life balance and prioritizing self-care and diversity really matters. The New Age Executive is looking to make an impact and a difference in their workplace, and they want to know that their input, feedback, and thoughts matter. In order to attract and retain the New Age Executive, companies must first assess if they are already embracing this mindset internally. Then, they have to remember that this next generation of executives is paying close attention to their leadership’s action and values alignment. In a culture where technology and social media platforms are being used as the primary way to target top talent, companies have to be cognizant that online reviews can either make or break their repu-

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tation. If they are looking to continuously innovate and grow, businesses have to embrace this paradigm shift. They must ensure that they are being intentional with their internal employee engagement efforts because often, workplace culture is what will spill through in these reviews.

promote from within to ensure that the demographic landscape isn’t made up of one single type of person. Finally, they should incorporate an accountability mechanism that shows progress made towards these goals. Instituting feedback loops that are geared towards employment engagement can assure that What policies need to change in corpo- you have a close pulse on opportunities rate companies to make room for the and what employees would like to see New Age Executive? more or less of. Ensuring that there is executive buy-in from the CEO down is crucial to making You landed an executive role before change happen from a policy standpoint. you even turned 35. What advice do Once there is a mindset alignment, some you have for someone looking to of the practices that companies should climb the ladder without sacrificing have in place include how and who they family or flexibility? hire by being transparent with their re- I attribute much of my success to my cruiting efforts. For example, this could support system. I have an extremely close include instituting a diversity hiring plan, family and supportive husband that conwhere companies intentionally make an stantly encourages me to pursue my paseffort to recruit from historic black col- sions and dreams. My advice for those leges or targeting bilingual candidates. looking to climb the ladder is to find your They should also review their succession village---people that you can depend on if planning and evaluate their policies to you need to stay at work for a little lon-

EDUCATION: • Nadian is known to be a passionate and take-charge People and Culture executive that drives human capital strategies by creating customized and innovative strategic plans to fit the ever-changing needs of dynamic organizations, while upholding the integrity of the organizational values.* *www.vertavahealth.com

WRITE AND SHARE #ConnectLL

ger or that can help you finish your task list. These could be mentors, friends, colleagues---people that will not just help you when you are in need, but will also challenge you to reach new heights because they believe in your potential. Know what is important to you and then look for organizations that align with your values. More importantly, look to work with a leader who is understanding, and is respectful of your family commitments. What are some misconceptions or assumptions about working moms, particularly those in leadership roles? How can other working moms push back against these appropriately? I think one of the biggest misconceptions about working moms in leadership positions is that they dedicate more time to their careers and less time to their families. This is simply untrue! In fact, many women believe that they are better moms because of their careers. They get to unapologetically work towards their passions and aspirations and be an example for their children. JANUARY /FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 35

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LEADERSHIP MERCURY

MERCURY’S NEW LEADERSHIP AND WHAT’S NEXT Earlier this year, Mercury, a leading global bipartisan public strategy firm, announced the addition of Coca-Cola Company executive Peter R. Villegas as Co-Chairman to the Los Angeles office. After an extensive and successful career in corporate America, Villegas brings 27 years of experience as a regional and national corporate leader to Mercury, with expertise in government relations, community relations, corporate responsibility, business strategy and executive management. Villegas joins Mercury after serving as Vice President & Head of Latin Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company, where he acted as a national spokesman responsible for North America for over six years. Fabian Núñez, Mercury Partner and former Speaker of the California State Assembly welcomes to their growing California team. “He brings a breadth of knowledge when it comes to effectively engaging Hispanic and multi-cultural communities across the country and crafting strategies that promote thoughtful corporate citizenship. We look forward to integrating him into the team and being able to tap into his expertise to bolster our firm’s work.”

Peter Villegas LL What’s the main experience and lessons you’re taking to this new endeavor, coming from doing a significant role you had at Coca-Cola for many years? PV The most important experience and lessons are rooted in a deep understanding of how corporate America works, based on my 27 years of work in banking and consumer goods with two of the most recognizable brands in the world: JP Morgan Chase and Coca-Cola. I’ve been fortunate to see how the private sector functions, both internally and externally, on both a local and a global scale. It is imperative for my clients to understand that they need to earn their trust with the communities they serve; and that trust is fostered through more than just the provision of financial resources—it needs to be a sincere, abiding commitment. At the same time, I want to make sure the community understands my

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clients’ goals and priorities so that there is shared alignment and an open, honest line of communication. We want companies to be successful and communities to benefit at the same time. LL What would be your initial focus or group of clients? PV My focus will be working with any entity that is interested in and committed to engaging the Hispanic community. I will ensure they understand their role and responsibility in collaborating with a powerful and growing sector of the U.S. population and consumer base. I am focused on helping clients understand and appreciate the diversity of the Latino community as well as all other communities. The Latino community is not monolithic, and the nuances and cultural uniqueness within each community is crucial to building strong relationships.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mercury-

Consumers, particularly millennial consumers, are very sophisticated and they are attracted to brands that stand for something. I want to make sure my clients understand this dynamic, and help them craft and implement strategies that authentically build trust with diverse communities and that properly represent a wide array of consumer interests and priorities.

