When and where did you get started in the industry? I got my start working for the Master of Communicators, Alan Capper, who was at the time, the Chairman/CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi in London and formerly the owner of Rowland Worldwide recently acquired by the multinational. Career highlights were getting to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber, working on the State of Oklahoma/Europe Office account, and winning the Yves Rocher Cosmetics for the agency.
When did you become interested in the U.S. Hispanic market? I've grown up in a Hispanic environment and in various Hispanic markets in addition to living in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and San Antonio. Early on, I could clearly see the differences and similarities between native-born Latinos and their 2nd and 3rd generation counterparts. In a nutshell, I am as much a part of the Hispanic market as it is of me.
Tell me about how viva partnership got started. Wow – what a question! In 1996, I was working as VP of Business Development for a Hispanic agency in San Antonio when we won a huge account – CBS TeleNoticias – for both the Latin America and U.S. Hispanic markets. The one caveat was that they wanted me to move to Miami to direct and manage the business. I moved with my family four weeks later. Six weeks after the move, the agency decided they no longer wanted the liability of a Miami office and wanted to resign the account (and leave me without a job…but with a new house to pay for and two kids to feed).