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This year, we celebrate BAM’s 3rd Latin American/Hispanic Leaders in Tech and Venture Capital list. Earlier this year, BAM was acquired by LLYC, a Hispanic and global communications, digital marketing and public affairs firm with a pronounced footprint in Latin America, making Hispanic Heritage Month a time of celebrating our partners and our future.
In a telling reflection of the booming Latin American tech landscape, Forbes highlighted the region as a burgeoning wellspring of tech talent for North America in their piece, "How Latin America Is Quickly Becoming A Leading Supplier Of Technology Talent To North America." The surge is evident: a 156% rise in businesses desiring to recruit from this region, particularly for software engineering roles. With Brazil alone drawing over $45 billion, Latin America's strength in economy, technology and culture is felt. This list truly represents the market, with BAM and LLYC serving as prime examples of its vast scope.
Despite this boom, data from Crunchbase reveals that in the first half of 2023, investors directed $1.1 billion toward ventures ranging from seed to late-stage in Central and South America. This represents a substantial 83% decrease when compared to the corresponding timeframe of the previous year. These numbers indicate that there is still work to do in raising awareness that ensures equal and fair growth opportunities for Latinx/Latine/Latino/Latina/Latin/Hispanic founders and businesses. This starts with recognizing the individuals who are building in the tech and venture space.
We deeply appreciate the publications and outlets that consistently spotlight individuals from the Latin American/Hispanic community in Tech and Venture Captial, including Bloomberg Linea, Latinas’ in Tech, HITEC, Techqueria and many more.
Don't see your favorite Latin American leaders in Tech and Venture? Explore last year's list: 101 Latinx Leaders in Tech 2022.
1. Luis von Ahn
Luis von Ahn is the 45-year-old ‘genius’ behind the $2.79 billion language app Duolingo. Luis von Ahn was born and raised in Guatemala, where he saw firsthand that high-quality educational opportunities were limited to those with money. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke University in 2000, von Ahn earned a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. His doctoral thesis introduced “human computation” (better known today as crowdsourcing), which became the foundation for his earlier work on CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA and Games With A Purpose.
2. Lolita Taub
Lolita Taub is a General Partner at Ganas Venture, a fund that invests $100K checks into early-stage community-driven companies in the US and Latin America. For the previous 15+ years, she has worked as an angel investor, Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and VC at Backstage Capital and The Community Fund. Within the Silicon Valley ecosystem, she’s $70M+ in sales and invested in 90+ startups. Forbes and Inc. Magazine have featured her as a woman promoting investment in underestimated founders and funders.
Brittany Chavez is the Founder and CEO of Our Paradiso and Shop Latinx, the first online marketplace for Latinx vendors. SLX is the leading Latinx marketplace and distribution channel for brands targeting millennial and Gen-Z Latinas. Shop Latinx closed its pre-seed round, raising $1 million. Investors include Precursor Ventures, Backstage Capital, Debut Capital, 2PM, Humble Ventures, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Silicon Hills Capital and Techstars. Chavez created the marketplace in 2016 after realizing there was no specific group amplifying the work of Latinx small business owners. Dubbed the next Etsy, the platform now showcases more than 900 Latinx brands and entrepreneurs waiting to be discovered. Chavez advises other entrepreneurs to get comfortable being uncomfortable, as the process requires lots of learning and growth.
Adolfo Babatz is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Clip, Mexico's premier commerce and digital payment platform. Clip empowers Mexican merchants to accept all payment types, enhancing their customer interaction and transaction capabilities.
Rachel ten Brink is the General Partner and Co-Founder of Red Bike Capital, a Latinx and woman-led Venture Capital fund based in New York that invests in early stage, high-growth startups. She is an early stage investor and advisor to several consumer-tech companies. Previously, Rachel was a partner at Five Four Ventures, a VC and Start-up Studio in New York and San Francisco, and the Co-Founder and CMO of Scentbird, a Y-Combinator backed fragrance subscription service that raised $28M in venture funding. A native of Costa Rica, Rachel holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and graduated magna cum laude from Babson College with a B.S. in International Business.
6. Ba Minuzzi
Ba Minuzzi is the Founder & CEO of UMANA, where she is redefining wealth through purpose-driven efforts primarily focused on creating wealth aligned with one's values. As of today, UMANA's current AUM is over $370M. Ba is the 1st Latina to be Founder and sole GP (decision-maker) of a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, where she raised $29M for her debut fund, a record for a venture fund raised by a woman of color. Ba co-leads UMANA Venture Studio (UVS). UVS exists to provide some of the most influential voices of our generation the resources to be loud, responsible and authentic.
