RAMIRO CAVAZOS WAS BORN IN McAllen, Texas, and raised in Weslaco in the Rio Grande Valley. His grandparents, one of the pioneer families who settled Weslaco in 1919, founded one of the town's first grocery stores.

While his parents both attended college, he was the first child in his generation to graduate from college.

Ramiro was fortunate to grow up the oldest of four children. His father was a rancher, farmer, and elected official, and his mother was a bookkeeper for an automobile dealer and later an aloe vera producer and distributor, and they were considered a middle‐income family. Ramiro was able to attend college based on an academic scholarship he received from the University of Texas at Austin. He also received a little bit of financial help from his parents and worked part‐time while attending school.

Ramiro's biggest obstacle to getting to college and succeeding was that he did not have a strong network of high school classmates to lean on for support when he moved away to go to college. He felt that he did not have a core group of friends from growing up that allowed him to have a foundation of support as he progressed through life.

Ramiro was able to complete his undergraduate degree in three years by receiving additional credit for certain coursework and attending summer school in between semesters.

Ramiro's parents raised their children to be hard workers and to never give up, and therefore he was able to keep moving forward in spite of any challenges.

There is no question that there is a widening gap between the “haves” and “have‐nots” in America's economy. Because of this, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) is working hard to create wealth and prosperity for close to 5 million Hispanic‐owned businesses.

Many of our communities in the United States live in low‐income communities with limited means and resources, and many live in areas where it is difficult to access quality food, capital, or the internet. The digital divide has become wider because of the impact of COVID‐19 on the economy and the lack of investment by corporate and political leaders who have not prioritized Latino communities' needs and strengths.

In fact, many school districts and local municipal governments overseen by Hispanic leaders have limited their budgets, typically targeting education and basic municipal services, and allocated funds to the construction of cell phone and internet towers. Public housing authorities have also made investments to expand digital and internet resources for young people who live with their parents or grandparents in public housing so that they may have access to high‐speed internet and Wi‐Fi in order for them to do their homework or for their parents to apply for jobs or to run their own start‐up businesses where there hasn't been access to the internet in the past.

The COVID‐19 pandemic coincided with the harsh winter weather in 2021 and a year of significant civil rights protests that all combined to expose the disparities that exist within American communities for Hispanic and low‐income Americans, who struggle with basic needs, such as access to healthcare, affordable housing, good jobs, good education, and access to the internet and digital resources, including laptops and computers.

In order to be at the decision‐making table, more Latinos and Latinas need to serve on city councils, housing authority boards, school district boards, city boards/commissions, and higher offices in order to be at the decision‐making table where investments in technological equipment are being made using public dollars. These leaders can help to prioritize inner‐city neighborhoods, older commercial corridors, predominantly Hispanic residential areas, and low‐income markets that need allies and champions in the seats of power at all levels – not just local, but also state and federal – in order to make decisions that prioritize the needs of Hispanic communities. Ramiro would also encourage more Latinos and Latinas to consider running for elected office, where we are widely underrepresented at the local, state, and federal levels.

Ramiro represents the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as its president and CEO. It is a very proud national network of more than 260 Hispanic Chambers of Commerce that are located across the country … from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Rhode Island … from Seattle, Washington, to Puerto Rico … and from the state of Wisconsin bordering Canada all the way to the magical Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.

Each of these Hispanic Chambers serves as an economic oasis of information and opportunity for the more than 5 million Hispanic‐owned businesses in each of their areas. All of these businesses and Hispanic Chambers are working hard to increase the number of contracts awarded to Latino entrepreneurs from Fortune 1000 companies, the U.S. government purchasing programs, and local and regional marketplaces. These businesses represent uniquely talented, multilingual, and ambitious Hispanics who wish to be successful. These entrepreneurs understand that they need to compete on a global scale through international trade, including imports and exports.

Prior to COVID‐19, many of these small businesses were challenged by not being invited to be at the important tables where decision making and authority are shared. Because of COVID and the need to survive with limited access to capital, many of these businesses have reinvented themselves and have adjusted in order to operate in new digital, virtual, and changing marketplaces. This evolution has been brought about by the pandemic, systemic race and discrimination challenges, climate change, infrastructure hurdles, and the growing gap in broadband access.

The USHCC is working hard to open doors of opportunity with Fortune 1000 firms and the U.S. government and leverage private sector resources to reinvest directly to small Hispanic Business Enterprises (HBEs) through capital grants, supporting our Hispanic Chambers through chamber support grants, and utilizing our website by providing technical assistance and helpful guidelines to access Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) resources and many other tools that can augment the availability of capital and broadband/technology/Wi‐Fi access in order to be more competitive during these challenging virtual times.

Ramiro indicated that there are three main opportunities needed for Latinos and Latinas to succeed in growing their businesses and creating wealth and prosperity as hardworking entrepreneurs in America.

The number‐one need for any business, especially Latino and Latina‐owned businesses, is access to diverse capital through debt, equity, and other types of investment/financing. Historically, our businesses have not been awarded access to loans at the same percentage as non‐Latino‐owned businesses, which we work hard every day to improve through our relationships with America's large financial institutions, community banks, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank, financial technology firms (fintechs), community lenders, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and other institutions.

The second area of greatest need to grow Hispanic businesses is access to a competitive environment with Fortune 1000 firms, the U.S. government's purchases, and through free trade without tariffs through importing and exporting products and services to an international customer base. Latino‐ and Latina‐owned businesses have not been given the same opportunities to have access to contracts and business from many of the same buyers of goods and services as compared to non‐Latino‐owned businesses. There is availability and a high level of talent and customer service among Hispanic entrepreneurs, and they must be given the same place at the corporate and U.S. government tables where decision‐makers of all types of purchases embrace Hispanic‐owned businesses.

The third opportunity that is needed to grow Latino‐ and Latina‐owned businesses is capacity building, training, mentorship, and coaching. Historically, non‐Latino and Latina‐owned businesses have not had the access to resources that provide support systems, mentorship, and inherited relationships. These businesses must be given the same tools and the ability to use them by the same support systems that have traditionally rewarded businesses throughout this country seeking to achieve the American dream.

These three components are necessary for any business to grow. At the USHCC, Ramiro indicated that they are working hard to make the connections, to provide more capital, and build more capacity for our Latino and Latina‐owned businesses through this programming.

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND COVID: A TALE OF TWO REALITIES

The pandemic of 2020, which has extended into 2021, has laid bare a tale of two realities: the inequities of U.S. society. It is a time to contemplate Esther Aguilera's humble, immigrant roots and the reality of today's families, struggling to make ends meet while trying to live with dignity during a pandemic. At the same time, there is a resolve to persevere with the strength of Latino values and ethos.

