Guillermo Diaz isn’t shy about emphasizing the impact of his time in the Navy.

It’s not only where he developed his competence in technology but where he began to truly understand the power in building relationships—the power in fostering a sense of community.

As chairman of the Hispanic IT Executive Council and former CIO of Cisco Systems, Diaz can provide plenty of proof of his brilliance in technology. What has his focus today is leveraging that expertise to connect Latinos in the greater business community. He does that as the mastermind behind the digital platform Conectado.

Camille Vasquez didn’t anticipate her fame.

Raised by a Cuban mother and Colombian father who met while learning to speak English at a school in Los Angeles, Camille and her sister were given a simple directive early on: focus on your education. And so they did.

According to Vasquez, that resulted in one of two options: doctor or lawyer. She chose the latter—her sister the former—and started down a path that led her to representing Johnny Depp in a highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

It wasn’t a predictable route, but her parents had set her on a course to becoming a prominent—and now internationally recognized—Latina lawyer.

Vasquez doesn’t take her newfound celebrity lightly. Her “earned luck,” as she describes it, means she not only gets to play a role model for young Latinas entering law but also gets to honor her parents’ sacrifices.

Rosanna Durruthy recently celebrated six years at LinkedIn.

Over the course of her tenure as VP of Global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, she’s not only led countless empowerment initiatives at the social media giant—she’s had a front-row seat to the multicultural evolution of a global workforce.

That’s not something she could claim 30 years ago. When Durruthy began her career, the role of chief diversity officer wasn’t a certainty. Even at the most prominent corporations, in the most widespread industries, DEI was not a priority.

Durruthy never saw that as a limitation. Instead, she saw it as an opportunity—not only to carve a path for her own career, but to show others that not only were their identities valued, but their points of view mattered.

2-Part Episode: Recognizing the Latino impact on the American and global economy is nothing new for the audience of The Latino Majority podcast. According to studies by the Latino Donor Collaborative, if the Hispanic/Latino community was its own country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world, ahead of the UK, India, and France.

Having two finance experts on The Latino Majority allows us the opportunity to dig deeper into our effect on the economy and how we see the path forward for Latinos taking shape.

Much of that path is laid out in an in-depth study that Merrill Lynch recently conducted on how the Latino community explores wealth. We’ll unpack that study a bit further with two leaders from Merrill Lynch: Jen Auerbach, Strategic Growth and Client Development Executive, and Kenneth Correa, Head of Business and Client Development.

2-Part Episode: Recognizing the Latino impact on the American and global economy is nothing new for the audience of The Latino Majority podcast. According to studies by the Latino Donor Collaborative, if the Hispanic/Latino community was its own country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world, ahead of the UK, India, and France.

Having two finance experts on The Latino Majority allows us the opportunity to dig deeper into our effect on the economy and how we see the path forward for Latinos taking shape.

Much of that path is laid out in an in-depth study that Merrill Lynch recently conducted on how the Latino community explores wealth. We’ll unpack that study a bit further with two leaders from Merrill Lynch: Jen Auerbach, Strategic Growth and Client Development Executive, and Kenneth Correa, Head of Business and Client Development.

A powerful Latina in the business of financial advisory, Adela Cepeda fought tooth and nail to have her voice heard by men hoping to drown her out. Now she’s here to hold them accountable.

As a founder and president of her own influential firm—plus a consistent boardroom presence—Cepeda recognizes that the early hurdles she overcame, and the difficulties her Colombian parents faced, acted as strong lessons in perseverance. But she doesn’t wish for younger generations of Latinas to face those same hardships.

Instead, she wants her experiences to serve others. She wants to call out injustices and prove that treating Latinos, and especially Latinas, as equals isn’t just a savvy move—it’s the right one.

Because if the business world acknowledges our power now, it can only be better prepared for tomorrow.

When Emilio Estefan emigrated from Cuba in the 1960s—eventually settling in Miami—it wasn’t by choice . . . it was by necessity. Even at a young age, Estefan understood he’d have to work hard for his freedom, for his family’s freedom.

That work came in the form of music. From the moment his uncle gifted him a $77 accordion, Estefan recognized that music would be the key to unlocking his own potential and showcasing the power and invention of Latino culture in America.

Today, as a musician and producer who’s worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Ricky Martin, Estefan refuses to settle.

Recently made a partner in L’Attitude—where he’s connected to an incredible executive network of Latinos—Estefan sees now more than ever, the power we yield as one Latino community that extends far beyond music. One that promotes one flag with one color and centers on pride.

For Lili Gil Valletta, it’s simple: diversity and inclusion is good for business.

It’s what she preaches as a loyal champion of cultural intelligence—a concept that focuses on the awareness, understanding, and application of cultural data into everyday business.

Too often corporations make short-sighted decisions as a means of chasing diversity metrics and quotas. Valletta, a proud Colombiana, has devoted 20 years of her career to educating the C-suite that an inclusive approach will allow their business to grow. If they want to remain relevant in an increasingly multicultural corporate world, they need to accept D&I as a mindset rather than an initiative.

As Valletta explains, we already know that our Latinoness is a competitive edge in any business. For others, though, it’s about time they started doing their homework.

When we set out to produce The New Majority podcast, we wanted to create a space that amplifies the voices of accomplished Latino leaders whose stories are not readily told by the mainstream media.

Three remarkable seasons later and having spoken with some the most influential Latino executives in America—as well as important allies of our community—we’ve begun to see patterns emerge.

There are underlying themes running through each episode of The New Majority and in the lives of the podcast’s central heroes. The desire to prove people wrong, to buck conventional attitudes, the impulse to include and bring others along, and the tension of belonging, while not belonging all the same.

These narrative tributaries flow through our headsets to distill an image of a multicultural and complex community that is as deep as the lives of the individuals interviewed on our show. 

There is nothing new about Latinos in America.We’ve been here for quite some time and whether you see us and ignore us or you simply refuse to see us, we know this to be 100% true: America wouldn’t exist without us and that America wouldn’t thrive without us.

For us, Latinos are America. That although we will be the majority in numbers sometime in the distant future, we are the majority now in spirit.

It’s in that spirit that we have decided to rename our show.

Welcome to The Latino Majority podcast.

There are few better seats at the table than the one next to the president of the United States.   As vice president, Kamala Harris recognizes that privilege. And like the influential Latinos and Latinas featured on The Latino Majority, she recognizes it as a result of those underrepresented leaders who came before her. Those who walked into spaces of corporate and political power knowing they would be judged and undervalued—but did so with their chins up and shoulders back.   Her story has long been one of resolve. Magnified not only by her ascent to become the first female vice president in US history, but also in how she’s operated since taking office.   She has remained steadfast in her dedication to the expansion of rights and the continued investment in multicultural and multigenerational businesses. That advocacy for our nation’s diverse communities both honors her predecessors and guides her successors.