Business Fusion: Recent Episodes
Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris
Business Fusion features interesting and talented individuals from diverse backgrounds sharing experiences and learning from their work and personal lives. Guests include executives, thought leaders, and doers with engaging stories to tell. Our listeners benefit from hearing about disruptive ideas, innovations, and strategies they can use to improve their professional and personal journeys. The podcast is hosted by Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris.
While Latinos make up 19% of the U.S. population and account for 12% of all U.S. buying power they are under-represented in U.S. corporate boardrooms holding only 4% of all board seats. In this episode, hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris interview Esther Aguilera, President and CEO of Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) on the root causes of the issue and how LCDA is working to increase Latino board representation.
Topics include: the role of corporate boards, non-profit vs. company boards, board responsibilities, required board member competencies, the traditional vs. emerging board member profile, root causes of Latino under-representation on boards, LCDA's work to address the issue and the progress being made.
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Esther Aguilera is President and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), which convenes Latino directors and executives at the highest levels of corporate leadership who share the mission: to increase the number of US Latinos on corporate boards. She’s a proven leader who brings a 30-year record of successfully executing strategic business plans to drive organizational effectiveness, growth, and impact. In her current role, she influences some of the most powerful companies by bringing together accomplished executives at the pinnacle of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom. She has worked in leadership positions with the Nation’s most accomplished leaders from Corporate America, the U.S. Congress, the Executive Branch, and the not-for-profit sector. Drawing upon this unique cross section of experiences, she is a sought-after thought leader who has delivered numerous speeches and presentations for diverse audiences. She is recognized as a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist, leading scale-up, innovative change, and managing high-performance teams. In her last role, Esther led the growth of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO, where she spearheaded programs that transformed the life trajectory of hundreds of young Latinos across the country.
In this episode our hosts and guest Andrew Barker, Consulting CFO and M&A Advisor of Middle Market Advisory LLC, discuss some of the typical financial consultation needs of middle market companies.
Main topics include: cash flow management, working with creditors in difficult times, issues that arise in Reductions In Force, approaches companies use to get back on track financially, preparing for sales, purchases or mergers.
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Philip De la Vega, Carlos Raldiris and guest Gisele Marcus, Professor of Practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Washington University, discuss some of the must do's for leaders looking to grow their careers.
Topics include: Career development; coaching, sponsorship and mentoring; importance of relationships, accountability and adaptability in career growth; competencies that distinguish leaders; emerging required leadership skills.
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Gisele Marcus is Professor of Practice of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the Olin Business School at Washington University (ranked #14 by US News & World Report in 2021) where she teaches MBA students and is a thought partner in designing a Diversity in the Workplace Lab for pre- post- and current PhDs. Prior to moving to academia Marcus held several senior business executive roles. Most recently, she was General Manager of the $120M Asset Management Services business at Thermo Fisher Scientific. She was also the Chief Operating Officer of the St. Louis Regional Chamber, one of the top 10 revenue generating Chambers in the country. She also spent 13 years in the commercial real estate/facility management outsourcing businesses of Johnson Controls (a Fortune 250 company) and Cushman & Wakefield. Gisele held several roles including leading an $800M global business segment, an expatriate assignment in South Africa, and a role spearheading a $1B strategic growth initiative to expand market presence into urban communities. In addition to her academic and business experience. She is also an international speaker focused in the areas of networking, leadership, and women in the workplace, and recently completed a TEDx talk titled "Networking Made Easy" which takes the fear out of networking and offers practical, easy to implement ideas to network your way to your 'next'.
Hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris interview Dr. Lizette Ojeda of Texas A&M University on how leaders can 'Build The Best Teams' in this first episode of the Leadership Series.
Main topics include: Diversity, equity and inclusion; tips for building the best teams and keeping them engaged; considerations for managing team members going through difficult times.
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Dr. Ojeda is a career psychologist and behavioral scientist specializing in an evidence-based intersectional approach to help diverse leaders do their best work as their whole self. She has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and has been honored with Fellow status by the American Psychological Association for her outstanding contribution to diversity initiatives on a national level. Her mission is to empower diverse leaders to unlock their best, most confident selves at work so they can have more success and less stress. Dr. Ojeda can be found at https://linkedin.com/in/drlizette.
In this episode hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris with guest Drew Allen, Chief Strategy & Customer Officer at Warren Douglas Advertising, deep dive on marketing.
Main topics include: Technology and social media's impact on the evolution of marketing, data availability and how it's shaping the way we market to consumers, B2B vs B2C marketing, when companies should move from product to brand focus, benefits and risks of using influencers, the skills needed for new marketers to be successful, and near future marketing trends.
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business #marketing #digitalmarketing #businessfusion #leadership #management #humanresources
In this episode hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris with guest Derek Dodge, Chief Strategy Officer at Southern Champion, discuss some of the ways that sales management is evolving particularly in middle market companies.
Main topics include: Sales differences in small/medium/large companies, sales competency models, role of data and analytics in the sales cycle, impact of technology on sales, required capabilities for today's sales people.
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business #sales #directtoconsumer #businessfusion #leadership #management #humanresources
In this episode hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris with guest Rico Castro, an attorney who often helps companies form and prepare for growth, discuss some of the legal risks that can arise in middle market companies and how they can be avoided or addressed.
Main topics include: Finding the right attorney, selecting the right corporate structure, considerations when taking on new investors, preserving legal representation during changes in control.
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business #law #leadership #businessfusion #management #humanresources
In this inaugural episode of the Business Fusion podcast, hosts Philip De la Vega and Carlos Raldiris introduce themselves, describe their intentions for the podcast and preview upcoming episodes.
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business #leadership #humanresources #businessfusion
Music: New Roof by Judson Crane