CEOs urge more focus on Latino consumers
From concert coverage to seats on the corporate board, Latinos are not getting the kind of representation they deserve, according to several chief executives of Fortune 500 companies.
When Mexican rock band Mana surpassed Britney Spears’ record for the most sold-out shows at Staples Center, few media outlets in Los Angeles covered it.
Timothy J. Leiweke, president and chief executive of sports and entertainment firm AEG, believes that was a mistake considering that Latinos are making up a greater portion of ticket buyers.
Media outlets and other large corporations need to recognize the Latino consumer, Leiweke said, echoing four other CEOs who sat on a panel discussion at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce convention Monday.
Leiweke said his company was “addressing our future majority marketplace” by marketing and promoting Latino events and sports teams such as the L.A. Galaxy soccer team that are heavily reliant on the “Hispanic consumer.”
According to the U.S. Census, Latinos make up 16% of the population -- expected to grow to 30% by 2050.
Though Latinos generate more than $465 billion a year in revenue, fewer than 3% of corporations have Latinos on their board of directors, and more could be done to address the gap, said Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is made up of 3.1 million Latino-owned businesses.
“We need to be sure that Americans understand the contributions that Hispanics make to the economic recovery of our country,” Palomarez said.
Others agreed. Anne Shen Smith, CEO of Southern California Gas Co., said her company was working to boost the diversity of its executive ranks and noted that 77% of the top 50 employees at her company are Latino.
But George Halvorson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, lamented that there was a dearth of top Latino executives at the managed-healthcare company. He encouraged Latinos and Spanish speakers to consider careers in healthcare.
“Our company needs to be a mirror image of our community,” said Matt Rose, chairman and CEO of BNSF Railway Co., who sits on the boards of AT&T; Inc. and American Airlines. “Until we are, we have to keep up the constructive dialogue.”
Corporate executives, Latino business leaders and directors of Hispanic chambers of commerce from around the country attended the invitation-only event at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
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