Esther's immigrant story is a tale of two lands. Esther came to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico. Her mother hired a coyote to facilitate their travel across the border to the United States. Esther was four years old and one of six children; her mother sought to bring the family together with Esther's father, who was applying for U.S. citizenship at the time. After they crossed the border, they reunited with her father, and she was raised in San Fernando, California.

Esther's father's mother, Rufina Perez, was a U.S. citizen from Colorado. Her family had lived in Colorado for many generations, from the time before it became a part of the United States. Esther's grandmother married a Mexican national, Bernardino Aguilera, and, just as the Great Depression set in, following the market crash of 1929, her husband was deported. She was forced to choose between staying with her family in Colorado or leaving her country to join her husband on his journey back to Mexico. They were swept up as part of the Mexican Repatriation, “a mass deportation of Mexicans and Mexican‐Americans from the United States between 1929 and 1936. Estimates of how many were repatriated range from 400,000 to 2,000,000. An estimated 60 percent of those deported were birthright citizens of the United States,” as reported in Wikipedia. Based on historical accounts “many Mexicans and U.S. citizens of Mexican origin endured “harassment, beatings, and heavy‐handed tactics.”

In short, although Esther's father had a legitimate claim to citizenship, there was a process that lasted more than 10 years before he secured citizenship that allowed her mother, as well as all six children, to obtain green cards.

Esther and her five siblings formed close ties as their father labored in landscaping and their mother took jobs as an occasional worker in the garment industry to make ends meet. While times were tough, her family did not access public assistance or food stamps even after they attained residency. Public education and free school lunches helped them get by. The desire to advance is what drove all six Aguilera children to complete college. Esther studied public policy at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, before landing her first job in Washington, DC.

In Esther's 30‐year career in Washington, DC she had the distinct honor of working alongside the nation's most powerful leaders of every sector, from members of Congress to cabinet members to national nonprofit and association leaders and to top corporate executives, as well as organizing meetings and events with U.S. presidents.

Esther's path to Washington, DC, was unexpected. After graduating from Occidental College with distinction with a public policy major, she landed her first job as a policy associate with the Nation Council of La Raza in 1990 (now known as UnidosUS). For Esther's next role, she worked at the U.S. Capital for six years, starting as legislative assistant and then as executive director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – the entity at the seat of power in the nation's Capital. To say that she felt the “imposter's syndrome” is an understatement. She was an immigrant girl, not yet a citizen but a permanent resident, driving the legislative agenda to advance opportunities and equity for Latinos in all social, business, and economic spheres of policy.

Esther mentions that she was not exposed to politics or economic markets at the kitchen table while growing up. The Latino characteristics of resiliency and adapting were helpful yet again in enabling her to learn quickly, on the job, with top leaders all around her to learn from.

A consistent thread in Esther's personal and professional pursuits has been a commitment to elevating Latinos to positions of power and helping them to claim their seats at the decision‐making table.

For 11 years, Esther led the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) as president and CEO. CHCI is known as the nation's premier Latino youth leadership development organization, providing hands‐on paid internships, fellowships, and week‐long training at the seat of power in the nation's Capital for high school, college, and graduate students. During her tenure, she tripled the organization's operating funds, including leading a capital campaign that raised $7 million toward the purchase of the headquarters building. The increase in funds meant that CHCI reached more students. While it once served 50 students annually, at the time by her departure in 2015, the organization had 1,600 students involved in various leadership programs annually.

Today, as president and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), Esther exercises her influence with some of the most powerful companies by bringing together accomplished executives at the pinnacle of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom. Her focus is to drive an increase in the representation of Latinos at the decision‐making tables of corporate America.

Esther is on a mission to connect qualified Latinos with forward‐thinking companies with a business case: No company can be effectively governed without Latinos at the decision‐making table. Latinos are the current and future customers of companies as well as the employees driving their business success, and their numbers are only growing. If a company is not connected and engaged, it is losing market share.

The number of Latinos on boards is small, only 2.2 percent of the board seats among the Russell 3000 Index publicly traded companies, far behind the community's nearly 20 percent representation in the total U.S. population. Esther states that she continues to hear the excuse that companies can't find qualified Latinos. With a growing LCDA network, there is proof of an ample supply, and that excuse no longer applies.

Latino leaders of nonprofit organizations are the unsung heroes of our nation. Rarely is this talented cohort of leaders recognized by the mainstream nonprofit sector for their exceptional strategic and results‐focused organizational missions. Many Latino nonprofit leaders build multifaceted organizations that drive social change.

Esther has been at the intersection of public, private, nonprofit, and government sectors and draws on the vast opportunities and strategies to leverage growth and impact for the Hispanic population. All in all, she brings three decades of experience to organizations focused on gaining recognition for the growing Hispanic population of the United States and ensuring that members of that group attain positions of leadership.

One of the biggest obstacles to success is access to foundational resources and investments to build the nonprofit institutions that support the advancement of U.S. Latinos, the second largest demographic group in the nation, and make America strong.

The discussion about the digital divide today is also a tale of two realities. The differences have been exacerbated by the devastating impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The economic standing of Black and Brown communities was impacted disproportionately by the global financial crisis of 2008. They were barely rebounding when the COVID‐19 pandemic hit, devastating the economy, lives, and livelihoods. Again, Brown and Black communities have experienced a disproportionate impact.

Pandemics know no borders or county lines. COVID‐19 has been an equal opportunity destroyer. In 2020, the Latino Corporate Directors Association teamed up with McKinsey & Company to report on “the impact of COVID on the lives and livelihood of U.S. Latinos.”

According to the McKinsey September 2020 report, U.S. Latinos have borne a disproportionate share of the pandemic's health and economic damage. Why? The report found that Latinos are more likely to work in essential roles and more likely to know people who have suffered or died from the disease. As a result, according to the analysis by McKinsey:

• Latinos are also about three times as likely to be infected with COVID‐19.
• Latinos account for 51.3 percent of deaths from the disease.
• Latinos are 1.5 to 2 times more at risk of economic disruption. The economic consequences of COVID‐19 will likely disrupt all stages of Latinos' wealth‐building journey.
• The five business sectors most affected by the pandemic also represent almost 50 percent of revenues for Hispanic‐ and Latino‐owned businesses.

Esther was contemplating what her experience would be like if she were in her teenage years in the current pandemic times, and living in the difficult socioeconomic conditions of the California barrio of San Fernando. Her father's seasonal landscaping job meant that winters were times of scarcity – of food, heat, and rent money. The eight members of the family lived in a two‐bedroom, one‐bath rental. The socioeconomic conditions of this kind of upbringing are a reality for many families and teenagers today.

