Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities.
The incomparable NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE (NAL) event in Miami. This year, the crowd will be bigger and the speakers will be even more impressive! If you are not familiar with some of the names, let me provide some additional color: Eddy Cue is a Cuban-American and the second-ranking executive at Apple, Orlando Bravo is the wealthiest Latino in America with a net worth of more than 8 billion dollars, and Priscila Almodovar is the only Latina CEO of a Fortune 100 company. Beyond this incredible list of headliners, the hallways at NAL will include…
I think most Latinos would agree that at our core, we are a generous people. If a member of our family is in need, Latinos as a rule, won’t hesitate to help financially. Family is central to Hispanic culture: our generosity has few limits. Maybe that explains why when it comes to making political donations and writing checks in support of actual philanthropic activities, Latinos come up short….When I interviewed Barack Obama last year at NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE, I pressed him about politicians not prioritizing issues that are important to Latino voters, he politely pushed back by saying…
Problems aren’t fun. Because of this, most people run away from problems rather than confronting them. The ability to deal with problems and stressful situations is a key component of strong leadership…one of the reasons NAHREP is one of the most successful business organizations in America is that many years ago…
In July, L’ATTITUDE hosted its first event during the NBA Summer League, honoring Latino leaders in the NBA….L’ATTITUDE intends to amplify its focus on sports because of its enormous influence on our culture and the youth in America. Beyond recognizing leaders, L’ATTITUDE will produce studies and data that illustrate the role of Latinos in terms of audience and revenue growth for professional sports.
In the movie Wall Street, Bud Fox’s goal was to work with a big fish like Gordon Gekko. Fox gets his wish, but it almost destroys him. Still, almost everyone wants to work with partners and customers who are wealthier and more successful than themselves.
Attorneys General from thirteen states sent a letter to the 100 largest corporations in America, advising them that they believe the ruling extends to private companies. In their letter, the group of Attorneys General stated their view that “racial discrimination in employment and contracting is all too common among Fortune 100 companies and other large businesses.”
We live in a society where people acquire strong opinions with only soundbites of information. Critics of affirmative action characterize it as a policy that allowed colleges to admit students of color who were undeserving and unqualified. However, the data showed that everyone who is admitted to Harvard meets the academic criteria.
The United States ruled that colleges could no longer consider race as a factor in admissions policies. There would be no need for affirmative action in college admissions if every young person had equal access to safe housing, healthcare, and quality educational resources during their formative years.
“competition is for losers”. I love that line….Happy companies are all different because each of them has discovered how to provide a product or service that is extremely valuable – yet so unique that they have no real competition.
Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak at the T3 Conference in Florida…I surprised the audience when I explained how the issue of diversity has been framed incorrectly, and has for the most part alienated the business community.