LL How would you define the role of the P.R. executive going forward with all the “new normal” circumstances all over the world affecting industries, governments and leaders? PV It is imperative to set the tone and lead by example. We have to embrace the fluidity of the circumstances, which literally change day to day. PR executives need to be able to navigate a changing environment, and advise clients on how they can be authentic and transparent, and find the right cadence of communication so that the community is informed. It is through that honesty and open communication that companies will earn the trust of the Latino community. JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 37

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LEADERSHIP MERCURY

My time as Speaker also coincided with Governor Schwarzenegger’s tenure, which afforded me a world class education in the art of bipartisanship. We were able to work together to advance policies and effect critical changes that had buy-in across the aisle and within the Executive and Legislative offices. That experience has helped solve multidimensional problems for clients, and enabled us to build coalitions and cross-party cooperation on some of the biggest challenges California faces today. I am so fortunate to have had this experience, and now be able to serve organizations here in California, across the U.S., and around the world.

our economic recovery. They will be ready to help get the U.S. back on track, financially and otherwise. LL As a politician, how do you see the future of California under the Federal Administration and what kind of Role should California play at large? PV I could not be more excited about the new administration. President Biden and Vice President Harris are precisely the leaders we need at this time. And having the Vice President hail from California will help ensure we are front and center in leading our country forward. Our state has so much to offer, from driving advancements in technology, medicine, and climate science, to our rich cultural diversity and incredible public and private sector talent. Combined, these are essential elements that will help propel us forward and bring about progress in social equity that is sorely needed. It is that spirit and vision that have been missing in the White House for the last four years. I expect Californians to be a driving force throughout this Administration, and look forward to the success they will bring to our state and our nation as a result. Mercury Partner LL What are some of the things you are LL As a former speaker of the CA State most proud of your work in Mercury? Assembly, what kind of vision and LL What are the need of your clients in PV One of the things I am most proud of experiences have been useful for you general, during these challenging times? is Mercury’s work focused on the Latino to be playing your role at Mercury? PV Currently, client needs revolve community, especially around ending PV If California were a sovereign around COVID-19, navigating a systemic inequities and exclusion. We nation, we would be the fifth largest sustained crisis, surviving (and in have helped governments, nonprofits, and economy in the world. As Speaker of some cases thriving) during these businesses build policies and enact stratethe California State Assembly, I was incredibly difficult times. These gies to best serve the Latino community. responsible for crafting policy that needs vary from internal and external Equally important, we have worked with effects more Americans than any state communications, crisis support, and stakeholders to listen to and understand in the union, along with developing leading major public affairs camthe unique needs of our community, and and negotiating a $100+ billion anpaigns, to working with government also the rich diversity of the Latino comnual budget. The experience has been and non-governmental entities. munity. As the firm continues to grow invaluable to the work I am able to do Beyond this ongoing support, it and become more influential nationally, at Mercury. Californian government is my goal to best position clients these efforts will scale accordingly so that touches every sector of society, and thus for success post-pandemic, particwe can ensure the Latino community I was able to gain a knowledge set and ularly in readying them to respond is included as a fundamental element familiarity on a diverse set of issues. and serve as part of the solution for of American success and prosperity.

Fabian Núñez

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CYBER SECURITY The world is increasingly reliant on technology today, leading to the increase of cyber attacks. According to the Ninth Annual Cost of Cybercrime Study from Accenture and the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of cybercrime for an organization has increased by $1.4 million over the last year to $13.0 million and the average number of data breaches rose by 11 percent to 145. Our reliance on technology continues to put individuals, small businesses or large multinational companies at ricks. As cyber attacks increase they continue to cause underlying threats becoming more dangerous and riskier in terms of data security. However, there are many organizations and individuals fighting these possibilities and these attacks from organized crime. Inside these organizations, there are Latinos leading some of the most relevant efforts to make the digital world more secure.

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CYBERSECURITY

DR. PABLO GARCIA MOLINA

CYBERSECURITY TODAY Latino Leaders approached Dr. Pablo Garcia Molina, an expert in cybersecurity to learn more about his vision on the topic. What are the most pressing issues when it comes to the Security of Digital Information in all sides of the formula; Consumers, Financial Institutions, Government-Regulators, Companies that provide their services and products, hackers? We are fighting a difficult information security war, winning some of the battles yet losing others. Ransomware attacks, scams, and intellectual property theft grow worldwide. Yet, we successfully thwart the vast majority of the attacks. I believe that information security translates into economic prosperity. Those of us who work in information security protect the people, the information, and the systems under our purview. We join our board members, executives, staff, and vendors in fulfilling the mission of our organizations. We manage risks: business risks and other risks. We ensure that our constituents and regulators trust our organizations.

