A personal recap of the three-day 2022 U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Conference in Phoenix.
Arriving in Phoenix, Los Olivos and a Mango Margarita
I arrived in Phoenix for the USHCC Welcome Reception at Sun Devil Stadium on Sunday.
Last week in Phoenix, Arizona, I had a wonderful time at the three-day U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Conference. Before things kicked off, I had a chance to visit my friend Rick Ryan and enjoy a bite and a Mango Margarita, at the long-time Scottsdale Old Town favorite Los Olivos Mexican Patio.
Sunday evening, the USHCC held its Welcome Reception, “La Gran Bienvenida,” at the Coca-Cola Sundeck in Sun Devil Stadium. We enjoyed live Mariachi music from the all-women ensemble Mariachi Rubor, who performed classics and new favorites, including some of Selena’s most beloved songs.
Reconnections at the Welcome Reception
I reconnected with Mike Anguiano, Jason Trimiew, LaMecia Butler, and Mark Madrid.
At the reception, I ran into serial entrepreneur and Chicago native Mike Anguiano. Mike and I attended the Google and Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Digital Excellence Program inaugural cohort back in 2015, and it was great to see him still thriving. He is currently connecting suppliers to corporations through one of his many companies, SupplyHive™, a software platform that analyzes, rates, and scores corporate suppliers at scale.
This one goes under: do a great job all the time, because you never know who you will run into. We chatted briefly with Jason Trimiew, Director of Global Diversity at Meta, and LaMecia Butler, Program Manager at Facebook. Back in 2016, CG Moving was selected as one of the SF Bay Area diverse suppliers to work with the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and Jason and LaMecia both directed or approved our work. Wonderful to see them again.
Also in the crowd: small business champion and supporter Mark L. Madrid with the U.S. SBA.
Monday Keynote,The Federal Reserve on Inflation and Hispanic Households
The NY Fed President covered inflation’s disparate impact on Black and Hispanic households.
Monday’s agenda opened with a keynote address by the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Two points from his speech stood out: “Inflation also has a disparate impact across ethnic groups. Economists at the New York Fed found that since 2021, Black and Hispanic households have faced higher inflation than the national average.” He also projected a rise in the unemployment rate by the end of 2023. You can read the full speech here.
Later that evening, I introduced Mr. Williams to Arturo Cazares and spoke to him about the LBAN / Latino Business Action Network and Stanford University Graduate School of Business joint SLEID program and how it has helped many Latino-owned companies including ours scale and connect with capital providers, lenders, and venture capital.
Panel Discussions, Cannabis and Technology
Panels explored cannabis legalization in the Hispanic business ecosystem and Latinos in tech.
I also attended the panel discussion “Cannabis: A Rising Industry in The Hispanic Business Ecosystem,” where Ann Torrez of the Arizona Dispensaries Association, Corrina Miramontes of Canna Co IC, Raul Molina of The Mint Dispensary, and Duke Rodriguez of Ultra Health did an excellent job of sharing the wins and the ongoing challenges: operating within a landscape where legalization has happened in some states but federal limits remain. The conversation centered on educating the public and removing the stigma around cannabis use, both medical and recreational. As a topic that is also gaining traction in the trucking industry, particularly around talent recruitment and retention, this is one to watch.
On Tuesday, I attended “Evolutionary Practices in a New World of Work: Culture, Technology and Security Panel,” moderated by Roberto Martinez of Braven Agency. Elizabeth Agosto of BNY Mellon, Lili Gangas of Kapor Center, and Jessica Garcia, M. Eng. of Tozuda brought an energizing conversation about Latinos in tech that left the room buzzing.
Tuesday Keynote, The U.S. Latino GDP and Reshaping the Workforce
Cesar Conde of NBCUniversal presented: the U.S. Latino GDP is $2.8 trillion.
To close the three-day conference, USHCC welcomed Cesar Conde, Chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, as keynote speaker. Conde quoted the 2022 LDC U.S. Latino GSP Report™ by the Latino Donor Collaborative, which found that the U.S. Latino GDP stands at $2.8 trillion, large enough to rank as the fifth-largest economy in the world if measured independently, ahead of France, the United Kingdom, India, Brazil, and Russia. He spoke about how Latinos are reshaping the workforce and the consumer base, and how NBC Telemundo is working to serve all demographics.
My last picture of the conference shows me in a Theia Couture “Kaylee” dress from my online pop-up shop @preciosadivasf (www.preciosadiva.com), standing next to Maria Fernanda Reyes always a great connector, who introduced me to several wonderful people, including Ying McGuire, President and CEO of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). We talked about the upcoming NMSDC conference in New Orleans. See you there?
