I am a global business leader turned entrepreneur, currently serving as CEO of Andiz Enterprises, LTD and President of West Coast Batteries, LLC (WCB). At WCB, I lead strategy, operations, and growth for a wholesale and distribution business specializing in advanced battery solutions, multi-channel e-commerce, and enterprise services. My focus: building scalable infrastructure, strong supplier partnerships, and customer-first solutions that drive lasting value.

Through Andiz, I also provide executive advisory services for organizations navigating growth and transformation, with expertise in strategy, portfolio management, go-to-market, and operations. With batteries as core technology and a career rooted in the high-tech industry, I bring a technology-driven perspective to both operating companies and advisory engagements.

Earlier in my career, I held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, Intel, Symantec, and EVOTEK, where I specialized in turning around and scaling complex global businesses:

Reinvigorated Microsoft’s Azure Infrastructure business, accelerating growth and exceeding revenue targets.

Built a $400M+ systems and solutions business at Intel with world-class operating margins.

Grew Symantec’s Data Center Infrastructure and Security services from $6M to $54M through customer-aligned offerings.

Launched a cloud FinOps strategy at EVOTEK, driving new scalable products and services.

What sets me apart is the combination of turnaround leadership, growth strategy, and operational discipline—applied today as both an investor and operator. I thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution, whether scaling a start-up portfolio company or transforming a global enterprise.

My academic foundation includes a BA and MA in Sociology and a MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, blending people-centric leadership with systems-driven execution. 

Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora, met in college during their senior year. They both were sitting in a business ethics class when their professor mentioned a random fact in a lecture about sustainability – “gourmet mushrooms can grow on spent coffee grounds.” Curious about that fact, they both reached out to their professor for more information and were connected to each other. What followed was an immediate connection built off a shared curiosity & passion to figure out not just how to grow their own mushrooms, but also how the rest of their food grew. We’re on a mission to reconnect every family & kid back to where food comes from by helping them experience the magic of growing it themselves – no green thumb or backyard needed. We hope you enjoy our organic gardening products and join us on our journey to get America growing!

Alex is a proud Fresno native who grew up in his mother’s restaurant, La Torta, witnessing first-hand the hustle required to build a successful business. He studied Economics and Philosophy at Columbia University before starting his finance career at HighPath Advisors, a small multi-family office. There, he gained a strong grounding in investment strategy and discovered his passion for supporting early-stage ventures.

Today, Alex focuses on fueling innovation through venture investing, believing that empowering founders is a force for good. At L’Attitude, he’s eager to back Latino entrepreneurs creating the future they wish to see. Outside of work, Alex enjoys exploring NYC’s restaurant scene, playing card games, and watching UFC with his closest friends.

Alex Lopez is one of the most accomplished and awarded brand marketers and creative storytellers of this generation.

In his 23 years at Nike, Alex led some of the most noteworthy brand campaigns in its history, including the Dream Crazy, Equality, You Can’t Stop Us, and Play New campaigns. After Nike, Alex served as President and Global Chief Creative Officer for McCann Worldgroup, one of the largest marketing and creative services networks in the industry. Alex currently serves as a brand advisor and fractional executive to companies and boards across industries.

As Senior Vice President of Commercial, Partners & Ecosystems at NetApp, Alvaro leads the company’s expanded worldwide partner organization and commercial strategy. With partners central to NetApp’s growth strategy, he is responsible for advancing a unified ecosystem approach across every route to market—including distributors, VARs, global systems integrators, independent software vendors, managed service providers, hyperscalers, and strategic alliances. His organization is designed to accelerate growth, scale innovation globally, and earn customer trust and preference to strengthen NetApp’s market and industry presence.

A global technology executive with more than 30 years of experience, Alvaro is known for scaling revenue, building strategic partnerships, and leading go-to-market transformation. Prior to NetApp, he held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, including Vice President of Global ISV – Commercial Solutions and Breadth, where he drove global business development and partner strategy with leading software companies. He is recognized for industry leadership, strong teams, trusted partnerships, and sustained customer and business impact.

Amanda Saca is Sr. Director of Strategy and Operations at Pinterest, where she partners with the Marketing, Communications, and Creative organizations to drive large-scale initiatives, transformational programs, and investment decisions that shape how one of the world’s most visited platforms reaches and inspires its global audience.

A proud El Salvadoran who grew up across Chile and Peru, with family rooted in Puerto Rico, Amanda brings a genuinely multinational perspective to every table she joins. Over a 14+ year career in strategy and operations, she has built and led teams at Pinterest, Fastly, and AT&T, helping organizations navigate complexity, accelerate growth, and execute at scale across public companies and PE-backed enterprises alike.

Amanda holds a Master of Science in Global Marketing Management from Boston University and is a native speaker of both English and Spanish—a connector by nature and a builder by practice.

Ana Valdez is the President and CEO of The Latino Donor Collaborative. She is an American marketing, media, research, and political expert and thought leader with 30 years of experience in business, media, and the corporate world. Born and raised in Mexico City, she has studied and worked in Mexico, Europe, and the United States. She has lived in Los Angeles, California, since 1997. Valdez began her career at Nielsen, where she developed the company’s largest market research client base. She then worked for Banamex, now Citibank, attracting multi-billion-dollar foreign investors and helping them identify the best business opportunities in the country. Since then, she has worked at the United Nations in Geneva, the Clinton Administration in Washington, DC, and has collaborated with companies such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, CBRE, Morgan Stanley, and McDonald’s, among others. Since 2014, Valdez has served as the executive leader of the Latino Donor Collaborative, working directly with corporate CEOs and the C-suite to establish a think tank called the Latino Data Collaborative. The LDC produces economic data and business fact-based tools to identify market growth opportunities and develop innovative strategies to engage the new mainstream consumer. Research partners include Columbia, Stanford, UCLA, ASU, Bain, BCG, Accenture, and NERA. As the CEO, Ana has transformed LDC’s data into a tool for all American resource allocators: CEOs, the C-suite, and institutions such as the
Federal Reserve, the White House, and the Joint Economic Council of Congress. At the same time, Ana has served on the board of trustees of Southern California Public Radio since 2011 and chaired the board from 2016 to 2020. During those four years, Ana led the national search for a new CEO and made a deliberate strategic effort to create growth by using fact-based data to identify additional audiences. Ana has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Latinos in America in 2018 by Hispanic Magazine, one of the Top 50 Most Influential Latinas in the United States in 2020, one of the Top 100 Latinas by Latino Leaders Magazine in 2021, and one of the eight CHANGEMAKERS within the 2022 Fifty Most Powerful Latinas by ALPFA, 100 Top Latino Leaders in 2022 by Latino Leaders Magazine, Top Latina Leaders 2023 in Latino Leaders Magazine, and nominated for Inspiring Women of the Year in 2023 by the LA Times, to name a few. She is a sought-after national and international speaker, having worked as an assistant professor at Tec de Monterrey, an on-air political and media analyst for Fox11 and Univision, and a blogger for MyFoxParents.com, Huffington Post, and CNN online. She is a best-selling published co-author of the book Extraordinary Latinas in March 2023.

Andrea Trujillo is the Chief Marketing Officer and Partner in Velocity — an experiential business event based in Los Angeles. 

Prior to Velocity, Andrea was the Chief Marketing Officer of L’ATTITUDE a national business event centered around The New Mainstream Economy.

Andrea is brand builder and innovator with a track record of being part of award winning ad campaign teams (TBWA/Chiat/Day), being a digital pioneer (DailyCandy), having lead digital brand market sectors (Clique Brands), and having launched several brands and brand concepts, including her own, called A.sweeT. 

Andrea is also an angel investor, with a knack for identifying up and coming brands that are making impact within industries.

Andrea was named a Top 100 Latina Disruptor by Hola! Magazine in 2023, and has been featured for her brand work in Forbes, Newsweek en Español, People, E! News, The Today Show and more. She has her finger on the pulse of cultural relevancy transferring the cultural currency to business impact. 

On the personal side, Andrea is also a former D1 and semi-professional soccer player. She is a founding member of the Angel City Impact Fund, has been a Board Member of Global Gift USA, and has done active fundraising and work for Camp Ronald McDonald, Yes We Can Foundation, and Voto Latino. 

Aurora Archer is the Founder and CEO of The Opt-In and creator of Nepantla Intelligence™, the leadership capability that AI cannot replicate and most organizations have never been offered. Over a career spanning four industries, she led $2.6 billion in eCommerce at HP, drove $300 million in profitability improvements at AstraZeneca, and reversed a three-year consumer decline at Everyday Health in under twelve months. Every time, the differentiating capability was the same: reading what others could not see and acting on it first. She is also a Founding Partner at VenturesSTX and co-leads Women in Investing at Alamo Angels, because access to capital knowledge has never been equally distributed, and she intends to change that.

Ben Levisohn is editor in chief of Barron’s. He is a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and BusinessWeek.

Carlos is the Vice President of North America CPG at Pinterest. He leads a 120 person sales organization that is responsible for managing partnerships with Pinterest’s largest CPG clients, representing a significant portion of the company’s overall revenue. His team spans Beauty, Personal Care, Luxury, Beverage, Food, and Household. He also plays a central role in helping shape Pinterest’s go to market strategy for Creator and Retail Media solutions. Additionally, he is the executive sponsor of Pinterest’s Latin@ ERG. Previously, he spent 13 years at Meta leading large CPG as well, after earlier roles at Univision and Mastercard.

Cecilia is a Los Angeles-based Senior Associate at L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, where she is a member of the investment team and leads the firm’s portfolio management efforts. She is a board observer for Sunthetics and Deepblocks, which are AI-driven and women-led startups. Prior to joining L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, she interned for Instagram and was a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, D.C., where she advised federal clients on investigations related to transnational organized crimes including money laundering and drug trafficking.  Cecilia has an MBA from USC Marshall and is a Robert Toigo Foundation and Consortium alumnus. Cecilia is originally from Georgia and completed her undergraduate studies in International Affairs, French, and Spanish, at the University of Georgia.

Chloe Wix is Pinterest’s VP, Ads Product Commercialization & Innovation. In this role, she is responsible for elevating Pinterest’s go-to-market engine, sharpening how the company positions its ad products, drives commercialization innovation, and delivers a consistent, compelling story in market.

Chloe brings over a decade of advertising and ad tech leadership to the role. Prior to joining Pinterest, Chloe was the Global Head of Product and Commercial Growth, overseeing Product Marketing, Global Advertising Research, Marketing Science, and Sales Enablement for Spotify Advertising.

Before Spotify, she spent seven years at Snap as a founding member of the business product organization, scaling ad revenue through automation and holding roles across Product Marketing from individual contributor to Group PMM and Global Head of Brand Product Marketing. Earlier in her career, she built her strategic and digital marketing foundation at Digitas North America and Richard Attias & Associates. 

As a longtime Pinterest fan, Chloe is passionate about the creativity and positivity the platform brings to the media industry. Outside of work, Chloe is a dedicated restaurant explorer and a committed curator of her “greatest hits” dining board.