same at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Spain, INFOTEC in Mexico, and CEABAD in Central America. Mentorship programs are both critical and successful to increase diversity in information technoloLatino participation in Cybersecurity gy and security. roles? I look right and I look left when I attend cybersecurity meetings. I seldom see women INFO: and minorities. According to one of the lead• Dr. Pablo Molina is the AVP ing cybersecurity accreditation organizations, and Chief Information Security ISC2, “in the U.S. cybersecurity industry, 9% Officer at Drexel University of workers self-identified as African Amerand a Faculty Lecturer at ican or Black, 4% as Hispanic, 8% as Asian, Georgetown University, where he teaches graduate courses 1% as American Indian or Alaskan Native in ethics and technology and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and management. He holds 4% self-identifying as “Other.” The Internateaching appointments in tional Consortium of Minority CybersecuMexico, Spain, and Nicaragua. rity Professionals provides another sobering He is the Executive Director of statistic: “Hispanics comprised only 7% of the International Applied Ethics and Technology Association. the STEM workforce while making up 15% He was Chief Information of the US workforce.” I believe that the conOfficer at the Association clusion is clear: we need more minority emof American Law Schools, ployees and executives in cybersecurity. Chief Information Officer at Southern Connecticut State How can Latinos get more opportunities? University, Associate Vice President for Information I encourage minorities and women to enTechnology and campus ter into the cybersecurity field by giving Chief Information Officer lectures, sharing information about scholat Georgetown University, arships, and mentoring up and coming proDirector of Information fessionals. I purposefully recruit a diverse Technology at the University of workforce and I ask my colleagues and Pennsylvania, Lecturer/Director of Information Systems at vendors to do the same. About half of my Washington University in Saint department´s positions are filled by promLouis, and Senior Lecturer ising students who work full-time while at the University of Missouri pursuing their degrees. I am an active supin Saint Louis. Pablo has a porter of the Philadelphia Women in Cydoctorate from Georgetown bersecurity group and I helped create the University on the adoption of technology in education Women in IT group at Drexel University. and an MBA from Saint I was one of the first members and board Louis University. He is a members of the Hispanic information Certified Information Systems Technology Executive Council, focusing on Security Professional and a creating a more diverse pipeline of talent. Certified Information Privacy For years I have been, and I still am, a menProfessional. He is a fellow at the Center for AI and Digital tor in their Emerging Executive Program, Policy and serves as a longpulling up and pushing up other Hispanics term advisory board member into technology leadership roles. As a faculof the Electronic Privacy ty member of the Master´s in Technology Information Center. He recently Management at Georgetown University, completed a Fulbright program at the University of Fribourg in I have educated hundreds of graduate stuSwitzerland. dents -many of them Hispanic- who are now technology executives. I have done the JANUARY /FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 41

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LEADERSHIP JESSE CORTEZ

JESSE CORTEZ, A LEADER IN MOTION Jesse Cortez is a former minor league baseball player who exchanged his cleats for a business suit and a corporate life, while retaining his love and passion for baseball, particularly his beloved Chicago Cubs. Jesse is also an insightful Latino executive who discovered early on that, to be successful, he didn’t need to hide or disguise his true self in front of others. He owes it to himself to be an authentic person at home and at work with real impact at work and in the community and a true desire to help those with whom he comes in contact.

Raymond J. Arroyo, Managing Partner, Chapman Farrell Group Courtesy Carlos Cuevas

JESSE NOW practices his athleticism serving as the Vice President, Executive Talent at McKesson. In this role, Jesse leads McKesson’s in-house executive search function, working closely with business and HR leaders to creatively source executive talent. Prior to McKesson, Jesse held Human Resources executive roles, with a major focus on Diversity and Inclusion at blue-chip companies like Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Accenture. Jesse, who holds a BS degree and an MBA from the University of North Texas, joined McKesson, a Fortune 8 global leader in healthcare, in August 2019. Traci Dunn, Vice President, Inclusion, Diversity & Corporate Impact introduced him to Ximena Juncosa, Senior Vice President Rx Technology Solutions at McKesson. Ximena and Jesse hit it off splendidly and quickly. Jesse met Ximena informally for a cup of coffee that turned into a spontaneous pipeline strategy session, including whiteboarding potential scenarios. Jesse was so impressive that he was hired shortly thereafter and promoted exactly 12 months later. The current role allows and enables him to leverage his significant experience and strategic mindset to fiercely drive internal change by building tools, increasing awareness, and creating external and internal talent pools that support the company’s aggressive talent-related needs and diversity-related goals. Jesse feels blessed to have landed at McKesson and aspires to continue to grow in his career by doing his job exceedingly well and helping as many people as possible along the way. He also feels blessed to be working with so many selfless, talented and influential Latinos who will push forward and pull up Latino talent so they can reach higher and further than ever before. Jesse and the McKesson team are relentless in their pursuit on talented Latinos and other groups who’ve been under-served in the past. He’s confident that it can be done because he’s used to doing difficult things, and he has also received a total commitment from the company and its top executives. An example of Jesse’s strong influence is the recent addition of Maria Teresa Lensing to the McKesson CIO team. She joined McKesson as chief technology officer in September 2020. Jesse worked with Nancy Flores, executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO) and chief technology officer (CTO) to identify, attract, and hire Maria Teresa Lensing. Jesse learned from his parents, who came from humble beginnings, that perseverance, discipline, and focus, along with education, were the most important attributes to achieve success over the long term. A constant learner and fervid family man (who’s favorite days in his life are his wedding day and birth of his children), he always aspires to do more, as inspired by his parents, his wife, and his children. Jesse has taken his son to baseball games to share his passion for the America’s

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EDUCATION: • Jesse Cortez is the VP, Executive Talent at McKesson. In this role, Jesse leads McKesson’s in-house executive search function, working closely with business executives and HR leaders to source executive talent, help identify high potential leaders, and provide coaching to accelerate future role readiness. • Jesse has extensive experience in leadership talent acquisition, Inclusion & Diversity initiatives and partnering with non-profit organizations for over 15 years. • Prior to McKesson, Jesse held Talent Acquisition and Inclusion & Diversity roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Accenture and A.O. Monarch Healthcare Consultants. He also serves as a Board of Directors Member for HITEC, the Hispanic IT Executive Council, as well as a National Board Member for PALMa, our Professional Association of Latinos at McKesson employee resource group.

game while demonstrating his love to, and devotion for, his family. For those who wish to follow in his footsteps, he urges us not to be afraid in setting the bar high. He tells us to be unafraid and tenacious in chasing the role we desire. He asks us to ignore the naysayers, who put limits on our capabilities. For Latino managers who aspire to join the executive ranks, he asks that they continue to fight hard to be successful where they are, while performing with the next level in mind. He says shares that performance is a differentiator and suggest we leverage our own network, inside and outside. Identify key leaders who can influence our paths and join organizations like Hispanic IT Executive Council (“HITEC”), which can help

us grow, while we simultaneously help them grow. Jesse is a proud champion of people who creates opportunities for all to succeed, while making their own companies stronger. We asked Jesse for his definition of success and he said: “it’s reaching a desired impact. It’s how we dedicate ourselves to a broader purpose, as we create opportunities for ourselves and for others.” We like this philosophy of lifting others as we also climb ourselves. How is Jesse feeling these days? “I’m loving my time here at McKesson,” he says. With his immense energy and positive outlook, we totally believe him and know that he’ll achieve greatness as he continues to climb the corporate ladder while helping others do the same.

