When Glenn Llopis was 23 and starting his career at beverage giant Sunkist, an executive gave him some advice. “You’re a little too passionate,” Llopis recounted the senior executive saying.
He didn’t take the tip. Instead, Llopis listened to his dad.
“Don’t ever stop being who you naturally are,” Llopis said, reciting his dad’s words.
His father, Frank Llopis, was a musician who left Cuba in the 1950s, came to the United States by way of Mexico and built a career as a chemical engineer with Miller Brewing Company.
Now Llopis, 44, is spreading his father’s advice to Hispanic business men and women in South Florida and across the United States.
His institute, the Center for Hispanic Leadership, will visit Miami-Dade County in the spring during a 10-city U.S. tour. The center will partner with Florida International University among other colleges across the country. Together the institute and the colleges will hold workshops on Hispanic leadership and diversity.
The tie-up is a natural one, said Luis Casas, the director of marketing, communications and recruiting at FIU’s College of Business Administration. “We see this as a long term relationship,” Casas added.
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Read: “Campaign to boost ranks of Hispanic professionals will visit FIU,“ an article by the MiamiHerald.com.
Additional Media Coverage
- “Irvine executive seeks to develop Latino leadership;“ The Orange County Register; March 14, 2011.
- “Center for Hispanic Leadership and its Founder/CEO, Glenn Llopis Featured as AOL Latino ICONOS;“ Benzinga.com; March 7, 2011.
- “Why Most Corporate Diversity Programs Are Wrong-headed;“ Forbes.com; February 21, 2011.
