Latino Executives
The five executives profiled below are Hispanic men who have climbed the organizational ladder to achieve positions of leadership in major U.S. corporations. Like Latina executives, these men were well educated, receiving professional degrees in business, engineering, or science.
Readers are advised to consult an additional list of 16 CEOs of top S&P 500 companies (the 500 largest companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges) prepared by the LCDA. (The list contains two of the executives profiled below.)
Roberto Goizueta
Roberto Goizueta was born in Cuba where he got his primary education. He attended Yale University, earning a degree in chemical engineering in 1953. After working in his father’s sugar company for a year, he was hired by Coca-Cola and soon became the chief engineer for the company’s five Cuban bottling plants. With the rise of Fidel Castro and Communism, Goizueta and his family fled to the U.S. in 1960 with little more than $200 and 100 shares of Coca-Cola stock. He settled in Miami and continued to work as a chemist for Coca-Cola.
Goizueta was summoned to Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta in 1964. Within two years, at age 35, he became the youngest vice president in the history of the company. In 1974, he was entrusted with Coke’s “secret formula,” and in 1975 he became the director of Coca-Cola’s legal and external affairs. He was made a vice chairman in 1979. In 1981, he was named Chairman, Director, and CEO of the company, thereby becoming the first Hispanic CEO of an American company, the position he held until his death in 1997.
Goizueta developed and sold several new products, including Diet Coke (a huge success) and New Coke (a substantial failure). When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Goizueta introduced Coca-Cola to Eastern European markets. Within three years Coke became the most popular soft drink in this market. Coca-Cola was also a major sponsor of the Olympics and enjoyed a high profile during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Under Goizueta’s leadership Coca-Cola became the world’s most recognized brand.
Goizueta served on the Board of Directors of Sun Trust Bank, Ford Motor Company, Eastman Kodak, and the boards of two important cultural centers in Atlanta: the Atlanta Symphony and the Woodruff Arts Center. In 1996, Chief Executive magazine named him Chief Executive of the Year, and Fortune magazine recognized the Coca-Cola Company as “America’s Most Admired Corporation.” A short video presents Goizueta’s explanation of the responsibilities of leadership in shaping the character and reputation of a company.
Oscar Muñoz
Oscar Muñoz was born in Mexico. He is the oldest of nine children that were raised in California by Mexican-American parents. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Muñoz’s career began in finance at Pepsico and Coca-Cola, where he started working his way into more senior positions. From then on, Muñoz held leadership roles in several different companies: CFO at U.S. West Retail Markets; Vice President of Finance for Qwest Communications International; and, CFO of Consumer Services at AT&T. From 2003-2015, Muñoz served as President and CEO of CSX Corporation. Under his direction, CSX transformed itself into a leader of the transportation industry in customer focus, reliability, and financial performance.
Muñoz was a relative newcomer to the airline industry when he joined United in 2015 as its President, CEO, and Director at United Airlines Holdings, Inc. At the time, United was struggling with problems resulting from its 2010 merger with Continental Airlines and from a federal corruption investigation. Muñoz suffered a heart attack in October of 2015, just a month after becoming the CEO. In January of 2016, he underwent a successful heart transplant.
While CEO, Muñoz had to deal with several controversies arising from the treatment of passengers on its flights. Despite these issues, he helped improve the fortunes of United as its stock price increased more than the airline average over the same period. Muñoz stepped down as CEO in May of 2020, assuming Chairmanship of the Board. He discusses his career in a video that touches on his methods for settling crucial issues facing his company and the U.S.
Muñoz is active in several philanthropic and educational organizations. For example, he is a member of the University of Southern California’s Board of Trustees and the Parents and Family Association advisory board of Vanderbilt University. He has twice been named one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business magazine.
Carlos Rodriguez
Born in Cuba in 1965, Carlos Rodriguez is the son of Cuban immigrants who settled in Miami in the 1960s. He was the first member of his family to attend a university, earning Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from Harvard University.
In 1995, Rodriguez became Vice President of Florida operations for Vincam Group of Coral Gables, a growing company that offered business services including payroll, employee benefits, and health care. After serving as Vice President of mergers and acquisitions, he was appointed Senior Vice President and CFO in 1997.