• Jesse holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from the University of North Texas. He lives with his family in Dallas-Fort Worth and is based in McKesson’s Las Colinas offices.

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LEADERSHIP

LATINOS ON THE ICE

Xavier Gutierrez President & CEO, Arizona Coyotes

Elsa Cavazos Luis González

THE ARIZONA COYOTES HOCKEY TEAM GETS FIRST LATINO PRESIDENT Hockey used to not be a huge part of Xavier Gutierrez’s life but now it revolves around it. Gutierrez has managed to become a successful businessman since he started school and hockey required him to use a majority of his attained skills. But, Gutierrez worked hard to get to where he is today and has had a long journey which is impressive to follow.

E WAS BORN in Guadalajara, Mexico and came to the United States as a toddler with his family. They first moved to L.A. and then grew up in San Jose where he started second grade. He is the oldest of four and has two sisters and one brother. “Education was always very valued in my household. My parents did not go to college, but it was something they emphasized for my sisters and my brother. It was the pathway for the professional success I have been able to enjoy,” Gutierrez said. “I had the great fortune of going to the oldest high school in california which was an all boys high school. That was very formative, I was able to not only get a wonderful education but a great personal development experience. I had classmates

all the way up from San Francisco down to Morgan Hill. The area is about a 145 mile radius, there was a train stop right in front of my high school,” he said. Gutierrez was very involved in school and played a lot of sports. He considered it to be important to his own development experience to be exposed to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. “From there I had the fortune of going to Harvard, I went to Harvard for undergrad and quite frankly I wanted to be an elected official. A dear friend of mine, Fidel Vargas who now runs the Hispanic Scholarship fund, I was his first intern. After that experience, we became incredibly good friends and he really pushed me to go into the investment world, the capital world,” Gutierrez said. “Basically what we really needed were individuals that were talented and hardworking who understood how to read capital. I went to new york after college, I was a financial analyst with the National Football League. It was kind of a unique opportunity, I never thought I'd be in sports,” he said. Gutierrez then returned to the bay area and went to Stanford, where he met good friends who would introduce him to the business world. “Some folks noticed my roommates and my very good friend Jose Feliciano who is the founder of clearlake capital group. We talked a lot about things that now have incredible amounts of success,” he said. Later on he went to a law firm as a research associate in early 2002 and moved to Los Angeles with a business plan in mind. “I wanted to bring capital to the urban communities like the one where I grew up in. I became a partner at a real estate private equity firm, I had three partners in New York and we created private equities and had quite a bit of success. I was there for eight years,” Gutierrez said. Then in 2010 he met Alex Meruelo and that is where his hockey story starts. “He was very focused on throwing his platform and asked me to join him and I led the holding company and I was also in charge of the investment affiliates. It was a fantastic experience,” he said. But Gutierrez wanted to return to the investment world. “Meruelo and I are still partners, we own the largest latino owned bank in

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california. When I left, it was very amicable. He is my friend and business partner. Then I went to become a partner with Jose, and I was there for three years and then Alex decided to buy the Arizona Coyotes becoming the first latino owner,” Gutierrez said. “In the early part of 2020 he reached out and was really focused on me taking on this role. I think the thing that was the compelling argument was that sports have a unique voice to impact people's lives in a way that no other industry has,” he said. This new opportunity allowed him to learn more about what the consumer likes in sports and what the industry is all about. “I often use the Wayne Gretzky quote, this great hockey player, ‘going to where the puck is going’. All of that resonated with me but really the impact of sports. That is why I am here, I am the first latino president and CEO of NHL and I am the second president of a sports franchise in North America history,” he said. Because of COVID-19 it has been a challenge but Gutierrez assures his team has a vision and a plan. “I never really thought I would work in sports, I thought at some point I’d be a part of an ownership because I am a sports fan but never,” he said. “I think they think I'm the first former private equity executive to be leading a sports franchise. I don't believe I'll be the last one. Due to the prominence and prevalence of private equity funds and institutions going into sports,” Gutierrez said. He is certainly transparent when it comes to being new to o hockey but Gutierrez is not new to business. “This is business. It's a high profile business because everything we do it has a lot of stakeholders that are very passionate about what we do, whether they are fans, elected officials, community leaders, nonprofit partners, what I'm bringing to the table is 25 years of being in business, investment and finance,” he said. Gutierrez added the Arizona Coyotes are at the forefront of trying to focus on three things, impact, inclusion and innovation. “People ask me all the time, do latinos actually like hockey and I always answer with a couple of things. I have friends

who have never thought about hockey as their sport who are now hockey fans. I have three nephews whose first sport was hockey. If you go after youth in Southern California, you are tapping into latinos. It is a market that is going into non traditional hockey. It is a sport very much aligned with what latinos like, very family oriented experience,” he said. “There might be fights on the ice but there aren't fights on the stands. It is something you can share with multiple generations. People remember their first hockey game, it's fast, nonstop action, you can't take your eyes off the game, you can see a puck fly into the face of a player. The younger cohort, the social media age, this is perfect for it. A lot of things you can share and you can comment on. We are going to be authentic and innovative, I am hoping we create coyotes fans, make it a personal journey,” he said. Gutierrez ended his conversation making note of what is important when being a team leader, making sure inclusion and diversity are top priorities. “We need to have diverse voices at the table to have success, and when you look at some of these places these hockey teams are located like Dallas and Chicago, how can you not have representatives of those communities within your organization in order to truly capture that,” he said. “I am very focused on that, talent doesn't have a color, a gender, ethnicity. That is what we want, we want to create opportunity,” .