Daniel “DC” Calderon is Senior Editor for U.S. Latin Music on Spotify’s North America Editorial team, where he helps shape the platform’s editorial offering for U.S. Latin audiences, with a focus on Música Mexicana and urbano and on how that music connects with listeners’ lives and culture in the U.S. Born and raised in Los Angeles, DC brings a bicultural point of view to his work and a personal connection to the audience he serves. He’s part of that audience himself.

DC joined Spotify in 2021 to help reshape its Música Mexicana offering, starting with the rebrand of Los Que Mandan, one of the platform’s flagship playlists for the genre. He was also part of the team behind La Tierra del Corrido and La Tierra de Música Mexicana, Spotify’s first Música Mexicana events in the U.S.

Beyond programming, DC represents U.S. Latin culture in conversations, events, and initiatives across Spotify’s broader music team. He DJed Spotify’s Bad Bunny celebration in Mexico City, which honored the artist’s third straight year as the platform’s most-streamed artist globally. He also highlights new music on camera through New Music Friday Features and other Spotify video series, including Editors’ Picks: Best of the Month.

His path into music began with playing drums and making beats in high school. After trade school, he worked as an audio engineer. Once in the industry, he found many other ways to work in music and went on to explore radio, DJing, and music technology. His work helping build an internet radio platform led to TuneIn, where he was Head of Latin Music Programming from 2017 to 2020. He has also worked with Beatsource, a streaming service for DJs, and in radio with iHeartRadio and SiriusXM, and he has DJed on Los Angeles radio and in clubs.

DC works closely with Spotify’s Mexico and Latin America teams. He sees music as having no borders: he introduces artists from across the region to U.S. listeners and helps U.S.-based artists reach audiences abroad. His work stays rooted in representing the U.S. Latin audience and making sure the community he comes from shows up in the music, programming, and experiences he helps shape.

Delphine Buchotte is a brand strategist and CMO with more than 20 years of experience building culturally relevant beauty, fashion and consumer brands. She spent 15 years at L’Oréal, most recently as Chief Digital & Communications Officer for L’Oréal Paris, before serving as CMO of Diane von Furstenberg and co-founding a NYC brand and marketing agency working with Milk Makeup, Boy Smells and DedCool. Today, Delphine advises emerging and established brands on positioning, cultural relevance and growth, and serves as Global CMO of Sarelly, the Mexican-born beauty brand named 2026 Breakthrough Brand at The Business of Beauty Global Awards.

Dr Hoffman is a Professor of Economics at the W. P. Carey School of Business. His areas of expertise are regional economics, applied macro economics and forecasting. Since 2004 he has been Director of the Office of the University Economist, undertaken as a strategic university initiative at the direction of Arizona State University President Michael Crow. Dr. Hoffman is also the faculty director of the Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research where he directs the Productivity and Prosperity Project http://economist.asu.edu
  

Desi Perkins is a beauty entrepreneur, content creator, and founder of DEZI SKIN and DEZI Eyewear. After building a highly engaged global community through beauty and lifestyle content, Desi successfully transitioned from creator to founder, translating her influence into consumer brands rooted in authenticity, culture, and community. Inspired by her Mexican heritage and generations of family beauty traditions, she launched DEZI SKIN in 2021, combining high-performance skincare with culturally resonant storytelling. The brand has since expanded into Sephora, marking a significant milestone in its growth. Through her entrepreneurial journey, Desi continues to redefine what creator-led brand building can look like today.

Diana Bailey is a Partner at Kantar, where she helps some of the world’s leading brands unlock growth through consumer insight, analytics, marketing effectiveness, and AI-enabled decision making. She advises senior leaders across financial services, healthcare, consumer goods, retail, and technology, helping organizations navigate shifting consumer expectations and transform insight into business action.

Originally from Colombia, Diana brings a unique bicultural perspective shaped by decades of work across both the U.S. and Latin America. She is passionate about helping brands connect authentically with multicultural and Hispanic consumers, translating cultural understanding into stronger strategies, more meaningful customer experiences, and measurable business growth. Combining deep expertise in human understanding with emerging technologies, Diana works at the intersection of culture, data, and innovation to help organizations make smarter decisions in an increasingly dynamic marketplace.

Dr. Diana Pacheco is a design thinker, social innovation strategist, and community-engaged researcher with a passion for creating learning experiences that open doors for people. Her background spans curriculum development, educational product design, immersive 3D technology, and the integration of AI tools into learning environments.She focuses on connecting pedagogy with AI, developing frameworks that ensure technology is used intentionally and meaningfully. Her work translates theory into practical approaches that educators and students can apply directly, while building programs that inspire confidence, creativity, and agency and remain grounded in real-world needs. As Chief Development Officer at Conectado, Dr. Pacheco explores innovative ways to integrate AI into learning environments, ensuring its use is both pedagogically sound and accessible.

Edgardo Ortiz Flores, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional and CERTIFIED
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYST®, works in helping tech founders, executives, and early employees navigate the complex, high-stakes transition from paper equity to permanent financial security.

Holding both the CFP® and CIMA® designations, Edgardo combines advanced wealth planning with institutional-grade portfolio management. He focuses on the unique financial friction points faced by tech professionals, including navigating double-trigger RSU vesting, evaluating Section 83(b) elections for early-exercisable options and RSAs, managing liabilities, and maximizing Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusions.

Uniquely positioned in the advisory space, Edgardo holds a law degree and has been a member of the Puerto Rico State Bar since 2008. While he does not act in a legal capacity, his deep legal acumen allows him to collaborate seamlessly with clients’ corporate, tax, and legal counsel. This ensures that sophisticated estate planning and asset protection vehicles are fully considered before executing and managing any liquidity event. From addressing concentration risk management to managing RSU withholding tax gaps, Edgardo provides the intellectual capital tech leaders require to help protect their equity and secure their legacy.

Edgardo collaborates closely with Senior Wealth Advisors across the Wealth continuum to deliver institutional-caliber advisory services. He holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 registrations, as well as Life and Health insurance licenses, offering a fully integrated approach to risk management, wealth protection, and investment strategy.

Elisa Sepulveda is a General Partner at L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, where she is part of the team investing Fund III into founders building Latino-led category-defining companies. She joined the firm after a career spent on nearly every side of the startup table — as an operator, an investor, and most recently a banker — giving her a rare, full-circle view of what founders actually need at each stage of building a company.

Before L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, Elisa was Vice President of Startup Banking at JPMorgan Chase, where she served the banking needs of early-stage startups across Texas. Prior to JPMorgan, she spent five years investing in venture capital across the U.S. and Latin America as a pre-seed and seed investor with Angel Ventures Mexico and MATH Venture Partners. Her path into venture began as an operator: she helped scale startups and managed P&Ls exceeding $15 million, and she ran Founder Institute, an accelerator program focused on founder growth, which she scaled across three Texas cities. Elisa began her career at IBM in the general management rotational program and, after running talent for IBM’s Watson commercialization team, left to join the startup world. These experiences continue to shape how she partners with the founders in her portfolio today.

Elisa is an active builder of the startup ecosystem beyond her day-to-day investing. She serves as a Board Member at Alamo Angels, the most active angel group in Texas. She previously served on the Board of DivInc, a startup accelerator for underrepresented founders and as an Advisor at Austin Tech Alliance.

A passionate advocate for liberal arts education, Elisa is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, where she studied city planning and now sits on the President’s Council. She is also a graduate of Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, where she received an MBA, and Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where she holds a master’s in organizational psychology.

Outside of work, Elisa enjoys traveling, vegetable gardening, cooking, maintaining an active lifestyle, and spending time with her animals. She has one miniature schnauzer, two outdoor cats, and two horses that she competes with on the Texas hunter-jumper circuit.

Across every chapter of her career, Elisa has focused on the same thing: backing founders early and giving them the resources, capital, and community they need to grow.

Emily Perez is a beauty industry executive and the Founder and President of Latinas in Beauty, a nonprofit advancing the leadership, economic influence, and representation of Latinas across the beauty industry. Through Latinas in Beauty, Emily has built a growing platform connecting Latina founders, executives, creators, and industry leaders with education, mentorship, access, and opportunities designed to accelerate professional and entrepreneurial advancement. Her work is focused on strengthening the pipeline of Latina leadership while increasing the visibility and influence of the Latina community across the broader beauty ecosystem.

Eric Schimpf is president and co-head of Merrill Wealth Management, and a
member of Bank of America Corporation’s executive management team.

In this role, Schimpf, along with co-head Lindsay Hans, oversees more than
25,000 employees who provide investment and wealth management strategies
to individuals and businesses across the U.S. With $4.1 trillion in client balances
as of June 30, 2026, Merrill is among the largest businesses of its kind in the
world. Its financial advisors consistently rank at or near the top of various
annual industry-wide rankings.

Schimpf and Hans also oversee Bank of America’s Investment Solutions
Group and the Chief Investment Office, which include a wide range of
thought leadership, product and portfolio offerings, and platforms.

Schimpf began his career in Merrill Wealth Management as a Financial Advisor in
1994. Prior to his current role, he served in several leadership positions, including
division executive for the Pacific Coast Division, co-head of the Enterprise Advisor
Development program and division executive for the Southeast Division.

Schimpf joined Merrill Wealth Management after being commissioned as an
infantry officer in the United States Army, where he also earned qualification as
an airborne ranger.

Erika Baez-Grimes is a Certified M&A Professional, business broker, and founder of The BPH Group, LLC, where she is on a mission to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs to build wealth through business ownership.

With more than 15 years of deal-making experience — including over six years brokering Main Street and lower middle-market transactions — Erika has interacted with hundreds of buyers across every stage of the acquisition journey. From early exploration and due diligence to financing and transition planning, she has gained rare, front-line insight into how buyers think, what they fear, and where they struggle most. This perspective sets her apart in the (ETA) community: Erika doesn’t just understand transactions — she understands buyers, and what it truly takes to prepare them for successful ownership.

In 2015, Erika founded The BPH Group, a business hub designed to help companies bridge organizational gaps, identify revenue opportunities, secure capital, and implement systems that cut cost and that drive growth. Now, for executives and aspiring entrepreneurs alike, The BPH Group provides ETA training, post-transaction management, pre-exit guidance, and value creation services nationwide. Through this platform, Erika and her team focus on equipping Latino professionals, wantrepreneurs, and first-time buyers with the tools, strategies, and confidence to acquire, grow, and ultimately exit businesses successfully.

Recognized with multiple awards from Fortune 100 organizations for her record-breaking sales career and for shattering ceilings in traditionally underrepresented spaces, Erika has also made a lasting impact in multiple financial services organizations by consistently delivering growth, mentoring leaders, and setting new standards of excellence. Erika serves on several business community, cybersecurity, and technology boards, and is a proud member of the Executive Committee for the Women Business Collaborative. In these roles, she brings her expertise in M&A, entrepreneurship, and value creation to help guide strategy, shape policy, and expand impact. She now channels that same performance-driven mindset into breaking barriers in ETA. Her belief is simple: Latinos deserve representation, access, and pathways to ownership — and ETA is one of the most powerful ways to build generational wealth.

