The explosion of the Latino market growth is no news for the 59 million strong – and growing –Latinos living in the USA. However, in an exclusive interview for LatinasinBusiness.us with Jessica K Asencio, President of the Latino Networks Coalition, we discussed this “cannot-be-missed” opportunity, which continues to be a challenge for companies that are still hovering on this potential without taking radical action.

LNC Executive Board select members & speakers: (left to right) Patricia Pacheco Baez (Bank of America Director), Roberto Ruiz (Univision EVP & event sponsor), Jessica Toonkel (Reuters News Correspondent), Carlos Hernandez (J.P. Morgan Head of Global Banking & lead host sponsor), Rosa Ramos-Kwok (Bank of America MD), Don Perez (LNC Executive Board Member & Program Leader), Lili Gil-Valletta (CulturIntel CEO & Co-founder), Henry Agusti (Bank of America Head of Digital Banking), Jessica K. Asencio (LNC Board Founder & LNC Univision Program Steering Committee Co-lead), Flavio Cosenza (Chase Bank Executive Director of Marketing) (Credits: Courtesy LNC)

If Latinos residing in the US were a country, their 2015 GPD of $2.13 trillion would represent the 7^thlargest economy in the world, larger than the GDP of India, Italy, Brazil or Canada. The community represents a potent force for marketing innovation and growth as was demonstrated at the Latino Networks Coalition (LNC) & Univision “Banking on Latinos for Growth: Breaking the Code” forum recently hosted at JPMorgan Chase in New York City.

Jessica K Asencio, LNC Executive Board Chair and Founder, and Vice President, Corporate & Investment Bank CAO at JPMorgan Chase.

“The program was designed together with LNC Coalition partners to help our partners and members gain a deeper understanding of the $1.7 Trillion Hispanic/Latino growth opportunity for financial institutions, including busting common myths and misperceptions,” said Jessica K Asencio, LNC Executive Board Chair and Founder, and Vice President, Corporate & Investment Bank CAO at JPMorgan Chase.

“The information shared at the forum also helps us take control of the narrative around Latinos, debunking the negative press that represents them as not affluent and /or uneducated,” Jessica continued. “Quite the opposite, if America’s corporations are to strengthen their market position, leaders must become Latino/Hispanic Ambassadors, embracing Latino/Hispanic cultural values and learning to lead more authentically with speed and agility. Authentic leadership directly impacts businesses and leaders now become ‘extended brand assets’ for the businesses they serve,” Asencio explained.

Latino market growth: Spanglish is the new black 

The wealth of information gathered by Univision and other LNC partners –including CulturIntel and the Latino Donor Collaborative–creates a unique prospect to access a Latino/Hispanic market research think tank, and a powerful networking platform to expand collaboration and help build relationships to broaden partners’ reach.

Market and cultural intelligence research played an instrumental role in “Banking on Latinos for Growth: Breaking the Code”

“We shared best practices to focus on an optimal model to target the growing Hispanic/Latino market so they have real access to capital, investment strategies and structured solutions linked to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors,” Jessica continued. “Through our program, attendees gained actionable insights on the similarities and differences between Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic/Latino drivers and barriers to using financials services.”

Speaker at this event was Roberto Ruiz, EVP Research, Insights & Analytics – Univision Communications Inc. and event sponsor.

This acquired knowledge will help participants create a winning strategy in business, marketing, and the national and regional footprint cross-markets to capture the Latinos/Hispanic consumer’s imagination.“Companies need new metrics and insights about Latinos leveraging A/I analytics, and best practices in promoting investment strategies targeted to Latino businesses and consumers in order to break the code to maximize Latino’s global impact in today’s marketplace,” said Jessica.

“In other words, we need to know the Latino/Hispanic Market in depth in order to convert cultural intelligence and market research into customer engagement without which, companies will certainly fail in following the growth economic trends in the US economy,” Jessica stated.

A challenge and an opportunity for Latino leaders

The LNC EB Chair believes today’s global market demands more from the workforce an all too often, leaders have sacrificed their own identities in the rush of business necessity and corporate demands.

“Latinos/Hispanics are now eager to reclaim their personal identities recognizing that, as leaders, our responsibility is to influence innovation and opportunity to capitalize on Latino/Hispanic market growth and create momentum for full representation of our community in the US economy,” she asserted.