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LATINO WINERIES BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA

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LAURA CATENA, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CATENA ZAPATA A family reaching for the top of the wine world Joseph Treviño

Courtesy

Carlos Cuevas

Led by an energetic North Bay physician-turned-winemaker, Catena Zapata went from an Argentine brand to a global powerhouse that is competing with the best brands in the world.

rguably the face of Argentine wines, Laura Catena likes to recall a story she has told countless times of how an event that took place in 1995 changed her lifeand the story of South American wines. It was during Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience, where winetasters gather every year to savor some of the best wines in the world. Catena, who was chosen by her father to act for the venerable family business at the event, stood at a stand that showcased one of her family’s and Argentina’s best wines. It was the first time a brand from a South American country had been invited to the famous event. She vividly describes how winetasters from the public would flock to French and Italian wines, but rarely deigned to try the Argentine wines of her father. The Catena family, one of South America’s most well-known wine families, had a historic tradition of making great wines since 1902, but at that famous Manhattan event, for the throngs of winetasters, it didn’t matter. “I watched long lines at the French and Italian producers’ tables,” Catena says. “I got one person every 10 minutes. Some just came up to spit in my bucket. My father was king in Argentina, but outside, they didn’t even know the country makes wine. I called my dad and said, ‘I’m going to have to come help you.’” She acknowledges she was a bit surly in saying that to her father, but since then, Laura Catena, 53, who is a Stanford grad in medi-

cine, became an emergency medicine doctor and is now the author of several books on wines, undertook a mission in life: to position her family’s wines among the best in the world. So far, many wine experts from all over agree that the mother of three may well accomplish that and more. A super-charged overachiever who favors the Socratic method and is keen on listening and asking questions, Catena, who lives between San Francisco and Argentina, in the Mendoza region known for producing wine, still finds a way to have a positive attitude and a quick smile. Sure, everyone still considers upper crust French and Italian wines as some of the finest, but Catena, her family and the 400 staffers of the company have found a way to enable their wines to stand with the most exclusive wines on Earth by following their creed, which she recites: “the most important thing is, are we making Argentine wines that can stand with the best in the world?”

A drink dates back to Ancient Rome

At the crux of Catena Zapata’s wine history is Malbec, a wine that dates back to the Middle Ages and to Ancient Rome, when the Caesars expanded their empire and ruled most of the civilized world. The family has doubled down on this wine and will accept nothing less than to return the grape to its ancient glory and take it beyond. At one time, the Malbec grape- gorgeous, aromatic, smooth and concentrated- was a staple of French wines. The Malbec-Cabernet blends that once defined Bordeaux have been lost, but now live on in Argentina, Catena says. “I think Malbec has a kind of smoothness comparable to Pinot Noir. It’s why in the old French texts they say that Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be always blended with Malbec,” Catena says. Malbec and other wines of the Catena family are now truly an Argentine tradition. But before the family was able to place these wines in the upper echelons of the wine realm, it had to travel a long, winding road. JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 49

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X X

CATENA ALTA

Wine runs in the family

Laura Catena belongs to the fourth generation of her family to enter into the wine business. Nicola Catena, her great-grandfather, migrated from Italy to Argentina. In 1902 the first vines were planted in Mendoza, starting a business that included not only wines, but also olive oil and other agricultural ventures. Domingo, Nicola’s son, continued the family business by becoming a producer, shipping Catena wines in big oak barriques to Buenos Aires, where the largest part of the country’s population and wine drinkers lived. At first the Catenas had other distributors, but in time they were able to deliver their brand under the family name. Nicolás, Domingo’s son, was more of an intellectual who was a big believer that his country could in time become more of a world-class player, Laura Catena says. But in the 1970s, with the rule of a military government and the Malvinas War, Nicolás decided things had become dangerous in his nation and moved his family to the United States. Nicolás began to teach economics at UC Berkeley, while Laura dove headfirst into American life, finishing high school in California in the 1980s. Located in Berkeley, Nicolás was close to the Napa winemakers who in 1976 were able to roundly defeat Bordeaux producers at the prestigious Judgment of Paris wine competition; this inspired the elder Catena into believing that his wines could stand with the greatest of theirs. The family eventually returned to Argentina, bringing with them new technology and equipment, having visiting winemakers like Alberto Antonini, Paul Hobbs and Jacques Lurton. In the meantime, Laura graduated from Harvard in 1988, followed by Stanford medical school, and became an emergency

room physician in the San Francisco region. After a trip to France in which one of their wines was compared to a common French wine, considered an offense, Nicolás and Laura knew they had to step up their game in the wine business. The family found some colder climate vineyards in the Andean foothills at the Uco Valley region. The move took the Argentine Malbec to new heights, both literally and figuratively. With the help of local, complex but natural canal irrigation constructed centuries before by the Huarpe Indians, the latest scientific studies and plain, hard agricultural work, Catena was able to produce great wine using the unique local soil. “That was his high-altitude revolution,” says Catena. “He went places no one had gone before—and proved he could make aromatic, elegant wine with natural acidity.”