First, in terms of education, even with free Wi‐Fi access and a Google Chrome book provided by her school, Esther cannot imagine having the space and privacy for six siblings to meaningfully participate in their different classes every day. Public libraries were few and, based on a Google search today, three of four free public libraries in San Fernando were temporarily closed during the pandemic. Plus, Latino households have higher rates of multigenerational living arrangements, bringing babies, youth, parents, and grandparents under one roof, causing even higher levels of noise and chaos.

Esther indicates that if she were a student today, a teen with low self‐esteem, signing in virtually for class from home, it would cause agony and distress. She would have been mortified to share her home surroundings, knowing that the overcrowded living quarters would be on full view. Money was so stretched that new clothes were a luxury.

With so many social pressures on teenagers today, Esther worries that the high rate of suicides among teens has only increased in a time of distance isolation, social‐media unreality, and self‐loathing and shame about meager living conditions.

Parentology cited a study from the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) that concluded that children and adolescents are experiencing higher rates of depression and anxiety resulting from the required isolation and loneliness of COVID‐19. “Adolescence has always been a risky time, but the latest CDC survey shows teen suicide rates, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation are on the rise … Throw a pandemic into the throes of adolescence and you have a recipe for anxiety, stress, and possible suicide risk,” notes Jenny Heitz, the author of the article.

A pre‐COVID, 2018 HipLatina article cited the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2015 survey on youth high‐risk behavior, which reported that “15 percent of Latina adolescents in the U.S. have attempted suicide. That number is much higher when compared to 9.8 percent and 10.2 percent for white and black female teens, respectively. Furthermore, almost 26 percent of Latina teens considered suicide.”

What is more, for Latino citizens over 65, with even less knowledge and connection to the internet, access to COVID vaccines poses a huge threat. Seniors must rely on finding and registering to receive the vaccine, which requires long hours of maneuvering through a website. One advantage for elders in multigenerational homes is that their grandchildren may help them to navigate, in their view, the “wild‐wide‐web.”

Even with the chaos and devastation, the Latino spirit and resiliency stands the test of time in weathering the tale of two realities. The road to recovery in the United States leads through Latino communities, the economic engine of the economy. Latinos not only count for 2 of every 10 Americans, the population is growing on an average of 1 million year‐over‐year. Latinos contribute 25 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and represent 82 percent of new entrants to the workforce, making them drivers of U.S. economic growth and productivity.

Jesus grew up in Granada, Spain, and was a first‐generation university graduate in his family. He began working as a technology consultant in the south of Spain at age 13, while still in high school. The career he chose wasn't taught at any university in the south of Spain, so he had to leave his family home and move to Madrid at the age of 17. His parents worked hard to save enough to fund Jesus's six‐year university degree. Fortunately, he grew up in Spain, where the public education system was very good, and his university tuition was less than $500 per year; the main cost for him was the cost of living in an unfamiliar city.

Hispanics represent 18.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet only 4 percent of the executive ranks. Hispanics are the fastest growing and youngest minority in the United States. And yet despite the advantages of size, power, and youth there is still a huge lack of Hispanic leaders.

IBM has created P‐TECH schools, where students earn combined high school and associate degrees in technology. P‐TECH includes 77 U.S. school districts that are predominantly Hispanic. Jesus personally increased his commitment to advocate for making Hispanic diversity a business imperative by mentoring Hispanics, advancing them to leadership positions, and investing in Hispanic entrepreneurs.

Jesus stresses that we all have a responsibility to support Hispanic education, workforce opportunities, and leadership, not only for the benefit of Hispanics but for the entire country. Jesus believes that when we work to help this generation do well, it will lift economic opportunity for everyone – not only Hispanics. No other demographic can pick up the slack if we don't. Success may require that we make these issues not only Hispanic issues but broader U.S. societal and economic issues, including more allies in the actions.

Jesus is a senior managing partner in IBM Global Business Services, a $17 billion unit of IBM. He is responsible for global strategy, offering portfolio and corporate development, and he also focuses on technologies that impact society, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. Jesus cochairs IBM's Hispanic Diversity Council, which promotes programs around education, mentorship, and creating advancement opportunities for Hispanics. Jesus is also a board member at Biogen, Inc., a S&P 500 biotechnology company, and serves in the World Economic Forum Global AI Council.

In Jesus's view there are two critical skills that fuel the digital age: data science (including AI) and design.

Data is the fuel that powers the modern digital transformations – and data science is the fundamental skillset required to understand, manage, and benefit from that fuel. If data is the fuel, AI is the engine, and therefore data science includes both the preparation and understanding of the data, as well as the algorithms that create value from it.

Design is at the heart of optimizing the human‐technology interfaces, to ensure that people adopt and benefit from technology. Tons of data and algorithms without proper design that ensures adoption and application often don't succeed.

Jesus credits education, mentors, family, role models, and luck as the factors that contributed to his success, and research shows this is a common set of factors for others as well. In each of these areas, many Latinxs have obstacles:

• On the topic of education, not every Latinx can afford – or is interested in – a college degree, but that should not be a limiting factor for them to learn and practice the skills that will make them successful in technology jobs. A few models are emerging, like P‐TECH, and persuading tech companies to hire for skills and not for degrees, but much more needs to be done.
• Mentoring is an area that most mention as a key to success, but in Jesus's view there are two obstacles: Latinxs are less mentored than other communities in the United States, and even those who have a mentor are typically “over‐mentored bur under‐sponsored.” Active advocacy and sponsorship is a critical obstacle to hiring more Hispanics in technology roles.
• Family environment is a key influence on young Hispanics' choices and successes in jobs and careers, and therefore the limited penetration of Latinxs in technology companies perpetuates a limited family influence for the next generations.
• Role models create belief and inspire people to aim high. The lack of role models in the eyes of Latinx puts them on a disadvantage as they “can't be what they can't see.” The Latinx community needs more relatable role models, inspiring graduates to lean into technology careers.

Jesus tells us that if our economy is to thrive, we need increased representation in leadership roles across all industries – and definitely in technology.

As part of its research into people and development, the IBM Institute for Business Value recently surveyed Hispanics in the United States. One key finding is that professional advancement opportunities have played a crucial role in helping senior Hispanic executives achieve their success. But the survey also shows that younger leaders are not getting those advancement opportunities:

• Only 30 percent of junior managers say they have access to mentorship programs or on‐the‐job training.
• Only 20 percent say they are empowered to overcome their professional challenges.
• Most worrying, 67 percent say that they have to work harder to succeed because of their Hispanic identity.

The most important action we need to take is to make Hispanic representation a clear business priority, with operational accountability, and prepare Hispanic communities for the future of work, taking into account the inherent diversity of the Hispanic and Latino populations in the United States, and personalizing the engagement programs to “meet Latinos where they are” in their journeys.