When ADP (an American provider of human resources management software and services) bought Vincam in 1999, Rodriguez’s first position was CFO of the newly merged company. Then he was named President of several important ADP businesses, including TotalSource. Under his leadership, TotalSource became the fastest growing and the largest provider of human resource programs for small and mid-size businesses. Rodriguez became CEO of ADP in 2011. As CEO he has had to address many problems facing the company including, as stated in this video, the needs of its employees and clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rodriguez served on the board of Hubbell, an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and electronic products. He is a member of the Business Roundtable, the Economic Club of New York, and the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable.
George Paz
George Paz was born in 1955 to Mexican immigrants who strongly believed in the value of education. Those values encouraged him to earn a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) in 1982. Paz needed employment to make ends meet while attending school, including managing a Shake Shack restaurant and working as a junior accountant at General American, St. Louis.
After college Paz became a Certified Public Accountant. He rose through the ranks at General American to the position of director of tax planning in 1987. Paz became a partner at the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand LLP (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in 1988. He returned to Coopers in 1996 following a term as CFO at Life Partners Group from 1993 to 1995.
In 1998, Paz joined Express Scripts, a Fortune 100 company, and the largest pharmacy benefit management organization in the U.S. He began his career there as senior vice president and CFO. He was promoted to president in 2003 and eventually became CEO of Express Scripts from 2005 to 2016. Paz was named Chairman of Express Scripts in 2006. Under his leadership he acquired Medco Health Solutions, thereby creating the biggest company in the pharmacy-benefit business. Further, because of Paz’s commitment to diversity at the company, nearly 70 percent of employees are women, 40 percent are minorities, and 10 percent are bilingual.
In 2008, Paz began serving on the board of directors of Honeywell International (an American multinational conglomerate). In 2012, Paz was appointed to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and was named chairman of the board at the bank in 2014. He maintained a strong relationship with UMSL, even relocating Express Scripts corporate headquarters to the university’s campus in 2007. In July of 2020, Paz donated $4 million to support scholarships at UMSL, the largest gift in the university’s history. His recognition by Junior Achievement is captured in a very informative and inspiring video about his career. Paz died in October of 2022.
Pedro Pizarro
Pedro Pizarro was born in Puerto Rico and raised by poor parents who valued education. Following the family’s move to Florida, he earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in chemistry from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.
Pizarro changed careers after receiving his Ph.D. and joined McKinsey & Company, a prominent management consulting firm. As a senior manager, he worked with energy, technology, engineering services, and banking clients, developing corporate strategy and handling mergers and acquisitions.
In 1999, Pizarro became director of strategic planning at Edison International, an electric utilities company. Edison International owns two major companies: Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities; and Edison Energy, a group of competitive businesses providing energy management and procurement services. Pizarro held a series of executive positions in SCE beginning in 2001, including Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, senior Vice President of Power Procurement in 2005, Executive Vice President of Power Operations in 2008, and President of SCE in 2014. He has been President and CEO of Edison International since October 2016. In this video he explains how modernization of the electrical grid began by starting to rely on solar, wind, and other clean energy sources.
Pizarro is a director of the Electric Power Research Institute and is a member of the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory. In 2023, he was elected chair of the board of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national association of investor-owned electric companies. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology.
Discussion Questions
- What is the meaning of the term “limited liability”? How does it apply to corporations?
- What did you learn about the representation of Hispanics in executive level positions in American corporations? What factors appear to be responsible for this level of representation?
- What is the Latino Executive Manifesto? Based on the biographies provided of Hispanic executives, did these careers conform to the clause about the importance of a high level of education? of giving back to the community? Give specific examples.
- In your opinion, which Latina has had the most interesting career? Why do you find her career so interesting?
- In your opinion, which Latino has had the most interesting career? Why do you find his career so interesting?
Additional Resources
Investopedia is a comprehensive online resource for financial and management education, analysis, and advice. It provides information about the creation, operation, and advantages of corporate structure.
Latinos in Corporate America: Keys to Success is a video that provides detailed and actual experience about employment opportunities and strategies for Latinas and Latinos who hope to build a corporate career.
Several professional organizations promote corporate diversity and Hispanic leadership development, three of which are:
- The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) was founded to “advance the inclusion of Hispanics in Corporate America at a level commensurate with our economic contributions.”
- The mission of the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) is “to empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation, in every sector of the global economy.
- The Alumni Society is a professional development organization. Its members are mid- to senior-level Hispanic business executives who have graduated from select colleges and universities.