A doctor in the vineyards

Like her father, at first, Laura Catena was not entirely convinced that she would become a winemaker. After all, there was her medical career as a pediatric emergency doctor. But events like her trips to France with her father and Wine Spectator’s New York Wine Experience event in 1995 changed

D.V. CATENA

APPELLATION CATENA

CATENA

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LATINO WINERIES BODEGA CATENA ZAPATA

her mind. Until this day, she mentions, the fact that she was a physician actually helped her become a better winemaker and vice versa. “I was actually trained as a doctor. I thought I was going to spend my life drinking the family’s wines, not making them,” she says. For 25 years she lived with “these two loves,” she says. It dawned on her that one thing benefitted the other, giving the example that physicians often mount upon a high horse and lack customer service, mostly talking down to patients, instead of listening to them. “It could be that the doctor identifies a certain medical problem, but the problem that really matters to that patient may be another one. That’s important,” Catena says. “To cure someone, the patient has to feel loved and cared for. If the physician does not listen and only gives orders, how will the patient be able to heal?” Once Laura Catena decided to dive headfirst into the family business, she did it the way she approaches everything- with passion. Having a scientific background, she knew it was important to the business to incorporate study after study on Malbec wines and the way the intricate soil of high altitudes affected the vineyards. “The studies depicted how the soil differed from one area to another, making it ideal to cultivate a wine that could be far different from another in just a neighboring vineyard. The studies revealed that everything mattered, from the sun to the soil and even the local microbes and how they contributed to making even better terroir and better wine”, she says.

Putting Argentine wine on the map … and on top

During the last decades, Catena’s wines have garnered multiple recognitions and awards, going head-to-head with the most exclusive wines in the hemisphere. From Robert Parker’s “Best of the Best,” to multiple 100-point wines, to the Drinks International 2020 Award for being the “Number 1 Most Admired Wine Brand in the World,” there’s no question the trademark is on a roll. And Laura Catena is receiving some help from the rest of her family, including her little sister, Adrianna, a historian with an Oxford PhD who is helping promote the brand by showing how women across the ages have

LAURA CATENA’S THREE THINGS TO DO TO FORM GREAT LEADERSHIP

been instrumental in bringing Malbec wines into the modern age. Her historical designs were used to adorn the bottles which have become a hit. “History is a passion, one that connects a lot with wine,” Adrianna Catena says. Catena Zapata has accomplished much, many industry experts agree. But for the Catena family, they say that despite their long history, this is just the beginning. “We got this love for the land and this vision from my Italian great-grandfather who came to Argentina with a dream,” says Laura Catena. “This dream is still alive in our family. There is still so much work to do. We never feel finished- and that is actually a big part of the fun.”

• Number one. Decide what are going to be your A+ activities. As a physician you’ve got to be A+ or nothing, because you have people’s lives in your hands, especially in the Emergency Room. My father’s vision was to make Argentine wines that could stand with the best of the world – that’s also an A+ activity. If the vintage is bad or a certain vineyard is affected by hail or another weather issue, we don’t make the wine. But in order to do A+ work in some areas, you need to accept doing B- work in others. I am not a very good cook, I’m a very bad tennis player, and my home is quite messy. I admit to have forgotten to pack a lunch for my children’s field trips on more than one occasion. And my dear husband doesn’t get all the attention he would like. It’s like triage in the Emergency Department, you need to take care of the sickest patients first. • Number two. Acquire outside knowledge from wine specialists around the world, but develop your own team of local experts. Although the Malbec grape is originally from France, today it is much more widely planted in Argentina, and in our terruño it requires our local knowledge, acquired over centuries. There is no other region in the world that has as many high-altitude vineyards as Argentina, and that is why our own local team knows best how to farm here, in the foothills of the Andes mountains. After all, my family has been making high altitude Malbec since 1902. • Number three. You have to explain to people why they do things so they can do them well. My Italian grandfather, my nonno taught me this. Don't give your staff the order: ‘do this.’ Explain why. And then people will be motivated and try their hardest to do it well. My father and I work with the Socratic method: he says one thing, I say something else and then we make a decision. We often can’t remember whose idea it was.

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SUPPORTING LATINO WINERIES GARY FARRELL WINERY

WINE AND INNOVATION IN THE RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY www.garyfarrellwinery.com @garyfarrellwinery

THERESA HEREDIA PINOT NOIR AND CHARDONNAY SPECIALIST

GARY FARRELL VINEYARDS and Winery is a 38-year pioneer in the Russian River Valley. Winemaker Theresa Heredia joined the team in 2012, carrying on the legacy of crafting Burgundian-styled, varietally expressive small-lot artisan wines capturing the balance and stylistic elegance of some of the finest vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA and beyond; including Rochioli, Allen, Bacigalupi, Hallberg, Ritchie, Olivet Lane, Durrell, Gap’s Crown, Fort Ross Seaview and Bien Nacido. Theresa works closely with the growers to showcase the exceptional fruit from their vineyards. Theresa is a cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist, with a hands-on, Burgundian perspective coming from her winemaking experience in France at Domaine de Montille. She arrived to Gary Farrell from Joseph Phelp’s Freestone Vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, where she achieved significant critical acclaim, including “Winemaker to Watch” honors from the San Francisco Chronicle. She trained with renowned winemaker Craig Williams at Freestone and at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Theresa was a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry with an emphasis on enology at U.C. Davis, before leaving to follow her calling as an extraordinarily talented winemaker. In a mere nine vintages, she has received almost 600 90+ scores for her Gary Farrell wines, 2012-2020; including Top 100 Wine and Top 100 Cellar Selections and numerous Editor’s Choice and Cellar Selection Designations.