This is the link to the full study: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/hispanic-talent-advantage.

Victor Arias grew up in El Paso, Texas, as a child of the second generation in the United States, which he mentions doesn't count for much in El Paso. Many families maintain their traditional language and customs. Victor grew up speaking Spanish as his first language with many costumbres (customs) mexicanas queridas. A large extended family also mean lots of misas (church masses), celebraciones (celebrations), taquizas, canciones (songs), and so on.

Victor was a first‐generation college student and went to UTEP in El Paso, which kept the family intact (Victor feels, as many others do, that the close‐knit family can be an obstacle initially for many Latinos). Victor was fortunate to succeed academically and always knew he wanted something more, and had his eye on graduate school – although he wasn't sure what that meant. La mano de Dios (the hand of God) guided him to a conference room where he met the assistant admissions director to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, who convinced him to apply. Victor received his acceptance while working at a bank (he worked as a secretary), and the rest is history. Victor told the credit manager, his boss, who after getting over his incredulity, told the bank president, who called Victor into his office. There are many guardian angels along life's path and Art Gonzales was one of those.

The president of the bank asked Jesus lots of questions and finally felt he had permission to give some advice. He proposed that even though Jesus had the opportunity to go straight to Stanford upon graduation from UTEP, he could defer the guaranteed admission for two years and start working in the management training program at the bank in the meantime. Eventually, Victor took over the credit manager role prior to heading off to Stanford, and Victor is convinced that this experience propelled him to greater heights and also to complete an MBA at Stanford.

After earning his MBA at Stanford, Victor took a job at the Houston headquarters of the same bank that he started with in El Paso. After one and a half years and the birth of a new baby son, Victor was recruited by LaSalle Partners in Chicago. Among about one hundred employees, Victor was the first Latino and probably one of three people of color in the company. He recalls that it was a fantastic experience and that he learned a great deal. One of those lessons was how to become chameleon‐like and change himself to match different situation. Victor felt he couldn't be his Latino self. Whenever Victor ran into a Latino‐looking person in a suit in the financial district, he would stop him and engage in conversation.

It was then that Victor met another gentleman in Houston who was establishing the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. They recruited other founders and completed the formation of the organization and secured its nonprofit 501(c)(3) status. After one and a half years of meetings, they kicked off the organization. Victor was in charge of chapter development and also ran the first five national conferences. Victor then became the national president and asked LaSalle Partners to donate office space, which they kindly agreed to.

The national office remained there until about 1992, when it was relocated to Dallas. Victor also relocated to Dallas in 1993 but kept his distance to allow others the opportunity to get involved and take leadership roles. Victor has stayed tangentially involved and has been helping the current CEO with advice and some webinars on preparing for board service for the group's members.

In many respects, Latinos have led the way in the adoption of technology, especially with mobile technology, where they overindex in usage. This has opened up once unattainable areas of communication and data where Latinos previously experienced real challenges. However, mobile phones are the tip of the untouched iceberg. Laptops and desktops are the key tools utilized all the way up the food chain, from very young preschoolers to corporate executives. The ability to innovate around data and technology is the norm today, and yet Latinos have been left behind. The reasons for this range from lack of internet connectivity to the costs of acquiring cutting‐edge technology and tools, which can be prohibitive. The key to fixing this is to pressure telecom and connectivity companies to provide more and better service to underserved areas and also to convince consumer‐tech companies to create much broader access for underserved communities in an effort to train more of the nation's future workforce. After all, Latinos represent the largest sector of growth for the future workforce. Last, the largest economic opportunity for all companies is the consumption potential of Latinos … which should be a great motivation for companies to get on board.

Latinos are shareholders, board members, and influencers who can “educate” these companies and convince them to take appropriate actions.

Jesus advises, “Be the best at what you do! You can't be everything to everybody so don't try to be something you're not. In that vein, be the top subject matter expert in your company and also tie back your activities to the revenue stream of the company. How do you influence revenue growth?

“Touch the money! Nothing wrong with staff roles but they are normally looked at with ‘cost center’ lenses. Instead, go create tangible revenue for your enterprise.

“Get heavily involved with nonprofit boards and not just as board members but as leading them or leading committees. You will get noticed by others who are already on corporate boards or influence their decisions.”

Thaddeus Arroyo's life has been an interesting and often unexpected journey. He never could have anticipated being where he is today. His father emigrated from Spain and his mother is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Thaddeus was born in San Francisco and spent most of his formative years in the Dallas area. As a naturalized U.S. citizen, his father instilled in him a sense of responsibility for embracing all of the opportunities this country afforded, such as a public education.

After high school, Thaddeus chose to pursue a college degree in mathematics and computer science, placing a bet on the skills he believed would be the most relevant in the future. One of the obstacles he faced was this decision and need to embrace and welcome the unknown. He took a calculated risk and invested himself in becoming a first‐generation college graduate with the expectation that a technology career would one day help him provide for a family.

When Thaddeus graduated from high school, students didn't have easy access to computers. He chose to pursue a career in information technology without having grown up with a computer in his house. Over the past several decades there has been tremendous progress in creating hard‐to‐imagine experiences enabled by businesses connecting to consumers in ever‐evolving ways. Thaddeus considers it an honor to be a part of this digital evolution.

Thaddeus states that the nation's industries must work to expand affordable access to these networks and to all those who need access to gain competitive employment, to learn and to engage in digitally relevant ways. Thaddeus believes we must open new doors to digitally fueled experiences for communities – including the entire Latinx community. Those looking to be part of this change must lean in and make their voices heard. The best way to be at the decision‐making table is to share how the power of connectivity has positively impacted each person's life and can do the same for others.

It's also important to understand that our modern economy requires new skills as we move deep into the heart of the fourth industrial revolution. In 2016, the World Economic Forum noted that in many industries and countries, the most in‐demand occupations or specialties did not exist 10 or even 5 years ago. Furthermore, 65 percent of the jobs that Latinos may do in the future don't even exist today.

Thaddeus has seen first‐hand the truly disruptive nature that connecting people to the internet can have on society. Mobile internet via cell phone technology has served as an engine for economic growth in the United States. Mobile is the potential that emerges in virtually any connected society.

Thaddeus has always been passionate about technology and aspired to be in a position where he could one day make positive, meaningful impact in his career, like so many who invested in his development.

Thaddeus started his career in the IT department of Southwestern Bell, which was located in the building just across the street from his office today. Soon after, he worked at Sabre Corporation, where he gained valuable experience in both technology and business operations. This propelled his career journey into leadership roles, where he was fortunate to have the opportunity to hold diverse executive positions, including CIO of Cingular Wireless, CIO of AT&T, CEO of AT&T Mexico, and CEO of AT&T Business, before becoming CEO of AT&T Consumer.