Erik Toral is the Founder of Axiom Entertainment, a talent management, brand partnerships and cultural strategy company working across entertainment, beauty, food and lifestyle. His career spans finance and entertainment, beginning at PwC and NBCUniversal before spending seven years at Creative Artists Agency. At CAA, he most recently served as an agent in Talent Business Ventures and was a founding member of CAA Latino, helping create opportunities across talent, brands and communities. Today, Erik manages talent and creators, advises brands on culturally relevant partnerships, and builds business opportunities at the intersection of culture, audience and commerce.

Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Silver Tsunami Transitions | 3X CEO | Board Director | Certified Exit Planning Advisor

Esther Aguilera is a national, award-winning leader distinguished by a rare ability to pivot and excel across sectors. Over more than 30 years, she has worked alongside Cabinet members, Congressional leadership, and executives at the highest levels of corporate leadership, cultivating thousands of strategic partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, private capital firms and financial institutions, and the leading executive search firms. 

A founder and three-time CEO, Esther builds enterprises that deliver outsized value growth. As Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Silver Tsunami Transitions, LLC, she now leads at the forefront of the $10 trillion small business ownership transfer reshaping the U.S. economy — guiding family-owned businesses through exit with clarity and confidence.

Her governance leadership includes board and advisory roles with MasPanadas/Latin Goodness Foods, Altura Capital, Angeles Investors, and Latinas in Beauty, plus past leadership of the Latino Corporate Directors Association and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

Among her highest honors: the Cross of the Order of Queen Isabella, bestowed by His Royal Majesty Juan Carlos I of Spain; Superior Performance Award from the U.S. Secretary of Energy for leading the Office of Small Business Utilization to a $1 billion increase in small business contracting; Occidental College’s Alumni Seal Award; 2022 Modern Governance 100 Honoree distinction from Diligent; and recognition as Al Día News’ 2021 Person of the Year.

Etienne Ortega is a Mexican-American celebrity makeup artist and founder of Ortega Beauty, known for his signature sculpted glam and luminous, timeless approach to beauty. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in Southern California, Etienne has built an internationally recognized career working with some of the world’s most iconic artists and celebrities, including Christina Aguilera, Lana Del Rey, Demi Lovato, Kali Uchis, and more. Drawing inspiration from his Mexican heritage, artistry, and nearly two decades in the beauty industry, Etienne launched Ortega Beauty as a celebration of culture, confidence, and self-expression. His work continues to bridge celebrity beauty, artistry, and entrepreneurship while inspiring the next generation to dream beyond what feels possible.

Fabian Ronisky is a General Partner at L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, where he is part of the team investing Fund III in Latino-led companies building for the new mainstream economy. He joined the firm in 2023. He came to venture from law, and having papered early-stage financings before he negotiated them, he brings a practical
view of structure, governance, and terms to the firm’s investments.

Before L’ATTITUDE VENTURES, Fabian invested at Mana Ventures, an early-stage firm and syndicate, where he sourced, evaluated, and helped close investments from seed through Series B across enterprise software,fintech, marketplaces, and frontier technology. Earlier in his career he practiced as a startup and venture capital attorney at Gunderson Dettmer and Strategic Law Partners, representing companies and investment firms including HELIX, a Google X company, and Science Inc., the studio behind Dollar Shave Club.

Fabian built much of the firm’s operating infrastructure. He is the architect of Gaucho, L’ATTITUDE’s proprietary outbound sourcing system, and Angel, an investor-matching engine that shortlists the best-fit lead investors for a portfolio company’s next round. He moved the firm onto a unified CRM for sourcing and portfolio tracking and built the internal AI tooling that supports its diligence and portfolio monitoring. He also oversees the firm’s financial reporting and valuation function.

Fabian holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, a JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Spanish is Fabian’s first language and he is fluent in English, with conversational Italian. Outside of work he is an active tennis player and a devoted supporter of Argentine football.

Across law, investing, and firm building, Fabian has worked on the same problem from three sides: what it takes to get a company financed, governed, and to a good outcome.

Frank Castellanos serves as the Wealth Regional Director for Citi Personal Wealth Management’s Northeast Market, which includes New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the Greater Washington, D.C. area. 

Frank brings an extensive track record of executive leadership in financial services.  Prior to joining Citi, he served as Market Executive for the Greater Washington, D.C. area at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.  His earlier leadership roles also include being President of Bank of America in Hampton Roads, Virginia, while also serving as the Merrill leader for Greater Virginia. 

Before joining the financial services industry, Frank spent two decades as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, completing diplomatic tours across the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia.  

Frank is a dedicated leader, focused on delivering strong results through a people-first culture.  He is deeply committed to giving back to his local community and remains actively engaged in philanthropic initiatives.  

Gabriela Frías is a CNN journalist with more than two decades of experience covering business and global news at CNN. She currently hosts CNN Negocios, the flagship business program on CNN en Español.

She is recognized as a leader in business journalism in Latin America, interviewing world leaders, reporting on global financial issues, and covering high-profile events such as the G-20 and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Frías joined CNN in Atlanta in 2000 as a producer and contributor for CNN en Español’s nightly business program. She subsequently became the host of her own personal finance show, En Efectivo, which launched in 2001 and aired for ten years. In late 2010, Frías brought her business journalism expertise to CNN en Español’s prime-time lineup, joining co-host Xavier Serbia for the launch of CNN Dinero. She later hosted Portafolio Global, a daily CNN en Español business program and Panorama Mundial, the network’s flagship newscast covering the most significant global events.

She has interviewed presidents, government ministers, and high-ranking financial and economic officials—including International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and former Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (during the financial crisis)—as well as conducting an exclusive interview with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Frías frequently contributes to economic education by moderating and participating in forums across the region. She also provides a Latin American perspective for sister networks CNN International and CNN US.

Previously, Frías worked as a business reporter for Reforma, one of Mexico’s leading
newspapers. In 1998, she held the dual role of co-anchor and journalist for Negocios México, a joint venture between Reforma and CNN en Español.

Frías graduated with honors from the Carlos Septién School of Journalism in Mexico City. She is fluent in Spanish, English, and French.

Gareth James is the 10th dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and holds the John E. Anderson Chair in Management. He joined UCLA Anderson on July 1, 2026, after serving as the John H. Harland Dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

An internationally recognized scholar in statistics, data science and machine learning, James has built his career at the intersection of research, teaching and academic leadership. He believes the strongest decisions combine rigorous analysis with sound judgment, and that business schools have a unique responsibility to prepare leaders who can navigate rapid technological change while inspiring people and organizations to thrive.

James is co-author of An Introduction to Statistical Learning, one of the world’s most widely used texts on modern statistical learning. His research has been cited more than 45,000 times, and he has led multiple National Science Foundation-funded projects. He is an elected fellow of both the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and has received numerous awards for both research and teaching.

A native of New Zealand, James earned bachelor’s degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland and a Ph.D. in statistics from Stanford University.

Gio Punzo is a technology entrepreneur, media innovator, and CEO & Co-Founder of Streann Media, a Miami-based AI video technology company transforming how media companies engage and monetize audiences.

With more than 20 years in technology and digital media, Gio has helped launch and scale disruptive technologies globally, including at LiveU, where he helped introduce live streaming technology to major broadcasters.

Today, Streann serves the world’s leading U.S. Hispanic streaming platform and media companies across Latin America. From the FIFA World Cup to reality shows, millions of viewers across 141 countries experience content powered by Streann’s technology. Its award-winning technology combines AI, audience engagement, intelligence, and patented monetization tools to turn passive viewers into active communities. Gio is also an inventor on Streann’s U.S. patent for monetizing video without interrupting the viewing experience.

Raised in Miami, married to a Colombian, and raising Latino children, Gio has experienced firsthand how cultures and identities are converging to create the New Mainstream in America.

Gio is a Boston University graduate and former NCAA Division I soccer player. He holds an MBA and completed a Post-MBA program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. 

He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, and “Portuñol.”

Over a span of nearly 27 years, Gisel built an impressive career serving in executive roles in
multiple disciplines at Fortune 5 company, Walmart Inc. She progressed her career in
Operations taking on more and more responsibility before taking on the top HR role for Walmart
US. From there she was promoted to COO, Walmart US where she led store operations,
innovation teams and real estate strategy for the $250 billion US division. Then as the EVP of
People serving Walmart International, she led strategy in all areas of human capital
management, leading HR teams supporting more than 1 million employees across 27 countries.
And just before retiring she served as EVP, COO for Sam’s Club, Walmart Inc’s fast growing,
omni channel warehouse membership business. She now serves as an independent board
director at Ulta Beauty, Vital Farms and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, plus two additional
private companies – BBQGuys.com and a familiar one to our Latino community,
TelevisaUnivision.

Guillermo Diaz, Jr. is a transformative business leader and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is the Founder and CEO of Conectado Inc., a Web3/AI platform advancing STEAM representation. Formerly Cisco’s Global CIO, he also chaired HITEC, the leading Hispanic tech executive organization. Diaz serves on the boards of Blue Shield of California, Jack in the Box, and Unicoin Inc., as well as Cristo Rey, NPower, and the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Initiative. A U.S. Navy veteran, he holds a B.S. from Regis University and held leadership roles at Silicon Graphics, Ingram Micro, and Alza Corporation.

Henry Cisneros is Founder and Senior Advisor of American Triple I, an infrastructure investment firm based in New York. He is also a Vice Chairman of the Board of Shank Williams Cisneros & Co., L.L.C, the holding company of. a national municipal and corporate finance firm. Mr. Cisneros also founded CityView in 2003 and continues to actively invest in its projects. CityView is a partner in building more than 100 communities in 13 states, building more than 7,000 homes with a total value of over $5 billion.

Mr. Cisneros’ community-building career began at the local level. After serving three terms as a City Councilmember, in 1981, Mr. Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, Texas. During his four terms as Mayor, he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure and downtown improvements.

In 1984, Mr. Cisneros was interviewed by the Democratic Presidential nominee as a possible candidate for Vice President of the United States and in 1986 was selected as the “Outstanding Mayor” in the nation by City and State Magazine. After completing four terms as Mayor, Mr. Cisneros formed Cisneros Asset Management Company, a fixed income management firm operating nationally and ranked at the time as the second fastest growing money manager in the nation.

In 1992, President Clinton appointed Mr. Cisneros to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet, Secretary Cisneros has been credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s public housing developments and with formulating policies which contributed to achieving the nation’s highest ever homeownership rate. In his role as the President’s chief representative to the nation’s cities, Mr. Cisneros personally worked in more than 200 U.S. cities in every one of the 50 states.

After leaving HUD in 1997, Mr. Cisneros was president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications, the Spanish-language broadcaster which has become the fifth- most-watched television network in the nation. Mr. Cisneros served on Univision’s Board of Directors until 2020. Mr. Cisneros has served as President of the National League of Cities, as Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and as Vice-Chairman of Habitat for Humanity International. Mr. Cisneros remains active in San Antonio’s leadership.

Dr. Ian O. Williamson is the Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. He is a globally recognized expert in the area of human resource management. His research has received several international awards and has been covered by media outlets across the world. Drawing upon this research, Dr. Williamson has helped public sector, private sector and not-for-profit executives in over 20 countries across six continents drive organizational innovation, navigate change, manage diverse workforces and enhance operational and financial performance.