The Russian River Valley The Russian River Valley AVA is comprised of five distinct neighborhoods: Middle Reach, Santa Rosa Plain, Green Valley, Sebastopol Hills & Laguna Ridge. Each express unique regional terroir to provide wines of place. Our wines are immersed in this concept, and expand to include regions outside of the Russian River Valley to continue to tell this story.

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EVOLUTION OF CHARDONNAY WINEMAKING

• Harvest at slightly lower sugars in order to capture more varietal character, natural acidity and site specificity. • Press program tailored to specific vineyards and cluster morphology. • After overnight cold settling of the juice, lees levels are selected to express the unique characteristics of each vineyard site. • New cooperages – Ana Selection, Cavin, DAMY, Dargaud Jaegle –with emphasis on light toast. • Incorporation of oak puncheons (500L) to facilitate integration of oak. • Concrete egg (476 gal)

EVOLUTION OF PINOT NOIR WINEMAKING • Harvesting at slightly lower sugars to capture more varietal character, natural acidity and site specificity. • Pre-fermentation cold soak (3-5 days) to capture color, aqueous aromatics and flavors. • Post-fermentation extended maceration to build structure and more complex flavors and aromas. • Whole clusters incorporated into fermentations to contribute tannin, spice, black tea flavors and enhanced sense of place (10% to 60%, depending on the lot). Smaller percentages work well with grapes from warmer climates where fruit ripens ahead of the stems. Larger percentages incorporated when working with grapes from cooler climates, where stems lignify nicely during ripening. • Saignée employed to achieve desired concentration, structure and balance. • New cooperages – Ana Selection, Cavin, Tonnellerie O – featuring predominantly light toast. • Oak tank (5 ton) for warmer, natural ferments and gentle extraction. • Foot treading – for more extraction without over extraction. • Native fermentations when possible to enhance vineyard character.

TASTING NOTES • Olivet Lane Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2018 Showing citrus notes of Lemmon curd, fresh mandarin and flowers, followed by honeysuckle nectarine and lemongrass. Rich and creamy, expressive and fruity. • Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2017 With black cherry and strawberry notes. Jammy, black te, allspice and dried tobacco on a silky texture. • Lancel Creek Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2017 A wine with character and immediate fruity exuberance. White pepper, Violet and cranberry notes in a elaborated structure and ample spectrum of red and blue fruit. • Bien Nacido Pinot Noir Russian River Vally 2017 A wow for this one and its beautiful rose petal, cinnamon, violet and subtle eucalyptus notes. Silky elegant and complex with a wide array of Fall spices and fine texture. A luxury wine! “I like to tailor the winemaking techniques specifically to each block of fruit that we receive separately. My job is to treat it as gently as possible so that we end up with a balanced wine.” Theresa Heredia

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LATINO WINERIES VOCES CELLARS

THE VOICES OF NAPA SINCE 1994

or over 26 years, Fernando Candelario has created some of the most treasured Napa Valley wines. Inspire by his passion and expertise in producing 100% varietal wines, he launched Voces Cellars in 2002. Voces focuses exclusively on locally sourced, boutique wine. Before creating Voces Cellars, he worked with a number of world-renowned wineries like Robert Mondavi Winery and T-Vine Cellars with Calistoga vintner Greg Brown. Brown and Candelario produced 4,200 cases a year of varietals like Grenache, Zinfandel, Syrah, Chardonnay and Petite Sirah, from

FERNANDO CANDELARIO

FOUNDER & WINEMAKER, VOCES CELLARS

TASTING NOTES Napa Valley, Atlas Peak Petit Verdot 2011 - ($40) Complex notes of dark fruit, raspberry and violet, layered with additional hints of anise and vanilla. Full bodied and lingering tannins on the finish. Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 2015 - ($45) With dark and purple colored it opens with aromatic oak spice, chocolate mocha and black fruit. It keeps evolving into notes like cassis, plum and black truffles. Napa Valley Petit Syrah 2012 - ($35) With notes of violets, blueberries, red licorice and toasty notes. Succulent with some hints of plum pie. “Ancestro” Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 - ($150) A homage wine to his ancestor, this is a luscious and deep flavored wine with hints of plum, cherry, dark chocolate and dates. Fantastically fruity and expressive.

vocescellars.com

old vines. His T-Vine Cellar wines were even lured at a presidential dinner in 2001. Voces Cellars is the culmination of Candelario’s decades of experience in nurturing Napa Valley wines. Voces wines are produced in small, boutique batches with grapes of the highest quality, sourced locally in the Napa Valley. Candelario’s approach to winemaking is meticulous. After carefully observing the growth process on the vine, he ages the wine in American and French oak barrels for 12-18 months. Many times he will cellar the wines for an additional 2-4 years after that. All Voces wines speak with the purity of a single varietal. Under Fernando’s care there is no need to blend with other grapes. Vpces wines are the true expression of the terroir and climate of Napa Valley. “My philosophy is simple, I make fruit forward wines that are pleasing winemaking processes and not interfering too much with what the vineyard has given me.” Fernando Candelario

Voces Cellars Origin

Voces Cellars wines are 100% Frediani. The Frediani family has been growing grapes in Napa Valley since the 1898, and these particular vines were planted by the Frediani family in the 1935. Jim Frediani is a third-generation Italian grower, from a family line of one of Napa's first wine farming families.

