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Interview with Octavio A. Hinojosa Mier |
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| Published on September 15, 2006 |
Hispanics are the largest minority in the nation. What do you think this means to corporate America? How should corporate America respond to this changing demographic?
The U.S. Hispanic economy, including Puerto Rico, is on the verge of becoming the world’s largest Spanish-speaking market. Within the next decade, this market will hit $1.5 trillion dollars. In addition, as our nation’s largest minority community, the future growth and competitiveness of corporate America will increasingly depend on how successfully it includes Hispanics in its executive leadership and corporate governance. In order to compete and win in the U.S. Hispanic market, as well as the global market, corporate America must reinvent itself to provide greater opportunities of inclusion and upward mobility for its Hispanic employees.
What role do you think HACR should have in representing the Hispanic community with corporate America?
HACR must be the collective voice of the U.S. Hispanic community before corporate America advocating greater inclusion and outreach to Hispanic-owned small businesses. In addition to recognizing the best companies for Hispanic employment, HACR should also take the lead in identifying companies who are simply failing to recognize the important role of Hispanic leadership within their senior executives and board of directors. In like manner, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI), as a member of this important coalition of our nation’s leading Hispanic organizations, will do its part in advocating greater Hispanic inclusion with our corporate partners.
Do you think that corporate America is aware what advocacy organizations such as HACR or others do to promote inclusion and corporate responsibility?
Herein lays an area of opportunity for HACR and its coalition partners. As much as we hold corporate America accountable for Hispanic inclusion and responsibility, we should also hold ourselves accountable for reaching out to corporate partners regardless of their market size. Today’s small business will become tomorrow’s corporate leader. Building these relationships require tremendous investment and focus. I am confident we can become more effective in promoting inclusion and corporate responsibility at all levels.
HACR is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. What would you like to see for the next 20 years of the organization?
During the course of the next 20 years, the U.S. Hispanic Community will require an organization that will not only hold U.S.-owned companies accountable for Hispanic inclusion, but also foreign-owned companies who operate here in the United States. One need not look further then the U.S. automotive industry where talks of merging with foreign automakers seem to offer an attractive alternative. We can no longer limit ourselves to the comforts of our own national border. Hispanic inclusiveness will help define the way U.S. companies do business here at home and abroad, while also defining how foreign-owned companies will do business in this country.
What's the business case for corporate responsibility or inclusion?
The U.S. Hispanic demographic figures speak for themselves. For example, the U.S. Hispanic purchasing power is growing at three times the rate of the overall U.S. population. Hence, if you include, you grow. If you exclude, you decline.
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