Ileana Musa is the Head of Sales for Morgan Stanley Private Bank. In her role she leads a large-scale sales organization of Private Bankers, Lenders and Product Specialists who partner strategically with Financial Advisors to advise clients on both sides of the balance sheet. Most recently she lent her talent to co-heading Morgan Stanley’s International Wealth Management business. Ileana is a member of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Committee, Wealth Management Operating Committee, Latin America Management Committee, and the U.S. Banks Management Committee. Ileana co-chairs the Enterprise Latino Employee Network and serves as a trustee on the Morgan Stanley Foundation Board.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Ileana was the Global Client Segment and Strategy Executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. In this capacity, she focused on helping international financial advisors ensure the delivery of a consistent, goals-based wealth management experience for international high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. Prior to this role, Ileana was head of International Credit and Banking within Bank of America’s Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) Banking group. In this role, she led the teams that supported and delivered integrated liquidity, cash management and lending solutions and services to financial advisors and high net worth clients in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Ileana held several leadership roles in the domestic, international, and affluent banking platforms at Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, where she lent her talent to growing their cross-border wealth management businesses.

Ileana is a Trustee and Vice-Chair of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino Board of Trustees and sits on the Girl Scouts National Board (GSUSA) and the corporate advisory board of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).

Ileana is the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). She was named to the 100 Latinas by Latino Leaders in 2023 for the second year in a row and was the recipient of the 2022 Latino Leaders Maestro Award in the Category of Professional Achievement.

Ileana Musa is employed by Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association, Member FDIC

Jacqueline Aguilar serves as Assistant General Counsel for The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) at its global headquarters, where she advises senior executives on complex transactions, commercial strategy, growth initiatives, and enterprise risk. As a leader within P&G’s Global Transactions organization, she leads significant domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, strategic transactions, and intellectual property matters. She most recently led P&G’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Thorne, a leading health and wellness company.

In addition to her transactional responsibilities, Jacqueline serves as the Global Commercial Legal Lead for P&G’s Personal Health Care and Oral Care businesses, which together represent approximately $12 billion in FY2025 net sales. In this role, she partners with senior business leaders on growth strategy, commercial execution, strategic partnerships, innovation, new business models, complex commercial arrangements, procurement and supply strategy, intellectual property licensing, and other initiatives that support business performance across global markets.

Throughout her career at P&G, Jacqueline has held leadership roles spanning transactions, commercial operations, business-unit leadership, and ethics and compliance. She previously served as chief counsel to P&G’s multi-billion-dollar North American Oral Care business, advising business leadership on advertising and marketing, claims substantiation, trademarks, FDA and consumer protection matters, privacy, risk management, product launches, and go-to-market strategies. She also held leadership responsibilities within P&G’s Global Ethics & Compliance organization, where she advised on complex compliance matters, developed and implemented compliance strategies and programs, conducted training, and led internal investigations.

Before joining P&G, Jacqueline held corporate compliance and human resources roles with two publicly traded global companies, Toyota Motor North America and Convergys. Her combined legal and business experience enables her to advise companies and leadership teams through periods of growth, transformation, strategic transactions, commercialization, and complex enterprise risk.

Jacqueline earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, summa cum laude, from Xavier University, with a major in Management and a minor in Information Technology.

Jacqueline also brings substantial board and community leadership experience, serving on the boards of several nonprofit and civic organizations and contributing her legal expertise through pro bono service.

Javier Ortiz Heredia is a Creator Manager and growth strategist at TikTok, specializing in helping Latino creators transform their talent, culture, and authentic storytelling into sustainable careers. His work within TikTok LIVE and TikTok Shop, has enabled Javier to work closely with beauty and fashion brands and creators, giving him a unique perspective on building content that connects communities while driving brand value. He helps creators identify what makes them distinctive, strengthen audience engagement, unlock monetization, and position their content for meaningful partnerships. From beauty and fashion to lifestyle and entertainment, Javier is passionate about elevating Latino voices, creating opportunities for diverse talent, and helping creators turn influence into lasting careers.

Jay Hernandez (Panel Speaker) won Best Actor at the 2024 Imagen Awards for his role in the critically acclaimed movie “The Long Game”, that screened at the White House earlier this year. He is currently directing his first feature movie, “Night Comes”, starring Dafne Keen, Samantha Lorraine and Alexander Ludwig. He starred as the iconic character ‘Thomas Magnum’ in the hit CBS/NBC reboot series “Magnum P.I.”, as El Diablo in the Warner Bros./DC Comic feature “Suicide Squad” from director David Ayer, and opposite Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell in the R-rated comedy “Bad Moms” and its sequel “Bad Moms Christmas”. Jay emerged onto the Hollywood scene opposite Kirsten Dunst in the 2001 Buena Vista Pictures’ film “Crazy/Beautiful” which earned him an ALMA Award nomination for Outstanding Actor. His other credits include Eli Roth’s “Hostel”, Oliver Stone’s 9/11 project “World Trade Center”, Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal”, the Universal film “Friday Night Lights”, and Disney’s “The Rookie”.

Jean Batthany Honored as one of Business Insider’s 30 Most Creative Women in Advertising, Jean Batthany is ruthlessly committed to creating impact. She is the founder of Art of the Pause, a creative wellness platform and has spoken at TEDx, Cannes Lions, NASA. Walmart’s first Chief Creative Officer, Jean led their evolution from a transactional company to an emotional brand. As VP, Global Creative at Disney, she transformed the in-house team into a diverse award-winning agency. She spent 20+ years leading creative and championing diverse talent agency side at Saatchi, BBDO, DDB. Currently a fractional CCO, she collaborates with mission driven brands to win hearts, minds, spirits and wallets.

Jeff Valdez is a serial entrepreneur, who has been producing, writing and directing TV and film for over 25 years with the likes of Nickelodeon, Disney, Showtime, NBC and HBO Max. He has been credited with pioneering a new category in American television, the English Language Latino Market. He also created and was the CEO/Chairman of Si TV, the first ever English- language Latino TV channel in America (now called Fuse). Jeff co-created The Brothers Garcia to further push his agenda of not having stereotypical caricatures of Latinos on screen. In 2018, Jeff founded New Cadence Productions with partner Sol Trujillo. The company is responsible for producing the reboot The Garcias, as well as Comedy Chingonas, an all-Latina comedy special, and both the 1st and 2nd Annual HA Comedy Specials, which all premiered on HBO Max. Jeff is an expert in addressing the multitude of opportunities in this New Mainstream. Jeff has been listed as “One of the Top 50 People Who Matter” by CNN as well as one of the “Top 50 Marketers in America” by Ad Age.

Joe leads Wealth’s strategy across data, artificial intelligence, and client and advisor experience. In this role, he is responsible for transforming Citi Wealth into an AI-powered, intelligence-driven platform – integrating data foundations, advanced analytics, and next-generation digital experiences to redefine how wealth management engages and operates. He is the leader of OneWealth, Citi’s unified data and intelligence ecosystem, which connects client, account, and investment data to power real-time decisioning and personalized engagement at scale. This foundation enables
capabilities such as Advisor Insights, Ask Wealth, Citi Scribe, and Citi Sky – Citi’s next-generation AI interface designed to deliver conversational, intelligent experiences for both advisors and clients.

Joe is also driving strategic partnerships with leading technology firms, including Google and Palantir, to accelerate the adoption of generative AI, agentic workflows, and large-scale data intelligence across the platform. Prior to this role, he led Data, Digital & Innovation for Citi’s Securities Services business, where he drove cloud transformation, AI/ML adoption, and digital asset innovation. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where he built enterprise data platforms, advanced analytics capabilities, and next-best-action engines supporting millions of clients.

J​ose A. Jurado is a Senior Research Economist at the Seidman Research Institute. Dr. Jurado​ joined Seidman in February 2023 from Carnegie Mellon University, where he worked as a​ postdoctoral research fellow. Previously, he worked as an economist at Banco de México’s​ research division.​

​Dr. Jurado currently serves as the P.I. on a study for Chicanos por la Causa, focusing on the​ socio-economic mobility of Latinos in the State of Arizona. He has also served as P.I. on two​ previous installments of the Official U.S. Latino GDP Report™ in partnership with the Latino​ ​Donor Collaborative. He is passionate about U.S.-Mexico bilateral security issues and racial​ disparities in policing in the U.S.​

​His work has been published in the Journal of Development Economics and was awarded first​ place in the 2022 edition of the Victor L. Urquidi prize in economics for best research paper​ focused on Mexico. Dr. Jurado earned a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University in 2021.​

Kelli’s strategic vision drives culturally resonant work and bold brand transformations at Hyphenated. Before Hyphenated, she helped brands like YouTube, Target, Ubisoft and Visa evolve and built powerhouse strategy teams, setting industry standards at AKQA and R/GA. Today, she partners with founders like Jessica Alba and Naomi Osaka, and serial entrepreneurs in climate tech, fintech and beauty; repositioning brands, reorienting product teams, and creating market momentum. Kelli will bring empathy and nuance that only comes from listening to your consumer to every project.

A fifth generation Coloradan, KEN SALAZAR’s ancestors have lived in the American Southwest for more than four centuries. Ken grew up in his native San Luis Valley on the remote Salazar homestead, where his family continues to farm and ranch the same property they’ve owned since before Colorado became a state. Ken served as United States ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025, where he led the US diplomatic mission during a pivotal time for North American relations. In this role, he called for urgent action on fixing the border and a new era on trade, energy and climate, immigration, and education. Before serving as US ambassador to Mexico, Ken served as US secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama (2009–2013), as Colorado’s 35th US senator (2005–2009), and as Colorado state attorney general (1999-2005). Ken devotes much of his time to family and ranching in the San Luis Valley. He continues to be a champion for conservation, civil rights, and an inclusive America.

LaToya Wilson is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and serves as Global Co-Head of Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures, where she leads the firm’s in-house accelerator that supports early-stage startups and non-profits with access to capital, strategic resources and firmwide expertise-advancing inclusive innovation and sustainable impact globally. In this role, LaToya develops and executes strategies that expand access to capital, strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, and position Morgan Stanley as a leader in inclusive and sustainable venture investing.

With more than 20 years of experience across private markets, impact investing, and economic development, LaToya has built her career at the intersection of capital and community. 

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, she served as Senior Vice President of Business Investments at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ), a public-private CDFI focused on driving the economic revitalization of Upper Manhattan. There, she structured and executed mission-aligned investments, established credit policies, and launched the organization’s first revolving line of credit fund to support small businesses.

Earlier, LaToya served as Director of Neighborhood and Commercial Revitalization for the City of New Haven’s Economic Development Administration, where she partnered across public, private, and community stakeholders to catalyze over $500 million in new and revitalized development projects. She began her career at GE Capital, completing the Financial Management Program and later underwriting and managing more than $400 million in middle-market, private equity-backed transactions at GE Antares, including leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, and growth financings.

LaToya holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Quinnipiac University. She serves on the Board of the SuitUp Organization whose mission is to bridge the gap between education and the corporate world. LaToya is also an Advisory Board member for the Dean of the School of Business at Quinnipiac University and the GSB Impact Fund at Stanford University.