Throughout these experiences, Thaddeus found that leaders must innovate and evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers and teams in order to maintain relevancy and find success. One way to do this is by establishing a set of fundamental values and then putting them into action. These values start with fostering an inclusive culture so that you have diverse perspectives that reflect and represent the customers you serve. Thaddeus is proud of the work AT&T has done in this area.

Creating an inclusive culture that is diverse in backgrounds, experience, and thought is truly a never‐ending journey. As Latino lives continue to shift to an increasingly digitally driven world, we're able to unlock more opportunities to engage in diversity and inclusion through the power of instant connectivity. Businesses must tap into these capabilities to fully realize their inclusivity aspirations.

Thaddeus feels fortunate to be part of a diverse community of organizations making meaningful changes for the communities they serve. He serves on the board of directors of Global Payments as Director and Technology Committee Chair. He is also honored to serve on the board of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and SMU Cox School of Business Executive Advisory Board. Additionally, he also serves as a trustee for the Dallas Museum of Art.

Hispanic leaders continue to emerge as prominent figures throughout corporate America. A key part of being a business leader is managing the moments that matter to your teams, customers, and the communities you identify with and serve. This is especially true when facing adversity. Adversity gives leaders a chance to build confidence and engagement with teams as well as an opportunity to grow your business by leaning into change and embracing disruptive capabilities. The Latinx community has demonstrated a unique ability to embrace change and digitally driven experiences. This capability is critical to being able to innovate and lead in the moments that matter.

Success begins with saying “yes” to new challenges. Thaddeus believes Latinos need to catch themselves when fear or uncertainty arise. This is something Thaddeus has faced in his career with every shift that seemed unnatural or uncomfortable. Anyone aspiring to grow their career should remember that success is less about being the leader and more about magnifying individual strengths within the team. It's about empowering people and making sure they feel understood, valued, and appreciated.

Since 1996, U.S. broadband providers have invested nearly $2 trillion to connect Hispanic communities. Over the past five years (2016–2020), AT&T's total investment in the United States, including capital investment and acquisitions of spectrum and wireless operations, was more than $105 billion.

This private investment has provided most American consumers good experiences over some of the world's best connectivity networks. Today, even more people are working and learning from home. Society has seen the emergence of the largest remote workforce and education system in the history of the world. This all happened in response to a global pandemic. This has forever changed the relevancy for connectivity. The increased number of digitally enhanced and digital‐first experiences has created a growing need for reliable high‐speed connectivity. However, today's networks don't reach everyone, and it will take multiple industries as well as the government working together to solve this challenge.

AT&T supports the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC's) efforts to expand broadband access to many parts of rural America through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and Digital Opportunity Data Collection. AT&T is also committed to growing affordable access to broadband connectivity for all customers and all communities.

When he was young, Thaddeus's mother shared a simple motto with him – sin limites. To her, it means never limiting your opportunities with self‐imposed perceptions or barriers that can ultimately be overcome. Over the years, Thaddeus would like to believe that he has incorporated this belief into his own leadership style and the lessons he has shared with others. Thaddeus thinks this phrase could serve as a powerful mantra for many. As technology and connectivity remove the physical barriers of our world, the only limits that begin to exist are the limits that we place upon ourselves or upon our teams, based on our own self‐perceived limitations.

Myrna Soto was born in North Miami and grew up primarily in a blue‐collar Cuban exile community named Hialeah in southern Florida. Myrna's father is Cuban, and her mother is Puerto Rican. Myrna is a first‐generation college graduate. Myrna was the first person in her family to graduate from college and was blessed to succeed in earning a BA from Florida International University, and a Master of Science degree and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. There were many obstacles for Myrna on her journey, beginning with her education in a blue‐collar public school where most, if not all, of her classmates were Hispanic, and the school did not have a reputation that would draw the attention of universities.

Myrna is proud to say that during her time at Hialeah High School she had the ability to take Honors and AP classes that set the stage for her college acceptance. Twenty‐five or more years later, the school has become a significant Ivy League feeder school. Because her family did not have the means to pay for her tuition, Myrna needed to work full time while attending college full time. She also took out student loans to finance her studies. Myrna never once felt that the obstacles couldn't be overcome; however, the need to work full time often compromised her ability to add courses to her semesters. Myrna's timeline to complete her bachelor's degree was a little longer than the normal path but it prepared her for what she was able to accomplish both as a student and professionally. Myrna also firmly believes that her introduction to the business world during her college years provided priceless experience that propelled her to succeed early in her career.

The Latino Digital Divide is a significant issue – accessibility is key to the Hispanic community's ability to advance. It affects everything from education and awareness to commerce and to the ability to share influential insights. While working as an executive at Comcast Corporation, Myrna was extremely proud of her efforts to extend accessibility and provide affordable internet connectivity to underserved communities of color. The program was called Internet Essentials. It was groundbreaking, and Myrna recalls that she felt blessed to be part of advocating for that program. However, so much more remains to be done, including access to devices, educating Hispanic communities on how best to utilize digital platforms, and assisting them to be comfortable about how their data and interactions will be utilized and ultimately protected. Myrna explains that as a long‐standing cybersecurity professional, she knew the impact of security and privacy‐related initiatives. Without them, the community will not trust their internet connections. However, the engagement of Hispanics is critical to their collective progress. How we get a seat at the table is through our representative leaders, using their influence on the items Myrna mentioned. Myrna also expresses the need to have a voice in the boardrooms of major corporations.

Myrna feels blessed with the fact that she currently serves on three publicly traded boards and uses those opportunities to support community outreach and philanthropy. This includes digital engagement.

There are many ways to promote inclusion, and it starts with making sure people from our community are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas for investment and capital funding opportunities. Myrna also promotes diversity and inclusion whenever she can, as it relates to the development of technology products/services, to ensure that the needs of diverse communities are represented. This can be as simple as accommodating language preferences, or usability testing with a diverse slate of participants, or targeting marketing to appeal to diverse communities. Myrna also promotes inclusion in hiring practices and track record, providing opportunities to diverse candidates who are qualified but need the door opened so they can prosper. Myrna's time as a board member and vice chairperson at HITEC was a very fulfilling time, as her focus was on making sure they had a platform to support more Hispanics in IT Executive roles. After serving for 10 years, Myrna is thrilled to see the mission continue with great success. In the boardroom, Myrna has the opportunity to do the same and represent our community in the boardroom, where she is often the only Latina in the room, but proud to be there to carry the message and mission accordingly. Myrna is a firm believer that if you can see it, you can be it. Myrna is hopeful that she has provided generations behind her to “see it,” and has supported the “be it.” Myrna states that she won't stop, as there is so much more to do.

