Gary Acosta is an entrepreneur, public policy advocate, investor, and thought leader passionate about advancing prosperity for Latinos and other underserved communities. As an industry leader, he protects and improves the business environment required to close the wealth gap, particularly via homeownership. Amongst other endeavors, he is Co-Founder & CEO of NAHREP, the country’s leading Hispanic business organization, and Co-Founder of L’ATTITUDE, the preeminent platform for Latino economic empowerment. Acosta is also a general partner of L’ATTITUDE Ventures, the nation’s largest venture capital fund exclusively focused on Latino-led start-ups. Join Gary as he dives into today’s issues through many creative formats.
L’ATTITUDE 2019 finished with a bang. This year’s event once again featured some of the top leaders in business, politics, entertainment and journalism. The session with Marc Benioff and Oscar Munoz was a highlight for me. The two business titans spoke about some of the more consequential issues facing our country and finished their session…
Just a short note this week to remind everyone that the L’ATTITUDE 2019 and the NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE conventions take place this week in San Diego. L’ATTITUDE is redefining the narrative for the U.S. Latino cohort. The Dow Jones Company, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, MSNBC and Telemundo are covering the event as media partners. #LattitudeIsEverything Below is a list…
Of all the speakers we have in the lineup for L’ATTITUDE 2019, I am most interested in seeing Marc Benioff. Benioff is the Chairman and Co-CEO of Salesforce and has a net worth of over $6 Billion. In addition to his success in business, Benioff is known for his philanthropy and the audacious way he challenges…
Last week I was in Miami for NAHREP’s Entre Familia event. It was a big success and after a full day of real estate skills training, I had the chance to talk about the upcoming NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE event. I expressed to the group that some people come to NAHREP to acquire new skills and…
While SXSW continues to set attendance records, L’ATTITUDE will open registration soon for its 2019 event in San Diego on September 26-29. Once again NAHREP will host its national convention in tandem with L’ATTITUDE and will be joined by ALPFA and SLEI, two of the of leading organizations for Latino business professionals and entrepreneurs. Last…
NAHREP’s national president, Daisy Lopez-Cid was in town last week, and Marisa Calderon and I decided to take the afternoon off and take Daisy and the NAHREP staff to watch the Robert Rodriguez directed film Alita: Battle Angel. I got the chance to interview Rodriguez on stage last September at the L’ATTITDUE event, and could…
Famed Mexican director, Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical story about a year in the life of the maid that helped raise him and his siblings. Cuarón who won the Oscar for Best Director for his 2013 film, Gravity, addresses several timely issues in Roma, including race, class and idiot fathers. Without being too preachy, the film subtly…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how malls were not dying but rather transforming from shopping locations to experiential destinations. A similar transformation is taking place in the journalism world. Publications like the Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and the Atlantic Magazine are making more money these days hosting conferences and events as they…
Director Robert Rodriguez’ El Rey entertainment company is partnering with Vice Media to launch La Reyna, a new company that will focus on helping brands connect with the U.S. Hispanic market. I had the chance to interview Robert at L’ATTITUDE on the partnership with Vice. Robert has always felt that companies don’t understand the diversity…
If you haven’t seen the Modelo beer commercials that highlight the achievements of some notable Hispanic-Americans, you should. They smartly connect with Hispanic consumers without being patronizing, stereotypical, or condescending. My favorite one is about the first Latina fighter pilot, Olga Custodio. There are others including one with NFL great, Anthony Muñoz. Companies who have struggled…
Soccer superstar, Ronaldo and singer/actress, Selena Gomez top the list of Instagram followers with 144.6M and 144.4M followers respectively. Granted Insta followers is only one metric, but it further demonstrates how Latinos and stars from the Iberian Peninsula are continuing to exert their influence on the mainstream sports and entertainment world. Many music experts are…
Vanity Fair Magazine once again published its list of the 100 leaders of the New Establishment, a list of the movers and shakers in tech, media, and culture. Robert Mueller oddly appears as number one on the list followed by stalwarts like Jeff Bezos, Reed Hastings, and Bob Iger. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared the 94th slot…
Speaking of Sol Trujillo, as many of you know, NAHREP has spawned a new event in partnership with Sol called L’ATTITUDE and is deemed the ultimate celebration of the New Mainstream Economy. Next week L’ATTITUDE will be introduced to the world and rather than try to describe what L’ATTITUDE is all about, I thought I…
Spike Lee pulled no punches in his latest film, BlacKkKlansman. I have been a fan of Lee’s since Do the Right Thing in 1989. Lee’s films are usually as provocative as they are entertaining and BlacKkKlansman is no exception. The film is based on a true story about the first Black police detective in Colorado Springs who infiltrates…
Comic-Con International is the largest annual comic and pop festival gathering in the world. Each year, more than 130,000 people make the pilgrimage to San Diego for a week of film screenings, panel sessions, interactive games and other experiential activities. Comic-Con began as a small gathering of comic book nerds in 1970 and over a…
L’ATTITUDE is going to change everything. The first major convention about America’s new mainstream culture and economy will feature discussions and presentations about the media, entertainment, politics, and business. Confirmed headliners include: Robert Rodriguez (Filmmaker), Zoe Saldana (Actor), Alex Rodriguez (Athlete and Entrepreneur), Thomas Friedman (Author), Tim Sloan (CEO, Wells Fargo), Oscar Munoz (CEO, United…
If practice is the key to getting better at things, why does our typing ability fail to improve even though we spend hundreds of hours typing on our computers each year? The answer is best expressed in one of my favorite books, Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. Colvin, Senior Editor at Large, Fortune Magazine,…
If you saw the FX series about the shocking murder of fashion icon, Gianni Versace, you probably didn’t notice something that I doubt has ever occurred before in film or television. The cast of the acclaimed series (it earned 86% positive ratings according to Rotten Tomatoes), starred three Hispanic actors who all played Italian characters…
Former SBA Administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet is leading an investment group that includes billionaire, Ron Burkle that is said to be close to finalizing an acquisition of the company founded by Harvey Weinstein. Her proposal includes the establishment of a settlement fund for victims of Weinstein’s alleged sexual abuse. Contreras-Sweet says that she will establish a…
My favorite magazine is Vanity Fair, and their annual New Establishment issue is my favorite of the year. For decades, Vanity Fair magazine has retained some of the best writers and photographers to report on some of the most interesting and provocative stories in politics, fashion, entertainment, literature, and celebrity culture. In 1994, when the…