Laura leverages her exceptional network and expertise to support the firm’s deal flow and outreach strategy. She is the Founder & CEO of Pandocap which provides strategic advisory and media services that help early and growth-stage companies access capital markets, implement and measure ESG strategies and accelerate towards an initial public offering (IPO). Prior to Pandocap, Laura was a Managing Director at Nasdaq where she led the IPOs of Beyond Meat, Lyft, The RealReal, Airbnb and other high-profile listings. Laura is also a successful Latina entrepreneur having found and exited Ladada, one of the first fashion subscription startups to feature emerging new designers. Laura is an advisor to 500 Startups, Fulcrum Ventures and a board member of California Lutheran University and Pangea Legal.

Lilliana Vazquez is a creator-entrepreneur and Emmy-winning television host. The first Latina to anchor E! News, she brings a bicultural perspective rarely represented in conversations about culture, commerce, and the future of storytelling.

Since pivoting from legacy media to the creator economy, she’s established one of the most commercially powerful and resonant platforms. Her editorial expertise commands engagement from both general market and Latinx audiences.

She specializes in identifying what moves culture and converts it into sales. She is a rare creator who pairs media credibility with creator-economy fluency.

At Cannes Lions 2026, she spoke on two creator economy panels with The Female Quotient and Unplugged Collective. She was a featured panelist at Create & Cultivate SXSW and sat with Vogue México’s Editor-in-Chief Carla Martínez at L’ATTITUDE. She’s hosted The Met Gala and The Golden Globes red carpets. She’s appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show, The View, TODAY, and GMA.

Lisa Ordóñez was appointed Dean of UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management in September 2019. As the School’s second dean, she is transitioning Rady from a start-up to focus on growth, further cementing the school’s global business research prominence and impact as an innovation focused, economic engine within the San Diego business community and beyond. She has brought a renewed emphasis on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to the school and has already made great strides in increasing the number of female and underrepresented minority faculty at Rady.

Lisa received all three degrees from UC Berkeley: BA in Psychology (1989), MS in Marketing (1992) and PhD in Quantitative Psychology (1994). She spent her first 25 years at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, serving as the Vice Dean for the last 4 ½ years before moving to Rady.

Margarita Arriagada is a beauty industry visionary, entrepreneur, mentor, investor, and founder of Valdé Beauty. Known by many as the “Godmother of Beauty,” Margarita made an indelible impact as Chief Merchant at Sephora, where her global product expertise and commitment to inclusivity helped shape the future of beauty. Drawing on her Latina heritage and decades of industry experience, she founded Valdé Beauty in 2020 as a tribute to her mother, women, and the beauty industry. A passionate advocate for emerging Latina founders, Margarita has created grants, mentorship, and resources to help brands enter and succeed in retail. She is also a founding board member of Latinas in Beauty, continuing her commitment to advancing Latina entrepreneurship and leadership.

Marianne Fonseca is the founder of Gente Beauty, a Brazilian-inspired body care brand centered around lymphatic drainage and wellness rituals. Originally from Brazil, Marianne began her career as an international model before channeling her passion for beauty and self-care into entrepreneurship. Inspired by the body-first approach to beauty she grew up with, she launched Gente Beauty to bring innovative, results-driven products and wellness traditions to a global audience. Through Gente, Marianne has become a leading voice in modern body care, blending effective ingredients and accessible self-care practices.

The Honorable Mark L. Madrid lives life with immense gratitude to God, his family, partner, pet,  and inner circle of trust. Renowned for his signature energy, discipline, and grit, Mark’s journey  is a testament to overcoming adversity, winning with integrity, and paying it forward. 

Mark is a national economic strategist, AI futurist, bestselling author, and the Founder and CEO  of Breakthrough Mavens, LLC, Fueling Excellence and Longevity with White-Collar Experience  and Blue-Collar DNA. Breakthrough Mavens is a pioneering fractional C-Suite firm powered by AI and grounded in human intelligence, delivering a white-glove, results-driven customer experience. 

Mark is the author of his first book, Energy, 21 Uncomplicated & Easy Tips to Start Your Day  Energized (Fig Factor Media), the first in a book series, Self-Fueling Excellence. Energy is an  Amazon.com best seller in three categories: Motivational Growth & Spirituality, Personal  Success & Spirituality, and Health & Spirituality. He is co-author of the Hero Club curated book  titled, The Leader’s Playbook: CEOs Transforming Vision into Action (C-Suite Publishing). 

A former Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Mark and his team  supported millions of U.S. small businesses with services from capital eligibility and education  to cybersecurity and procurement. 

His expertise has become a trusted compass for small businesses, tech startups, corporate  America, public-private partnerships, academia, nonprofits, and C-Suite executives across  America. 

Currently, Mark serves in distinguished fractional executive roles: Visiting Scholar at the Clinton  School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas and Entrepreneur-In-Residence at  NMSDC. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas State University McCoy College of  Business Foundation and the Board of Advisors at Trez.co, Qoollege, and Deizero. Mark sits on  the Advisory Council of the Hispanic Wealth Project and the Executive Board of Directors of  FRIENDS, Friends of the American Latino Museum, a national advocacy campaign to create a  Smithsonian National American Latino Museum.  

Mark is an esteemed member of the C-Suite Network Hero Club, an exclusive community of  Founders, CEOs, and Investors driven by distinguished integrity, transparency, and decisive  action.

Mark’s past accolades include being honored as the 2019 Silicon Valley Nonprofit CEO of the  Year by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, a reflection of his relentless commitment to  purpose-driven impact. His career launched on Wall Street with J.P. Morgan in 1995, following  his graduation with honors from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of  Business. Also, he holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration, cum laude, from the University  of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. 

As a sought-after keynote speaker and host of the Small Business is Big Business with Mark L.  Madrid podcast (powered by C-Suite Media), Mark is an inspiring global voice on economic  opportunity, financial literacy, and AI-powered transformation. Mark’s platforms in AI and AGI  include a groundbreaking AI Guidebook series collaboration with international award-winning  economic developer Kevin Johns and his custom curated AI small business educational forums.  In partnership with Conectado and its CEO Guillermo Diaz, Jr., Mark is deploying game changing fractional C-Suite industry standards, along with his digital twin Markitos. 

His national honors include the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the American Airlines Extra  Mile Award, and an appointment as an Honorary Colonel of the U.S. Army Reserve. Mark’s  unwavering integrity and commitment to excellence and authentic, results-driven innovation  position him as a respected national media commentator and an elite leader in every room. 

Mark has been featured in Forbes, Inc., United Nations Media, the New York Stock Exchange,  the Aspen Institute, American City Business Journals, The Hill, The University of Texas at  Austin, the University of Notre Dame, Texas State University, Stanford University, the Silicon  Valley Business Journal Leadership Trust, the C-Suite Network, the U.S. Conference of Mayors,  the National League of Cities, and iHeart Radio, among other leading platforms. 

The Honorable Mark L. Madrid embodies a philosophy of scaling with heart and velocity,  proving that no matter how noisy the world becomes, the strongest currency is clarity, and the  most powerful leaders are those who lead with unshakable integrity, fanatic discipline, a mighty  heart, the will to win, and contagious energy. 

Marty Martinez is the Founder and CEO of Social Revolt Agency, an award-winning,
minority-owned marketing partner leading mid-to-large CPG and enterprise brands through AI-driven transformation. Social Revolt is the agency of record for American Airlines’ Envoy Air, leading recruitment marketing, with additional campaigns for Spotify and Procter & Gamble. Under Marty’s leadership, the agency has rebuilt its own operations around AI, replacing channel-metric reporting with narrative, outcome-led systems built to scale across every account.

Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies and named among the Top 100 Fastest-Growing Ad Agencies in America, Social Revolt has built that growth on the same operational discipline now driving its AI systems.

Marty is also a recognized voice on the intersection of business growth and global impact. He has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme on sustainability campaigns, notably representing its “Don’t Choose Extinction” initiative at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, a campaign that reached 1.8 billion views in over 60 languages.

A committed advocate for the Hispanic business community, Marty was part of the first-ever Hispanic Delegation at the World Economic Forum and previously served as Ambassador Hub Leader for Hispanic Star Dallas, where a philanthropic partnership with Procter & Gamble helped direct more than $2 million in donations to underserved communities. His leadership earned him the Ultimate Drive Award from Latino Leaders Magazine.

Massey Villarreal has an exceptional record for service in both the public and private sectors. He is most known for his work in economic development, serving on  numerous advisory boards, and has held leadership positions across local, state, and national chambers of commerce.

For more than 25 years, he has served three Texas governors as an appointee to the Economic Incentive Oversight Board, the governing board of the Texas Economic Development Corporation, and the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System. 

Mr. Villarreal has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. by Hispanic Business Magazine and one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanic Republicans by Newsweek. He is currently CEO and President of Precision Task Group, Inc., (PTG), a Hispanic-owned and managed technical system’s integration firm providing business solutions to public and private sector firms. 

The first person to ever be Chairman of a local, state, and national Hispanic chamber, Mr. Villarreal served as chairman of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC), and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC).  Mr. Villarreal served for three years as Chairman of the Texas Association of Business (TAB) Foundation and two years as Chairman of the TAB Board.   Massey is a member of the Executive of the TAB as immediate past chairman. He currently sits on the board of directors for the Greater Houston Partnership.

In January 2025, Mr. Villarreal began his term as national chairman of Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C. based organization focused on the intentionality of graduating Hispanics and other students from over the over 600 Hispanic Serving Institutions in in the United States.

Mr. Villarreal is currently serving Governor Greg Abbott as an appointee to the Economic Incentive Oversight Board. Mr. Villarreal also served several years under Governor Rick Perry, through his appointment to the Texas Economic Development Corporation as well as the Texas Public Finance Authority, prior to which, Governor Perry appointed Mr. Villarreal as presiding officer (Chairman) of the governing board of the Texas Department of Economic Development (TxEd). Mr. Villarreal led a successful transition of the agency to the Governor’s office, effective September 1, 2003. In September 2001, Mr. Villarreal completed a six-year appointment to the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, which is composed of nine university components throughout Texas, by Governor George W. Bush.

He also serves National Council member American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Texas Hispanic Public Policy Foundation, ALMAAHH, American Mexican Leadership Council (AMLC), Texas Association of Community College Business Advisory board, Excelencia in Education, Memorial Hermann Hospital System Board and the World War II museum in New Orleans Louisiana.  Mr. Villarreal served two terms as Chairman of the Houston Golf Association (HGA) and First Tee of Greater Houston. 

Mr. Villarreal is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas and resides in Sugar Land, Texas.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M -Corpus Christi, formerly Corpus Christi State University.

Mr. Gutierrez served as president and CEO of NRG Energy, America’s premier competitive power company, from December 2015 until November 2023. He joined the company in 2004 and helped build NRG from a regional wholesale generation business into a national, Fortune 500 energy company. Previously, he held the positions of Chief operating officer and Executive Vice president of commercial operations overseeing all commodities trading. He had also held several senior positions at energy merchant Dynegy and consulting firm DTP in Mexico City.