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SPOTLIGHT STARTUPS

GEEH THE BAND Lorenzo Almanza

Raise your voice, create one vision and spread positivity through music, this is the mantra that sisters Paola and Andrea Soto live by. Ever since they were young, these two sisters have always had a passion for the creative arts, especially music. “We were a musical family, me and my sisters loved acting, dancing, everything that has to do with being creative,” said Andrea.

aola and Andrea Soto are the founders of Ghee The Band. They hoped to create opportunities for the next young generation of artists. “We wanted to give children and their families and parents the opportunity to have this Hannah Montana style band that children can give their voices to and become stars, but without having their parents put them in the public eye necessarily,” Andrea said. “I think it starts off with giving power and voice to all the different children around the world because we know there are so many talented kids out there that are very into the arts we wanted to give a voice to those children as well.” What started off as a basic concept of teenage love for music, turned into the next childhood sensation. At a young age the Soto siblings fell in love with icons like Justin Bieber, Pitbull and Katy Perry. Soon, with their family’s creative aspect they branched out into the musical industry. “We said why don’t we come up with this concept that we have music but it sounds like adult music, but actually has lyrics that children can sing to without being embarrassed and sounding childish. They can still get into the flow of things of what it’s like to become an adult in an according and healthy manner,” Andrea said. This would all be the start of something life-changing. Putting their minds together, the family decided to start a digital band. “I think everything just started shifting when we collaborate with a producer named in Mexico, he’s worked with numerous big artists, so we started collaborating with him to create the songs,” Andrea said.

It was their creativity that began the illustration of life-like characters. Characters that not only sang and danced, but also resembled that of the sisters. “Melanie and Sue are based off my sister and I, so we put a lot of our personalities into these characters as well,” Andrea said. “We also wanted to create a character that children all over the world could relate to. We know our personalities are not like everyone else’s, so we gave a personality to each of the characters that other people could identify with.” Once the characters were set, it was all about the music. Music that would evolve with generations to come. “For the music it was basically what we liked at the moment. We knew it had to be pop and upbeat, we really had to get it out there. We wanted to add some alternative sounds into it as well,” Andrea said. “We wanted to keep it basic of what was on the radio at the time because that’s what children were listening to.” Children soon become the focal point of their project. Due to their love for music, the girls offset the idea that giving children opportunities was the best cause. Fast forward to now and Geeh the Band is currently looking for young artists to be a part of their new album. “Basically, what we wanted to do is give back to our country, give back to our Latin roots and just like incorporate those children that are here and are talented and get them on board with the project,” they said. Their vision has now turned into reality as millions of children worldwide can be a part of something special. “We want to show that there is a lot of talent in the world and that anyone can voice these characters from any country anywhere in the world.” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 LATINO LEADERS 55

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BIG & SMALL:

IN PURSUIT OF QUALITY Jorge Ferráez @ JFerraez_Latino @ferraez.wine Luis E. González

HAD A VERY NICE experience interviewing Laura and Adrianna Catena, daughters of the well-known Nicolas Catena-Zapata, perhaps, the man that has put the Malbec grape back on the Map. The family has a remarkable story of effort, pursuit of perfection and a healthy obsession with making the Argentinian wines worth of the finest palates (and markets) in the world. We did the interview at the beginning of February, through a zoom with Laura and her sister in New York and Argentina. Laura Catena is now in charge of leading the operations of the entire Bodega and has a very friendly personality, which invites you to engage in a deep conversation on many things, of course wine being perhaps the most important. She has the ability of convincing and getting you into her world. Her younger sister and mentee, Adrianna, has this expertise in World History and recently wrote a fantastic piece on the history of Malbec, which was used for the re design of their Malbec Argentino label. During the years, I have been very familiar with their wines and I had the opportunity to taste them again and its clear for me that Catena-Zapata has achieved that difficult job of making their wines with excellence, not only the premium ones. Lately, I have been trying small producer wines, with varietals that are not the usual ones and I have had some amazing surprises:

VINCENT ARROYO TEMPRANILLO 2018 “RATTLESNAKE ACRES” • Region: Napa, CA • Varietal: Tempranillo • Price: $35 • Aromas: Red Currant, Rose Petal • Impression: Ample and spiced; plum and ripe cherry • Structure: Round, well balanced, medium bodied • Drink with: Filet Mignon with a barnesse or horseradish sauce. • Why I loved this wine? Delicious, with some citrus and flowery notes, perfumed. • My Rating: 92 pts.

FINCA CALVESTRA MERSEGUERA 2018 • Region: Mustiguillo, Spain • Varietal: Merseguera • Price: $40 • Aromas: Jazmin, Lavender, pear • Impression: Burgundian style with no oak notes, but some vanilla and tropic fruit • Structure: Medium body, floral, ample • Drink with: Sushi, raw oysters, seafood cocktail • Why I loved this wine? Fresh, clear, easy drinking. • My Rating: 90 pts.

ULISES VALDEZ SYRAH “SILVER EAGLE” 2014 • Region: Sonoma, CA • Varietal: Syrah • Price: $45 • Aromas: Chocolate, cherry, plum • Impression: Dark fruit in a bold structure • Structure: Full body, complex. • Drink with: RibEye steak, grilled gourmet burger, lamb chops • Why I loved this wine? Unique in aromas and flavors like rosemary. • My Rating: 94 pts.

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