Myrna believes we need more impact funds that are dedicated to the Latino community, with a fixed and targeted investment thesis to promote more entrepreneurship within the Latino community. Many of the other diverse populations in the United States have recently seen impact and targeted funds for their respective communities. Latinos need the same. We need a stronger ecosystem of capital access for Latino communities, as well as legal advisors to ensure our community is not taken advantage of in the form of obtuse ownership dilution and matters around operational control. Having funding and losing too much of those items will not promote the success of this population but could potentially exploit them. The barrier to entry needs to be adjusted but the expected protections of the entrepreneur should be maintained.

Myrna always looks for product market fit and the potential exit path for the organization. The exit path may be from a private company to an IPO, a strategic acquisition of the investment into a larger company, or the growth path to exit as an investor and allow the organization to reclaim their cap table after rewarding the investor. There are many great ideas out there, but realistically understanding the product market fit, the demand of the consumer or customer, is critical. A great investor can see the potential and applicability of products or services well ahead of what might exist today. This includes providing the organization guidance to get there.

Myrna has served as a corporate director/board member for seven years. Myrna serves on three publicly traded boards: Consumers Energy (CMS), a member of the Fortune 500; Spirit Airlines (SAVE); and Popular, Inc. (BPOP), which operates as Banco Popular in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and Popular Bank on the U.S. mainland (New York, New Jersey, and Florida). With the exception of Popular, Myrna has been the only Hispanic board member on two boards, and the only female technology executive.

Myrna believes that Latinos need to be more organized and vocal around the need to have many more representatives on public and private boards. Other diverse communities have gotten more traction and more calls to action of late, and we need to quickly have similar results. Myrna continues to advocate at every opportunity, including mentoring up‐and‐coming executives, so that they are “board ready,” as well as personally recommend board‐ready candidates to her colleagues for consideration. However, Latinos as a community need to speak with the power of their pockets and consider not supporting organizations financially who have not taken the appropriate actions to move in the right direction and plan for Hispanic representation in the board room. Our counterparts at LCDA are working very hard on this initiative, and our collective support to represent the caliber of our people is critical. Lastly, we need to have our Hispanic counterparts consider serving on nonprofit and private boards in addition to having the ambition to serve on a public board. This type of experience is extremely valuable when board candidates are evaluated, especially when the candidate may not have Fortune 500–level corporate experience.

Grace Colón grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her dad's family had been there for generations, and he met her mom, who was from New Orleans, at school in Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana in Lafayette). Her dad studied animal husbandry and worked for decades in the dairy industry in Puerto Rico. He ran one of the largest dairy plants on the island. His dad had studied chemical engineering at Louisiana State University and had worked in the sugar industry in Puerto Rico. Grace's maternal grandfather had studied electrical engineering at Tulane and was involved in building the electrical grid in New Orleans. Therefore, Grace was not a first‐generation college graduate, and was fortunate to grow up in a family that was extremely supportive of her early strong interest in science and engineering. Grace was also fortunate to grow up on a beautiful tropical island, surrounded by lush nature on land and sea, which instilled in her a love of life and science and a sense of wonder about our planet.

Grace was fortunate to do well in school and to be accepted at several top engineering schools, but she needed financial aid and worked part time at school and then paid back student loans for many years. Work study had its advantages, though: it enabled her to get a job in research in genetic engineering at the University of Pennsylvania during the mid‐1980s, when the field was nascent. This set Grace on a path to obtaining a PhD in chemical engineering at MIT. Grace had the opportunity to participate in a Minority Introduction to Engineering program at MIT when she was a junior in high school, and this allowed her to dream of the possibility of attending there one day.

Grace states, “I had many more opportunities than obstacles.” Her family was not wealthy or even well‐off by any means, and while she had a quality high school education, she did not have the benefit of AP classes or advanced coursework. That, plus the fact that she had to work many hours to help pay for school, and the cultural differences between Puerto Rico and the Northeast, made her undergraduate years very tough. Grace persisted and did well enough to eventually go to graduate school, but Grace had to work much harder and many more hours than her classmates just to get middling grades.

Although according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the digital divide for Latinos continues to narrow, in 2017 only 72 percent of Latinos had access to the internet. Latinos still lag behind in terms of access to laptops and broadband compared to Caucasians (57 percent vs. 82 percent, and 61 percent vs. 79 percent, respectively). However, smartphones have leveled the playing field somewhat, at least in terms of internet access.

The pandemic exacerbated these problems and greatly contributed to widening the opportunity gap, as nearly 40 percent of Latinos lacked broadband access at home and 32 percent lacked a computer. Many students resorted to doing their homework in parking lots to access public hotspots.

This situation is unconscionable for all disadvantaged groups. For Latinos in particular, language barriers and immigration concerns amplify these disparities. For this and for so many other reasons, we need to ensure representation and active participation at all levels of government, academia, industry, and nonprofits. Only then will there be true advocacy to address these inequities.

As a long‐time executive in a highly technical field, she learned early on that you can't manage what you don't measure. Latinos/Latinx need to be at the table to know even which questions are important to ask, and how best to collect the data to answer them and propose actionable solutions.

At her current company (around 25 employees/part‐time consultants), more than half of her employees are either women, people of color, or both. The CEO, the chief medical officer, and the chief operating and technical officer are also of Latino descent. They are extremely conscious of diversity in hiring and make it a priority.

Grace believes in a stereotype, which she states happens to be true: Latinos/Latinx are hardworking, resilient, and believe in working for the good of the community. Grace believes that Latinos are second to none at networking and looking out for each other, because it's part of the culture. Even though Latinos/Latinx come from many, many countries and regions and from subcultures within countries, these values are common to all. Latinos/Latinx will succeed by banding together, raising their voices, and taking action to combat disparities. A great example is the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), of which Grace is a proud member and supporter. LCDA works tirelessly to champion Latino/Latinx executives, as well as to hold corporations accountable to diversify their boards. They also work closely with other groups championing not only Latino/Latinx causes, but causes related to other under‐represented groups.

The main obstacles include the well‐established foundation of the current power structures, which is difficult to dismantle, as well as socioeconomic factors that impede educational and career opportunities at every stage. This is why we need to push for representative leadership in all fields, at all levels.

Grace's greatest achievement is that she has become a recognized leader in her field and she contributed to advances in key areas of biotechnology and healthcare. As an executive, serial entrepreneur, and board member of public and private companies, she is passionate about improving patient management and outcomes in chronic diseases, which disproportionately affect under‐represented groups, and in particular Latinos. Grace also has been involved in a number of efforts around gender, ethnic, and LGBTQ parity, as well as social entrepreneurship, which she believes is key in bolstering socioeconomic justice globally.

Information is power. This is especially important for the Latino community because, if used properly, connectivity can greatly democratize education, career advancement, healthcare, financial security, and many other factors that enable happy and productive lives.