Mr. Gutierrez serves on the boards of Chipotle, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), Hackensack Meridian Health and Drexel University. He has also been a member of the Business Roundtable, Electric Power Supply Association and a boardmember of NRG Energy and NRG Yield (Now Clearway Energy). He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Panamericana and two master’s degrees – one in mineral economics from the Colorado School of Mines and one in petroleum economics from the French Petroleum Institute.

Michael focuses on advancing employee engagement, financial wellness and retirement plan design by implementing proven industry practices and leveraging Morgan Stanley’s extensive resources. A firm-designated Corporate Retirement and Financial Wellness Director, he began his financial services career in 2009. In recognition of his work, the National Association of Plan Advisors has named Michael a Top Retirement Plan Advisor Under 40. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2021, he served as a Financial Advisor and Senior Retirement Plan Consultant with UBS Financial Services.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Michael serves as a volunteer officer for the Professionals in Human Resources Association’s West Los Angeles Chapter and as a Board Chair for Students Run Los Angeles, a leading nonprofit focused on youth development. Through both roles, he actively engages with his community and helps improve the financial lives of others.

Michael earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico, graduating with honors in English and Marketing. He holds the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist℠ (CRPS®), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®), Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC®) and Certified 401(k) Professional (C(k)P®) designations.

Nadine Tapia is a beauty industry executive, investor, founder, and board member with more than 20 years of experience building, scaling, and investing in consumer brands. She is the founder of Tapia Beauty Group (TBG), a certified B Corporation that partners with early-stage beauty and consumer companies to accelerate growth and build long-term enterprise value. Previously, Nadine served as President and CEO of Ole Henriksen, leading the brand through its acquisition by Kendo/LVMH. Today, she invests in and advises emerging consumer brands and serves in board and governance roles across the beauty industry. A champion for Latina leadership and entrepreneurship, Nadine is a founding board member and Treasurer of Latinas in Beauty, advancing access and opportunity for Latina founders and leaders across the industry.

Colombian-Dominican singer and songwriter NEZZA blends Latin and R&B pop influences into a genre-fluid sound rooted in her heritage and fearless artistry. Since launching her solo career in 2018, she has steadily carved out a lane of her own, reaching a breakthrough moment in Summer 2025 when her viral performance at Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium catapulted her into the global spotlight. Her debut EP, Club Solita (2021), fused R&B, pop, and Latin reggaeton, earning more than one million Spotify streams per track and international radio play, while her sold-out 2022 tour established her as a captivating live performer. This August, NEZZA returned to her Bay Area roots for a milestone moment of her own, making her first-ever festival performance at San Francisco’s Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park, a hometown debut that brought her journey full circle. Now, NEZZA enters her biggest chapter yet with the release of her debut album, SWEAT, arriving September 18.

Her story of courage is further captured in La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave), a short documentary directed by Cristina Costantini that screened in competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows NEZZA’s journey leading up to the viral Dodgers Stadium performance that became a defining cultural moment. Accompanied only by piano, she performed the National Anthem in Spanish using “El Pendón Estrellado,” the official 1945 translation commissioned by the U.S. government. Her emotional declaration, “I needed to do it, para mi gente,” resonated around the world, helping propel the moment to more than 14 million TikTok views and sparking conversations about identity, representation, and belonging. More than a viral performance, it cemented NEZZA as a powerful new voice championing Latin culture on a national stage.

As she ushers in the SWEAT era, NEZZA continues to redefine what modern pop can sound and look like. Equal parts vulnerable and confident, English and Spanish, she represents a new generation of artists creating without boundaries and bringing their full identity to every stage.

Best known for his portrayal of the charming and exacting Dr. Neil Melendez in ABC’s global hit, “The Good Doctor”, Texas native and Stanford graduate, Nicholas Gonzalez, is no to stranger to audiences who recognize him from a dense resume of some of TV’s hottest shows. Most recently he can be seen on NBC’s hit Sci- Fi drama La Brea as the daring Levi Delgado. Nicholas’ passion for humanity exceeds his entertainment work and in depth character portrayals. As a father, husband, actor and producer, Nicholas is committed to projects, both in front of the camera and behind it, that highlight the injustices, struggles, and victories of the human condition.

Oscar Munoz is the former CEO and Chairman of United Airlines and a respected board-level leader known for guiding organizations through transformation and crisis. He currently serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards and is a CNBC contributor.

A first-generation college graduate and immigrant, Oscar was the first person of Hispanic heritage to lead a major U.S. airline. He brings decades of executive experience to candid conversations on leadership, culture, accountability, and decision-making.

Oscar is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Turnaround Time: Uniting an Airline and Its Employees in the Friendly Skies.

Oszie Tárula is a media, events, and creative strategy leader with over 20 years of experience building programs, digital experiences, and content across technology, education, AI, and emerging media. He is the Chief Creative Officer at Conectado, where he leads creative strategy, media, AI-focused programs, and the design and user experience of the AI Opportunity Backpack, working with partners including HACU, Stanford DataOcean, the Mark Cuban AI Foundation, and colleges and universities nationwide.

He is also the founder of Hola Metaverso, a platform producing technology-focused events across Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Bogotá, and Medellín. Earlier in his career, Oszie spent nine years at UCLA, including serving as Digital Media Director at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, where he led digital transformation efforts and supported major engineering initiatives, including Women in Engineering at UCLA (WE@UCLA).

Throughout his career, Oszie has worked with organizations including UCLA, idealab!, KB Home, DataCon LA, Coldwell Banker, Caruso, Edmunds.com, Coinbase, Razorfish, and Developer DAO. He has spoken at and helped produce conferences and technology sessions including NFT NYC, L’ATTITUDE, Velocity, the HACU Annual Conference, and the University of Medellín. His work focuses on bringing partners, media, communities, and platforms together to help people and organizations navigate a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Paloma Cinco is a Mexican producer, manager, and actress based in Guadalajara. She is the co-founder of Espectro MX Films, where she develops and produces film and entertainment projects with a focus on creating meaningful stories that connect Mexican and international audiences. Paloma also manages the career of her brother, actor and professional footballer Cristo Fernández, and works across film, talent, and brand partnerships.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Patricio Campillo cultivated a passion for horses amidst the vibrant Charro culture. Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and an advanced degree in Marketing for Luxury Markets, he laid the groundwork for his future in fashion. 

Initially starting with fashion journalism, Patricio expanded his focus to encompass communication strategies, styling, and art direction, showcasing his creative versatility. His career took a significant turn in Paris, working under fashion editor Tiffany Godoy. 

This period fueled his transformation into a self-taught fashion designer, creating his first collection in 2015. 

In 2017, he founded “The Pack,” later rebranded as “CAMPILLO”, seamlessly blending a distinctive design aesthetic influenced by childhood experiences, the contemporary Mexican artistic wave, and traditional Charro culture. Patricio’s journey is marked by recontextualizing Mexican cultural heritage within a modern context and the empowering impact of self-discovery. 

Raul A. Anaya is president and co-head of Business Banking, one of Bank of America’s eight lines of business, and is a member of the company’s executive management team.

Raul is also currently leading Bank of America’s comprehensive wildfire response and rebuilding efforts for the Greater LA region to support clients, employees, and impacted communities.

As a co-head of Business Banking, Raul, along with Sharon Miller, lead a nationwide team that serves 11 million business owner clients and more than 3.4 million start-up to mid-sized businesses with annual revenues up to $50 million, including one out of every three small business in the country.

Under their leadership, Bank of America is consistently ranked as the #1 small business lender according to the FDIC, has been recognized as the “Best Bank in the U.S. for Small and Midsize Enterprises” by Global Finance magazine, and has received the “Outstanding Customer Service Experience” award from J.D. Power for 14 consecutive years.

In addition to his responsibilities as president of Business Banking, Raul serves as president of Bank of America for Greater Los Angeles, leading integration of Bank of America’s business lines to ensure delivery of the bank’s global financial services to individuals and businesses locally. He also oversees the bank’s local corporate and social responsibility activities, including philanthropic giving, community development lending and investing, environmental initiatives, diversity efforts, arts and culture projects, and employee volunteerism for the 6,000 employees who work in the Greater Los Angeles region.

Raul also leads Bank of America’s enterprise Hispanic-Latino business strategy, with a goal of growing the bank’s leading market share position serving the U.S. Hispanic-Latino population. Raul is also a member of Bank of America’s Global Opportunity & Inclusion Council, which helps drive our culture of opportunity and inclusion across the company.

Active in the community, Anaya serves on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce (past Chair), the AltaMed Health Services Foundation (past Chair), UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino in Washington D.C. Anaya is also a member of the Angeleno chapter of YPO Gold.

Anaya joined Bank of America in Houston in 1989.

LUAR is the reversed namesake label of Brooklyn, NY-based designer Raul Lopez. LUAR has been hailed as one of New York’s most exciting brands and its timely point-of-view has drawn international acclaim. In 2022, LUAR won the CFDA Award for American Accessories Designer of the Year. The following year, LUAR was a finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Lopez launched LUAR in 2011 with a compulsion to create designs based on the low and middle-income communities he grew up among in New York — a perspective that had long been missing from American fashion. The designer’s entrenchment in downtown New York City scenes inspired him to marry visual hallmarks of his Dominican heritage with the fluidity of underground nightlife. The brand considers affordability and accessibility when designing ready-to-wear, accessories and lifestyle goods for all gender identities. LUAR has been worn and supported by the likes of Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa, Solange Knowles, Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner, Lourdes Leon, and more.

Reuben Carranza is currently Partner, Operating Platform, Bansk Group PE.  He is a member of the Board of Directors for the four current beauty companies – Amika, Eva NYC, EthiqueBeauty and Byoma.

A 24-year veteran of Procter & Gamble, Reuben held leadership roles including billion-dollar brands like Pantene, and Olay, accounting for $9 billion in retail sales. Following the acquisition of Clairol and Wella, Reuben was appointed the NA CEO for Wella Professionals where he led the restructure of the businesses into an integrated organization including Graham Webb, Clairol Professional, Nioxin Professional, Sebastian Professional and the Wella Professional brands.

He later became a partner at Luxury Brand Partners in 2014, leading the launch and international expansion of R+Co, and contributed to the sale of several iconic brands, including Oribe Hair Care, Becca Cosmetics and Pulp Riot Hair Color. In 2018, Reuben was appointed President of Olaplex where hespearheaded infrastructure growth and helped position the brand for its sale to Advent International. In 2019, he joined Unilever Prestige as CEO of Kate Somerville Skin Health Experts, driving over 70% growth and leading international expansion.

In July of 2022, Reuben was named CEO of the Amika and Eva NYC hair brands after the acquisition by Private Equity firm Bansk and was named Group CEO with the addition of Ethique Beauty to his responsibilities. In 2025 with the addition of Byoma Skin to the portfolio, he was appointed Partner, Operating Platform, Bansk PE focused on the beauty portfolio. 

Ricardo Santamaria has over 25 years of Financial Services experience. Ricardo currently works with entrepreneurs/founders, families, and corporate entities as a partner of the SV Palo Alto Group at Morgan Stanley. Prior to his return to Morgan Stanley, Ricardo spent four and half years as Wealth Management Sales and Business Development Manager at BMO/Bank of the West. Prior to that, he spent nearly 18 years at Smith Barney/Morgan Stanley. While at Morgan Stanley, he worked with the Mark Curtis/Palo Alto Group as Business Development Director. Ricardo has had the privilege to speak at many Investment Industry events hosted by Morgan Stanley, Barrons, IMCA and S&P Global discussing topics from portfolio construction to business development.