(L to R) Henry Agusti, EVP Digital Banking Executive- Bank of America; Head of Banking & LNC Executive Sponsor-JP Morgan Chase; and Rosa Ramos Kwok, Managing Director of Consumer & Shared Services- Bank of America​.

The Latino Networks Coalition (LNC) is comprised of Latino business resource groups across top Fortune 500 U.S. companies. The LNC, established by JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte and Thomson Reuters, aims at helping increase opportunities for Latinos and Hispanics inside and outside the corporate environment.

Susana G Baumann (L) and Tathiana Carrasco (R), Latinas in Business Inc. with Roberto Yanez (C), GM, Univision 41.

The coalition passionately supports its businesses and growth objectives by creating an environment that recognizes and embraces cultural diversity, while building new opportunities for leadership and professional development through active involvement in and awareness of the communities it serves.

Thanks to all for this successful event

“Our event showcased what our Latino Networks Coalition can achieve together —capturing the spirit of leadership, teamwork and partnership at its best! Given our current socio-political environment we need to stand together to promote leading research, our global economic value, collective strength to capitalize on opportunities and continue our legacy,” Jessica stated.

LNC Executive Sponsor and event host sponsor was Carlos M. Hernandez, J.P. Morgan Head of Global Banking, joined by LNC event sponsor from Univision Roberto Ruiz, EVP of Research, Insights & Analytics. The LNC and Univision Steering Committee Forum was led by Jessica K. Asencio, LNC Founder and Executive Board Chair, and Charles Neugebauer, Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Univision Communications Inc. and LNC Executive Board Member.

(L to R) Maria de los Angeles Corral, Education for Excellence; Alicia Garcia, Reuters; Charles Neugebauer, Univision; Jessica J Asencio, LNC; Susana G Baumann and Tathiana Carrasco, Latinas in Business Inc.

Special thanks to LNC leading sponsors including JPMorgan Chase Latino Executive Forum, Don Perez and Flavio Cosenza. Special acknowledgments to leading sponsors Univision Executive Coalition Roberto Yanez, GM, Charles Neugebauer, Juliana Gomez and leadership team; to Bank of America Executive HOLA Board Rosa Ramos-Kwok, Henry Agusti, Patricia Pacheco-Baez and HOLA team; Thomson Reuters leadership team Alicia Garcia and Jessica Toonkel; The Latino Donor Collaborative Board Marcos Torres, Ana Valdez; CulturIntel CIEN+ Lili Gil Valletta and team; HPNG Ali Curi and Adele Farina; and Citrin Cooperman Alex Reyes.

Special acknowledgments to our LNC and Univision Steering Committee and LNC Executive Board Alberto Flores, Hedda Bonaparte, Will Robalino, Dora Abreu, Roberto Peralta, Christian Narvaez, Beth Marmolejos and strategic partners. A world of thanks to Sandra Vazquez, our JPMC Executive Event Management team and all our volunteers.

“The spirit of excellence and passion at our forum was extraordinary and it was a resounding success because of all of you. We had +400 guests and we raised the bar once again. Every detail was a masterpiece — from the run of show, to inspiring speakers leading to the beautiful reception to cap-off an exceptional program,” Jessica concluded.

Banking on Latinos for Growth – LNC Executive Board members & speakers: (left to right) Patricia Pacheco Baez (Bank of America Director), Roberto Peralta (Societe Generale Head of Institutional Client Relations, Roberto Ruiz (Univision EVP & event sponsor), Jessica Toonkel (Reuters News Correspondent), Alicia Garcia (LNC Executive Board Co-Chair), Christian Narvaez (Societe Generale Vamos Latino Network), Rosa Ramos-Kwok (Bank of America MD), Carlos Hernandez (J.P. Morgan Head of Global Banking & lead host sponsor), Juliana Gomez (Univision Director), Jessica K. Asencio (LNC Board Founder & LNC Univision Program Steering Committee Co-lead), Lili Gil-Valletta (CulturIntel CEO & Co-founder), Henry Agusti (Bank of America Head of Digital Banking), Don Perez (LNC Executive Board Member & Program Leader), Alex Reyes (Citrin Cooperman Partner), Flavio Cosenza (Chase Bank Executive Director of Marketing), Charles Neugebauer (LNC Univision Program Steering Committee Co-lead) (Credits: Courtesy LCN)

For additional information: Banking on Latinos for Growth

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is a proud strategic media partner of the Latino Networks Coalition