Grace sits on the board of her own company, InCarda Therapeutics, which is developing breakthrough therapies for atrial fibrillation and other cardiopulmonary conditions. Grace is also an executive chair of ProterixBio, a company developing and commercializing disease management solutions that integrate novel bioclinical analytics with digital tools to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of chronic disease care; the first areas of focus include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and COVID serology testing. Grace also serves on the board of CareDx (CDNA), a leading molecular diagnostics company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high‐value diagnostic solutions for transplant patients. Previously, Grace served on the boards of PerceptiMed, Paradigm Diagnostics, and Cocoon Biotech.

Grace believes that we can elevate the future by working to increase representation at all levels. Grace is involved in several initiatives to increase representation on boards. Grace frequently speaks on diversity issues and actively mentors many women and under‐represented founders and CEOs of early stage companies.

Ralph de la Vega was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States by himself when he was 10 years old. When he arrived, he found himself with a new family, in a new country, without a word of English, and with not a penny in his pockets. So he knows what it means to lose everything and have to start over again.

When he discussed his plans to become an engineer with his high school counselor, the counselor looked at Ralph's grades and his family's financial situation and recommended that he become a mechanic instead. So Ralph dropped out of regular high school to attend a trade school and learn how to be a mechanic. After his grandmother (abuela) arrived from Cuba, she told him to ignore the counselor's advice and return to high school and resume his dreams to become an engineer. She said “Ralph, don't let anyone put limits on what you can achieve. If you want to be an engineer you can become an engineer.” His abuela was a schoolteacher in Cuba and knew the value of an education. Ralph went back to high school then went on to college and earned his engineering degree. The rest is history. Ralph went on to become vice chairman of AT&T, one of the largest corporations in the world, and was the first Hispanic inducted into the U.S. Wireless Hall of Fame.

Ralph believes that the digital divide knows no boundaries: it impacts all ethnicities. Ralph believes that Latinos must continue to find ways to get access to emerging technologies and the internet for young Latino people everywhere. It is not only an essential ingredient for their capability to learn and get an education but also to understand how to navigate the future work environment, which is increasingly digital and mobile.

Ralph promotes diversity and inclusion because diversity and inclusion are good for business and it is also the right thing to do. During his business career, domestically and internationally, he found that inspired, talented, and diverse groups of people deliver outstanding results. In many cases they were able to accomplish what they thought was impossible to achieve.

During his tenure as CEO of AT&T Mobility, his team was able to capture the number‐one market share in the post‐paid‐wireless market for the Hispanic, African American, and Asian segments. They accomplished this by making sure their team had people from those segments leading efforts to market to and service their customers.

The best data Ralph can give to prove this point is that between the period of 2004–2014 his team at Cingular Wireless and AT&T Mobility generated $50 billion in revenues, $23 billion in EBITDA, and won the JD Power Award for the best customer satisfaction in the retail wireless sector.

Ralph believes the key for success in the future for anyone is to get the best education you can get and continue learning your entire life. This also includes working hard and doing your job with the highest degree of integrity.

Ralph believes his greatest achievement is knowing that 23 people who worked directly in his organizations have gone on to become CEOs. Half of those have been women and minorities. He thinks one of the key functions of any executive is not only to deliver great results but also to build a great team that can continue the legacy for the company or business into the future.

Ralph believes that households and the need for connectivity is a necessity, whether a person has a job or is looking for a job in today's environment. The pandemic has demonstrated the need to get everyone connected, and the capability to work from anywhere will be a requirement for successful companies in the future.

Ralph serves on the boards of American Express, New York Life, and Amdocs Corporations. These are Fortune 500 companies with a global reach. Ralph also serves on the boards of Ubicquia and Outreach, two start‐up companies that have the capability to become unicorns (reach a $1 billion valuation or more) in the near future.

Lou Sandoval grew up on the south side of Chicago in a blue‐collar household. He had a working‐class upbringing and was the first generation to attend college, like so many other Latino executives today. His background offered Lou a combination of the ability to access educational resources (i.e., he had a home computer to do term papers) and a lack of others to guide him in the process and requirements of how to apply to colleges. As the oldest in his generation, he naturally was the pioneer, the test pilot for the college experience. Lou credits his ability to navigate the inherent obstacles he encountered to the many life mentors and role models, including his parents, who acted as his “little angels,” making sure that he succeeded along the way. He states that there is no such thing as being “self‐made” because everyone needs someone to help guide them. As the first child, he leveraged many opportunities to reduce the steepness in his learning curve.

Lou's paternal grandparents on his dad's side were migrant workers in the Bracero program in the 1930s. They lived in the town of Tanhuato de Guerrero, Michoacán (just outside Morelia) during the winter months, where they were also farmers. His aunts and uncles were born in various western plains states. His father was born in Summit Lake, Minnesota. As an American citizen by birthright, he considered himself one of the original “anchor babies.” Later, at the age of 18, he returned to the United States to work in the steel mills of Chicago for 41 years. It is there that Lou's father met his mother. On his mother's side, like many other Mexican immigrants of the 1950s, his grandparents immigrated to Chicago from Mexico City in 1958, seeking economic opportunities (i.e., employment in the steel industry) that our great country provided. They made their home in the neighborhood of South Chicago, which is the oldest Mexican American community in the city, dating back to 1908. His mom had a high school education and some vocational school, and his father completed eighth grade and some trade and vocational training. His dad gave up his dream of pursuing his education for the economic reality of a job at the United States Steel Mill–South works in Chicago. His mother worked until his brother was born in 1967, after which she stayed home and raised her family. From his parents, he learned the values of hard work, education, and self‐improvement in pursuit of his dreams.

His father believed that the single greatest gift he could offer his children was the gift of education. He worked over‐time hours in what was considered the great working‐class position of a steelworker to provide for them. By living modestly and frugally, Lou's dad was able to put him, his brother, and two younger sisters through 12 years of private education in Catholic schools, at times having to pay tuition for two children at a time.