Ricardo holds a M.B.A. from Santa Clara University and B.S. in International Business from Menlo College. Ricardo on his free time loves to play basketball, collect sports cards/memorabilia, and spend time with his family. Ricardo lives in Mountain View, Ca with his spouse and four children.

Ricky is an experienced Talent Leader & Executive Recruiter with demonstrated success hiring leaders across various industries and functions. He currently serves as Pinterest’s Director, Global Head of Executive Recruiting, where he leads the team responsible for Senior Director & Above hiring across all functions and geographies, partnering closely with Pinterest executives to build out senior leadership talent.

Previously, he led executive recruiting at Fortive (Danaher spinout), a publicly traded $6B+ revenue portfolio of essential technology companies. Prior to Fortive, Ricky was a core member of Spencer Stuart’s Tech, Media, & Telecom practice, where he recruited VP & C-Suite executives for public and PE-backed companies.

Ricky has spent his entire career in professional recruitment, bringing over 10 years of executive search experience and executing more than 300 executive-level searches across various industries, functions, and geographies.

Ricky earned a BBA from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. He relocated to Los Angeles from New York in 2013 to build a West Coast business for the recruiting agency, Michael Page. As a native New Yorker converted West Coaster, Ricky enjoys hiking, biking, beaches, wine tasting, and is a big-time foodie.

Robert Vasquez is a brand partnerships and talent executive with more than 15 years of experience at the intersection of brands, creators, entertainment, and culture. As Vice President of Brand Partnerships at Fixated, he develops strategic partnerships connecting leading brands with creators, talent, and original IP. Throughout his career, Robert has worked with Fortune 500 brands including Samsung, L’Oréal, NYX Professional Makeup, e.l.f. Beauty, Walmart, Liquid I.V., and Poppi. Previously, he held leadership roles at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Poosh by Kourtney Kardashian, and goop, building partnerships across talent, media, and creator-led businesses with a focus on culturally relevant storytelling.

Rodney Bolden, Executive Director, is the Head of Workplace Benefits Insights for Morgan Stanley at Work. In this role, Rodney works with a variety of industry organizations to develop and present thought leadership research on current trends in workplace financial benefits. Additionally, Rodney is the host of the award-winning Morgan Stanley at Work Invested at Work Podcast. He has also served as the Chairperson for the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Access & Opportunity Advisory Council.

Rodney’s speaking engagements include the World Economic Forum, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Global Equity Organization, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) and many others. He has also been published in MarketWatch, BenefitsPro, and AARP. Rodney is an Equity Compensation Associate (ECA), Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC), and Accredited Financial Counselor®.

Rodrigo Suarez-Navarro is a Financial Advisor at The Cotto Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley, based in Purchase, New York. Within his team’s wealth advisory practice, Rodrigo works with publicly traded companies, philanthropic organizations, and high net worth individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit to help them manage their financial well-being.

Rodrigo joined The Cotto Wealth Management Group in 2017 and has assisted in several roles since. He evaluates the various asset allocation techniques when creating client portfolios that are specifically tailored to each client. In addition to portfolio management, he interprets the needs and goals of clients to create comprehensive financial plans. He also oversees the maintenance of client accounts and operational support for institutional clients within the team.

Rodrigo graduated from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College with a degree in Finance and Political Science, and holds his Series 7 and Series 66 financial securities licenses. He is a co-founder and former member of the Emerging Leaders Board at Latino U, and a co-founder and member of the Young Professionals Alzheimer’s Council in the Hudson Valley. As a first-generation immigrant from Bolivia, he is passionate about helping other Hispanics who share a similar path. Rodrigo resides in Westchester, New York and enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new cuisines, working out, skiing, biking and playing soccer.

Ron Meraz serves as the Regional Director in Wealth on the West Coast, bringing over 30 years of elite wealth management and executive leadership experience to the role.

Previously, Ron was the Senior Managing Director and Market Executive for Merrill Lynch’s Palo Alto Market in Silicon Valley, focusing on advisor development and business growth. Before that, he spent several years in senior leadership at UBS Financial Services, notably as the Regional Director of the Southwest Region, where he oversaw 33 branches, approximately 825 Financial Advisors, and $100 billion in wealth management assets. He also served as the Managing Director for the Los Angeles
Market Area, managing $36.4 billion in client assets across seven branches, and as the Complex Director of Orange County, where his leadership earned him the Edward J. Connelly Leadership Award (2013) and Complex Director of the Year (2014).

Earlier in his tenure at Merrill Lynch, Ron held several pioneering roles, including Head of the Office of Diversity for Global Wealth Management, where he aligned diversity initiatives with GWM’s core business objectives. He also served as Head of the New York International Region, overseeing advisors across New York, California, and Israel, and managed the Pasadena and Newport Beach complexes, earning “Complex of the Year” honors at both. Ron began his career as a Merrill Lynch trainee in 1991, building a
successful practice serving the Hispanic community in California.

Deeply committed to community service, Ron has served on the Board of Governors for Chapman University and the boards of the Los Angeles and Orange County United Way, Girls Inc., and the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund. For the past 20 years, he has also served as a speaker and advisor to the National Hispanic Congressional Caucus on financial literacy. A native of the Coachella Valley, Ron earned his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California. He and his wife, Denise, have four children and reside in Pasadena, California.

One of life’s constants for Sheila E. comes down to a simple phrase: follow the beat. And her impeccable inner rhythm is the pulse behind a trailblazing career that still knows no bounds.

Family, faith and music were guiding forces for Sheila E. growing up in the Bay Area. In addition to percussionist dad Pete, the Oakland,CA native counts former Santana member/Azteca founder Coke Escovedo and The Dragons front man Mario Escovedo as uncles. Fellow Latin star Tito Puente was her godfather. In addition to being weaned on Latin jazz and Motown, Sheila E. was exposed to a diverse array of Bay Area acts. Those influences ranged from the rock of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead to the R&B/pop of the Pointer Sisters and the funk of Sly & the Family Stone. “I used to sit on the corner outside of the local community center with Twinkies and 7-Up listening to Sly and Larry Graham rehearse,” remembers Sheila E. “The sounds of the Bay Area molded me.”

So it’s no surprise that after such a music-immersive childhood, the gifted, world-class drummer and percussionist began amassing an impressive string of credits playing not only with her dad but also with pioneering talents like George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Prince, Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan, Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter behind the seminal
hits “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre.” A fearless multi-instrumentalist, equally proficient on guitar and bass, actress, mentor and philanthropist.

Following a Bay Area gig in the late ‘70s, Sheila E. met Prince backstage. Their Purple Rain recording sessions—including her vocals on the 1984 classic “Erotic City”— morphed into launching her solo career that same year. Debut album The Glamorous Life spun off the Grammy Award-nominated top 10 hit of the same name plus a second top 40 single “The Belle of St. Mark.” Between her ‘80s tenure as drummer, songwriter and musical director for Prince’s backup band, Sheila E. released two more solo albums (Romance 1600 and Shelia E.) and scored another classic hit with “A Love Bizarre.”

Sheila E.’s fierce, dynamic verve onstage has made her a major concert draw since the ‘90s. Along the way, she has acted in the films “Krush Groove”, “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”, “Chasing Papi” and launched various music projects (E-Train, C.O.E.D., E Family Band). She added to her arsenal of credits performing on the 2012 Academy Awards with pop hitmaker Pharrell Williams and composer Hans Zimmer. Sheila E. was also among the roster of stars chosen to perform at the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors whose honorees included artists Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel and Carlos Santana.

Sheila E.’s producing, arranging, and performance talents have been showcased throughout the music and film industry with appearances on, The Academy Awards, The Latin Grammy Awards, BET Awards, The American Music Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Summer Olympics, WOW Awards, ALMA’s, and The Image Awards just to name a few. In 2010 Sheila was nominated for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Music Direction” in recognition for her leadership as musical director for President Obama’s Performance at The White House: Fiesta Latina and again more recently in 2020 for “Let’s Go Crazy” Grammy Salute to Prince. Other projects, include The E Family

Now and Forever, Pete Escovedo Live at Stern Grove Festival with her father Pete Escovedo, and brothers Juan and Peter Michael Escovedo, Sheila E. Live from Lugano Switzerland DVD, Silk Road from the group Heavenese hailing from Japan, a literary biography released by Simon & Schuster Publishing Titled The Beat of My Own Drum, ICON Sheila’s 2014 solo album and the single release Girl Meets Boy in memory of the late, great, Prince. Her 2017 studio project and tour, ICONIC, was Sheila’s effort to bring awareness to social issues and humanitarianism. Her 2020 single releases, “No Line” with the legendary Snoop Dogg, “Lemon Cake” & “Bailar” are Sheila’s continued contribution to the music industry.

Away from the spotlight, music doubles as a source of healing and giving back for Sheila E. In tandem with the city of Oakland, she and her Elevate Hope organization staged the first annual “Elevate Oakland” benefit concert on Feb. 1, 2014. A host of Bay Area artists and other acclaimed musicians performed at the city-donated Fox Theatre. The goal: to raise funds to improve student academic achievement and attendance through music and arts programming. But this wasn’t Sheila E.’s first time giving back. Between gigs, she has also criss-crossed the country, speaking at schools and colleges, shelters, church organizations, music classes and clinics about music’s effect on her life and career. “Sharing music in any way I can is my ministry,” she says.

And that was part of the inspiration for penning the autobiography “The Beat of My Own Drum”. Playing a perceived male instrument and working in a male dominated industry exacted a personal price—several years ago Sheila E. publicly acknowledged she was an abuse survivor. “The book was the beginning of the healing”, says Sheila E. “I’d talked about working in a male-dominated industry in my ministry and addressed it in some of the song lyrics I’d written. But it was challenging to sit down and write about it in detail for the book. No one in my household told me I couldn’t play drums because I was a girl. It wasn’t until I was outside of the house and playing sessions. But through pain comes realization, understanding and the opportunity to help others overcome those
challenges”.

Sheila E. continues to produce and perform music throughout the world. As music fans across the globe recommit to live music again, the timing could not have been better for Sheila E. and the E- Train to drop the new album “Hella FonkE” and reignite stages everywhere. Sheila E., the “Queen of Percussion” adds another exciting notch to her prolific career as a recording artist, producer and musician extraordinaire.

E-Train was founded in the early 90s and reflected the more jazz nuanced side of Sheila’s compositions and artistry. Though renowned for her amazing R&B and pop career, before she was Sheila E., she was Sheila Escovedo, cutting her teeth as a child with her father, the latin jazz legend Pete Escovedo. This eventually led to gigs with George Duke and Herbie Hancock, among many other musical giants.

The Queen of Percussion plans to release more new music in 2023, in the process of completing her first ever Salsa project. Sheila E. is CEO of the entertainment company StilettoFlats Inc. located in Los Angeles California.

