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Letter from the CEO |
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| Published on August 21, 2006 |
With the vision and support of committed corporate and community leaders, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) celebrated its 20th anniversary this past June.We were honored with the participation of HACR co-founder (and former New Mexico Governor) Jerry Apodaca — and two past presidents, Rick Bela and U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral — who joined us to celebrate yet another of HACR’s benchmarks.
The Symposium also provided an opportunity to recognize several corporate partners who have been with HACR for more than 10 years; particularly the Coors Brewing Company, who in 1986 provided the seed money used to launch HACR.To this day, Coors continues its corporate partner relationship with HACR.
During the last 20 years much has been accomplished: Today Hispanics hold less than two percent of all Fortune 1000 board seats; HACR’s corporate partners include five of our nation’s 10 largest corporations according to Fortune magazine; and several more are among the world’s most admired leaders in their respective industries.
While we’ve seen progress, more opportunities lie ahead for our community.Today, Hispanics in the United States are estimated to be over 15 percent of the U.S. population yet there is little representation at the corporate boardroom.Increased board participation is required if corporate America is to attain equity in terms of economic reciprocity.
HACR’s corporate partners and its 14-member board of national grass-roots, organizations are committed to addressing this critical issue. HACR, along with the Harvard Business School has created the “Corporate Governance” program as one way to address the under-representation. Upon completion of this year’s class, there will be 150 alumni available to serve on corporate boards.
The next step is to obtain commitments from corporations interested in the Hispanic Consumer Market so that their board rooms — and policy-making executives — mirror their changing customer base.We will invite them to join with HACR to increase the number of Hispanics serving on U.S. corporate boards.
The list of HACR corporate members continues to grow, which underscores the importance of HACR’s mission to increase the participation of the community in all aspects of corporate operations: employment, procurement, philanthropy and governance. Please help us welcome Harrah’s Entertainment and Pfizer, Inc., to the HACR family of corporate partners.
On behalf of the HACR Board of Directors, Corporate Partners and a growing number of stakeholders, I thank you for your support and look forward to your contributions to a successful 2007 HACR Symposium in Miami, Florida.
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