An additional influence in his educational upbringing was his involvement in Boy Scouts. This had a strong influence and encouraged his desire to pursue a STEM education and become a doctor. En route to obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout, he engaged in every science‐based merit badge, which furthered his love for science and technology. His Scout leaders and merit badge counselors challenged him to continue his education. The Arias family knew the process of applying for scholarships and was instrumental in helping him get a scholarship from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for his leadership in high school and academic performance. The obstacles of educational funding were lessened by the fact that he was a good student in school. He graduated second in his class from grammar school and in the top 5 percent of his high school class. This created the opportunity for a merit‐based academic scholarship to DePaul University, where he majored in biochemistry with a minor in physics, psychology, and chemistry. He commuted to school during his freshman year because he could not afford the room and board (which was not covered by the scholarships). His parents still had three other tuitions to pay, which left little extra cash during that time, coupled with the challenging economics of the globalization of the American steel industry. His dad's income was interrupted several times in the 1980s and ultimately ended in 1992, when he was forced to retire early because the steel mill closed. His dad's experience was the same as that of over 16,000 other workers. His neighborhood and the south side of Chicago has never recovered. With the course load of a pre‐med major, commuting was challenging, and Lou's grades suffered a bit during his freshman year. He decided to live on campus and work more hours to pay for room and board. He worked part‐time in college as a resident advisor and in other co‐op positions in chemistry labs within the private sector to gain experience in his major. Throughout college, he balanced working part‐time with his studies to meet his goal of paying for his education.

Lou graduated from DePaul and was accepted to medical school at Loyola University Medical Center. The summer following his college years, he worked at Argonne National Laboratory with his professor from Loyola, who sparked his passion for the pharmaceutical side of the business. With a sudden change of heart and desire to pursue the business side of healthcare, he regretfully informed his parents that he did not want to become a doctor. He withdrew from medical school, one week prior to the start of the year. As luck might have it, he had interviewed with a company named Abbott Laboratories on campus earlier that spring. In the fall of 1988, he received a telegram inviting him to interview for a new program they had started for science students with a strong grade‐point average and a track record of leadership experience. In January 1989, he began his career in the pharmaceutical industry with Abbott.

Lou pressed his managers to sponsor him into the leadership program at the company because it would help further his education. As part of their leadership development program, he was supported in continuing his business education at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he completed his graduate studies in 2001.

As Lou looks back on his education in the 1970s and 1980s and his blue‐collar upbringing, he sees that completing his education was a huge accomplishment. He still remembers the day of his graduation from DePaul. His grandparents and parents were so proud of the first child to graduate from college! As he looks back at the experiences he navigated, he is reminded of the barriers that existed. In the 1980s, something as simple as having access to an electric typewriter to complete term papers was a challenge. He is sure that many of his fellow students did not have the same obstacles, as he would hear about how they had typewriters and word processors at home. The closest he would come to these tools in high school was going to the public library and waiting in line to jump on a DOS‐based PC with his 5¼‐inch floppy disk to type out a term paper. His family would also borrow an electric typewriter from a well‐respected community member, known as Mr. Arias, when his children were not using it.

Cities like Chicago that have existed on the premise of segregation magnify inequalities among populations. Within two miles of the thriving tech corridor of the West loop – which is home to such companies as Google, Fourkites, Otis, and Transunion – are some of the most underserved Black and Brown communities in the city. It is incumbent on Hispanics in leadership positions to make companies aware of this and the need to socially impact these communities, if not from a perspective of “the right thing to do,” then in order to create an economic impact that will lead to long‐term workforce development opportunities for Latino students who want to pursue careers in technology. As the largest minority group in the city, and soon to be the majority population, Latinos/Latinx are the tech company's workforce of the future.

Creating foundational change in bridging the technical divide will require that Hispanics leverage their collective leadership voice to make sure that companies of all verticals take notice and invest in our communities. This will be even more important in the post–pandemic period as digital transformation will come to the forefront. In this transformation, there will be a loss of some jobs, which will be replaced by technology. Many tech professionals knew that these transformations were coming; the pandemic just accelerated them. If Latinos/Latinx are not offered a seat at the decision‐making table, then they should make their own. Not creating equity is tantamount to impeding economic growth in all Hispanic communities. Latinos/Latinx must insist on the funding of public‐private partnerships that help fund development of coding skills in K–12 education. The creation of tech incubators and partnership with angel investors that help fund start‐ups will help foster what the Latino community does best, to unfold entrepreneurial talents.

Lou's company leverages a software platform, which helps measure one of the major drivers that companies use to define the impact of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives – supplier diversity development and procurement. Supplier diversity development in its basic forms is one that Lou was raised with. His understanding is that “to whom much is given, much is expected in return.” Lou has been blessed in his career to have overcome some big challenges to get to where he is today. In doing so, he has never forgotten his roots. His high school mascot was the pioneer. Fittingly, because throughout his life he had many “firsts,” Lou sees it as his responsibility to help more people to “climb the ladder.” In his role on the board of Wintrust bank, he was the first nonwhite board member in the history of the bank. When he joined six years ago, he asked senior management for the commitment that in one year, the diversity of their board would increase to 33 percent and in four years it would be 40 percent or greater. In December 2020, they reached the milestone of 50 percent diversity by gender and equal diversity by ethnicity (i.e., Black, white, Latino, etc.). Lou accomplished this by becoming involved in the nominating, compensation, and governance committee. He has taken an active hand in the deliverables sector.

Lou has fought to ensure diversity in the boating industry, as well. His pathway to boating is an atypical one. He did not grow up sailing or in a yacht club. For him, it all started with an invitation to participate in Boy Scouts, which led to sailing during summer camp. He raised money to attend the camp by selling chocolates, because summer camps were expensive for a family with four Catholic school tuitions to pay. Later in life he would return to sailing in his professional career when he was invited to participate with colleagues at Abbott. This led to reviving his love of the sport.

Lou's career would take him to Seattle and Miami, where he had the opportunity to compete in races from Los Angeles to Honolulu and from Newport to Bermuda, primarily on other people's boats. It was not until he returned to Chicago that he was able to buy his own boat, which led to the opportunity to sail on Lake Michigan and eventually led to his purchase of the dealership that sold him the boat – the path least traveled, one might say. He pursued his dream of business ownership, which led to prominence and notoriety in the marine industry and thrust him into the role of being a spokesperson for diversifying the sport and the industry. This is a role that he has taken on for the past 15 years and as an active racing sailor – he still lives it.

Lou is the first nonwhite commodore in 145 years of Chicago Yacht Club's history. Lou never expected that his two‐year term would result in having to lead the club through the pandemic. There is no preparation for that occurring, much like having to take command of a vessel. Lou mentions they had sought to break down the measurables for the year – navigating uncertainty and overcoming the intangibles of business shutdowns, creating a safe environment for their employees and their members.

His vision as CEO of SupplyHive is to grow the company into becoming a $100 million company in two years. One might say those are steep goals, but he will accomplish it through principle‐centered leadership and applying what he has learned in navigating over 30,000 miles at sea. Lou is a deeply passionate founder who has created a company, and the board has brought him on to navigate the growth of the company because of his background as an entrepreneurial builder of businesses, brands, and high‐performing teams. They will leverage the growth of the company by keeping true to the principles of creating value for the investors, shareholders, employees, and the communities in which they live and work. They will do so with transparency, accountability, and equity. They will do it the Latino way.