With no Google or YouTube artist script to follow back then, she says her career drive was propelled by one thing: “I just did it because I loved it. I started all this as Sheila Escovedo then became this persona named Sheila E. Now Sheila E. and Sheila Escovedo are the same person, still making music that comes from the heart.”

Solomon D. (“Sol”) Trujillo is a global business executive who has been recognized as a game changer and innovator for his transformation of three large market-cap global companies in three different corridors of the world (the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific). His leadership was recognized by Bloomberg naming Sol one of the 100 most influential Latinos, as well as more recently named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in philanthropy.

Known for his transformation, leadership, innovation, and performance, across different world cultures, and for driving unprecedented growth, he has led various sectors, including communications, media, and technology. He was a leader in the digitization of our lives, launching the first fixed-line broadband deployments, introducing the first version of the smart phone, and launching the world’s first nationwide national ultra-highspeed wireless broadband networks. His digital leadership resulted in Sol being named the First Digital Telco CEO by the U.S. Presidential Science Adviser.

With a focus on our nation’s economic growth in the 21st Century, Sol was the first to identify the U.S. Latino cohort through facts and data as the core engine of economic growth, which led to co-founding and chairing the Latino Donor Collaborative, where he was responsible for creating the first data centered think tank regarding the U.S. Latino cohort, focused on an accurate branding of the cohort’s economic importance.

Sol founded VELOCITY, the national business event focused on the 21st Century New Mainstream Economy, and highlighting the U.S. Latino cohort as the unique growth driver in our nation’s capitalist system.

Sol is recognized as the leading champion of U.S. Latinos in 21st Century America’s New Mainstream Economy and is a respected opinion leader on technology, business, and the global economy. He is frequently featured in leading publications such as TIME, Forbes, Barron’s, Wall Street Journal, and programs such as MSNBC and CNBC, presenting facts and data and insights regarding the U.S. Latino cohort and its economic growth leadership across our nation’s economy.

Trujillo is the founder of L’ATTITUDE VENTURES FUND, a purpose-led venture fund that invests in early stage US Latino and Latina-founders. He also chairs the Trujillo Group, LLC, investing in domestic and international private companies.

He has served on numerous global boards including Western Union, PepsiCo, Bank of America, EDS, Orange S.A., Telstra Group Limited, Gannett, US West, Target, Soufun (China), and WPP, formerly the world’s largest communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company.

Additional distinguished roles include Chairman and Founding Partner of New Cadence Productions, a U.S. television and film content creation studio, and Senior Advisor for Bain & Company Management Consulting. He is also a Member of the board of advisors at Stanford School of Medicine Center on Longevity.

Sol Trujillo served as a trade policy advisor to both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Trujillo was awarded the Ronald H. Brown Corporate Bridge Builder Award by President Clinton for creating opportunities for women and minorities. Among his many other global awards are:

2025 TIME100 Philanthropy 2025 Award
2024 OCHCC Estrella Lifetime Achievement Award
2023 TIME Magazine Latino Leaders Making an Impact Award
2022 Bloomberg 100 Most Influential Latinos Award
2019 Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) LEGADO Lifetime Achievement Award
2018 Hispanic Executive’s Top Ten Leaders of 2018 Award
2017 Silicon Valley Latino Leaders (SVVL) Lifetime Achievement Award
2016 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Lifetime Leadership Achievements Award
2008 CEO of the Year by Australian Telecom Magazine, in recognition of his
achievements in the privatization and transformation of Telstra
2013 National Hero of the Year Award by United States Hispanic Leadership Institute
2012 National Association of Corporate Directors Top 100 Directors Award

Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with family roots in the U.S. that date back to the early 1500’s, Mr. Trujillo holds a Bachelor of Science in business and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Wyoming with honorary doctorates from the University of Wyoming, the University of Colorado, Whittier College, and Miami Dade College. He currently resides in California.

Soni Jiandani is Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AMD Networking Technology and Solutions Group. She is responsible for AMD’s overall networking
strategy—specifically innovations in AI networking, new products, solution development, and winning new markets for AMD’s Data Processing Units and FinTech businesses.

Prior to AMD, Soni served as Chief Business Officer and Co-founder of Pensando Systems, which was acquired by AMD in June of 2022 and now operates as AMD’s Networking Solutions Group. Soni is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded and driven multiple startups through multi-billion-dollar technology transitions as part of Silicon Valley’s legendary MPLS team.

Soni was born and raised in India and holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of London. She and her husband have two children and currently reside
in California. Throughout her career she has continuously evangelized and supported women as leaders in the technology sector, regularly.

‭Steven Wolfe Pereira founded Alpha to solve a critical problem: most boards are governing AI‬ transformation without the frameworks, intelligence, or peer networks they need to make sound‬ ‭fiduciary decisions.‬

Alpha delivers what directors actually use: proprietary governance intelligence, executive-level AI‬ ‭education, and access to the most AI-experienced board members navigating similar challenges.‬ ‭Our clients include public and private company boards facing AI decisions that will define their‬ competitive position and regulatory exposure for the next decade.‬

Wolfe Pereira brings relevant operating experience: 25+ years driving technology transformation,‬ including $5+ billion in strategic transactions as Chief Marketing Officer at AI-first companies‬ ‭Datalogix (acquired by Oracle, $1.2B) and Neustar (acquired by Golden Gate Capital, $3B). His‬ ‭executive leadership spans Publicis Groupe, TelevisaUnivision, Quantcast, and co-founding the‬ ‭award-winning edtech company Encantos. He began in private equity at Blackstone Group and‬ Salomon Smith Barney and started his technology career in 1999 joining Akamai Technologies in‬ their network infrastructure engineering group.‬

‭
Currently serving as an independent board director at the Latino Community Foundation, Save the‬ Children, and Whalar, Steven understands governance challenges from both an experienced operator‬ ‭and the boardroom perspective. His AI governance insights have been featured in major business‬ ‭publications, and LinkedIn named him a Top Voice.

‭
Education: Fulbright Scholar, Tufts University B.A., MIT Sloan Executive MBA, Stanford Directors’‬ Consortium.

‭
Specialties: Board Advisory & Corporate Strategy; AI Governance & Risk Assessment; AI, Data &‬ emerging technologies; Go-to-market Revenue, Marketing & Communications.‬

 Tomás Mier is a Mexican American music journalist and digital creator who focuses on pop and Latin music. He recently worked as a staff writer at Rolling Stone and contributes to publications including Variety, ELLE, the Hollywood Reporter, PAPER, and Vogue Mexico. As a digital creator, Mier leverages his pop culture expertise and industry access to produce dynamic storytelling and high-profile artist interviews directly for his social media platforms. He is currently developing the podcast The Stan and the Star, where stan culture meets star power in playful, unfiltered interviews. Beyond his editorial and digital work, Mier frequently hosts artist conversations at the Grammy Museum and wrote the book, Madonna: Into the Groove.

Valeria Piaggio is Global Leader for Inclusive Growth at Kantar, advising some of the world’s leading organizations on where growth is coming from next. A strategist, futurist and consumer insights expert, she has spent more than two decades anticipating shifts in culture, technology and consumer behavior and translating them into stronger brands, deeper customer relationships and business growth.

Valeria has long been at the forefront of understanding the economic and cultural power of the U.S. Hispanic market. Her work has surfaced emerging sources of influence, including the growing power of Latinas, helping businesses recognize opportunities early and act on them.

She also leads Kantar’s award-winning Brand Inclusion Index and is Founder and President of Good AI, a nonprofit working to democratize access to AI by making the knowledge, tools and resources shaping our future accessible to more people and communities.

An educator and sought-after international speaker, Valeria brings a distinctive ability to see around corners, connect cultural and technological change to business growth, and help leaders act on what comes next.

Victor leads P&G’s Research & Development (R&D) organization, global innovation program and strategy, transforming how we innovate, leading consumer-first absolute superiority and leveraging our world-class scientific mastery to accelerate our pace of innovation and growth. He leads the nearly $2 billion annual investment in R&D and end -to-end package transformation, recently expanding his responsibilities to lead P&G’s Global Beauty R&D’s transformation and organization. He also serves as liaison to the Board of Director’s Innovation and Technology Committee.

Victor brings over three decades of leadership and experience spanning three continents, and across Fabric and Baby Care, Future Works and Corporate R&D. As a long-time leader in Fabric Care, Victor led innovation that accelerated growth through a commitment to superiority, collaboration, agility and consumer-inspired solutions. And, most recently in Corporate R&D where he made an immediate impact, accelerating the value and pace of our Disruptive Platform Innovation Program Technologies across multiple businesses.

Victor is a visionary business leader with a pragmatic approach, adept at creating consumer and customer innovation programs that foster cross-functional collaboration for superior outcomes. Victor cultivates a culture where innovation thrives. His deep commitment to continuous learning, empowering R&D Innovators, and his growth-oriented mindset enables him to break barriers and develop new capabilities that will ensure we continue to win through best-in-class innovation.
Victor is a passionate advocate of equality and inclusion in the workplace, fostering a culture where respect, inclusion and differences are embraced and fundamental to how we understand and serve our consumers around the world.

Vincent J. Lumia serves as Managing Director and Head of Wealth Management Client Segments at Morgan Stanley. Overseeing businesses across Advisor-led, Workplace, Institutional and Digital Direct, Vince is responsible for ensuring that the needs of wealth management clients are met at any stage of their advice journey, deepening relationships across all client segments and supporting Financial Advisors as they grow their practices.

Prior to his current role, Vince served as Head of Field Management, where he led the Firm’s network of Financial Advisors across ~600 branches, including the Branch Service organization, Private & International Wealth Management, Strategic Client Management and Business Development and Field Training. Vince has also previously held roles as Head of Private Wealth Management and Head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Capital Markets.

Vince first joined Morgan Stanley in 1999 as a Financial Advisor before moving to the Fixed Income Division in 2004, where he held several sales management positions. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he worked for Thomson Financial.

Vince is a member of Morgan Stanley’s Firm Management Committee.

He earned a B.S. from Fordham University and lives in Cold Spring Harbor with his wife, Michelle, and their four children.

From the streets to the suites, Will brings a history of big ideas and big cultural moments as a visionary Founder of Hyphenated. A graffiti artist at 12, he designed album artwork for Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg at 16 before creating industry-defining work from Apple iPod Silhouettes to the “Straight Outta” meme generator for Beats. He is one of the most sought-after creative leaders in our industry, backed by all the awards he’s collected throughout his career. His track record of creating impact along the way, for brands including Nike, Apple, Levi’s, Rayban, Pepsi, and Converse has led to repeat business from leading marketers. As a Chief Creative Officer, he continues to guide C-suites, inspire culture and create resonance for brands that seek long-term value creation.

Yanina Oyarzo is a bilingual Latina host and creator known for candid, culturally fluent conversations with the women shaping beauty, business, and culture. As founder and voice of the podcast Similarly Different, she interviews founders, creatives, and industry leaders, turning real dialogue into her signature. Working across Los Angeles and Miami, Yanina moves seamlessly between beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, partnering with major brands while commanding stages as a live host and moderator. On stage, she pairs warmth with sharp, incisive questions that get guests to say what they actually think. Yanina amplifies Latina voices and builds unapologetically in the female-forward space.