Carlos J Garcia Ottati is known as “The First Mexican Unicorn.” He is the Co-Founder of Kavak.com. After two fraudulent personal experiences in buying and selling cars and a deep-dive used car industry research, it was identified that Latin America and other countries had serious problems: vulnerable transactions because of the risk of fraud and limited car access because of few financing options. Committed to improving this industry, Carlos García, Loreanne García, and Roger Laughlin created a business model guaranteeing secure and transparent transactions: Kavak. He has experience building and leading organizations from the ground up across various markets in LATAM, coupled with management consulting, marketing & sales, and complex project management background in 10+ countries within LATAM and Europe.
Henrique Dubugras, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Brex, stands at the forefront of financial innovation, leading a company reshaping how businesses manage and utilize credit. His entrepreneurial spirit and technological prowess have been key drivers in Brex's rapid ascent to success.
Bianca Kea, the passionate Founder of Yo Soy Afro Latina, is more than an entrepreneur; she is a cultural ambassador and advocate for the Afro-Latinx community. This brand is a platform to educate, enlighten, and unite Afro-Latinas around their shared cultural heritage. She is also a Senior Social Media Manager for VH1 & BET.
Maria Teresa Arnal is the former Head of Latam at payments giant Stripe. She is also the president of the board of the Mexican chapter of the World Internet Project and a Scholar of the Mexican Academy of Communications. She is a co-founder and member of the Academic Council of the Instituto Superior para el Desarrollo de Internet in Mexico. The institute promotes digital transformation at its sites in Madrid, Barcelona, Mexico City, and Silicon Valley. In 2011, Arnal was named one of the 50 most influential people in technology in Latam by the Hispanic Executive Technology Council. As of Summer 2022, she will step down from her role as the president of the Mexican Fintech Association but will continue to share her passion for entrepreneurship with LATAM start-ups through her work with Endeavor, a leading global community for high-impact entrepreneurs.
11. Sol Trujillo
Sol Trujillo is chairman of Trujillo Group Investments, LLC, co-founder at L'ATTITUDE, and co-founder of the Latino Donor Collaborative. Sol has three decades of experience on three continents in the telecommunications and media industries. Most recently he was named chairman of Agua Media. They produce podcasts for the U.S. Latino+™ community by offering a wider angle view of conversations, storytelling, and interviews through the lens of New Mainstream Latinas and Latinos.
12. Mario Ruiz
Mario Ruiz is a Co-Founder and Partner at Infinity Ventures. The venture recently raised $158 million and plans to invest in 25 companies in pre-seed to Series A rounds. Prior to co-founding Infinity Ventures, Mario was a venture investor at PayPal Ventures and Dorm Room Fund, and a growth equity investor at Napier Park Global Capital. Mario is the former co-chair of the Junior Leadership Board for the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), which helps further the mission of the SEO Scholars educational program while also developing professionals into future non-profit board leaders. He is an alumnus of SEO’s Career and Alternative Investments Fellowship Programs and freelances for The Kauffman Fellowship, a two-year educational, networking, and leadership development program for venture capitalists.
13. Manny Medina
Manny Medina is the CEO of Outreach, the #1 Sales Engagement Platform. A sales engagement platform that accelerates growth by optimizing all customer interactions across email, voice and social, and leverages machine learning to guide reps to take the right actions. Manny previously led GroupTalent, Microsoft’s Windows phone business development team in Latin America and Canada. Medina joined Amazon’s AWS team as an early employee, and helped Microsoft drive the mobile division from launch to $50 million in annual revenue. Prior to that, he engineered Amazon's compensation system for Amazon Associates and Web-Services which accounts for 15% of Amazon's traffic. He also led the Microsoft mobile division from launch to $50M in annual revenue.
14. Katia Beauchamp
Katia Beauchamp is the CEO of Victoria Beckham Beauty and co-founder and CEO at Birchbox. When she founded Birchbox in 2010, she changed the way the beauty industry interacted with consumers. With Birchbox, subscribers pay a small fee to receive monthly boxes of beauty samples of the industry’s latest products. The company now has more than 2.5 million active customers, 500 beauty and grooming brand partners, and operations in four countries. She has been honored with accolades including Advertising Age Women to Watch, CEW Achievers Award, Fortune 40 Under 40, Inc. 30 Under 30, Marie Claire’s New Guard, WWD Digital Innovator of the Year, and YMA Fashion’s Entrepreneur of the Year, among others.
15. Federico Isuani
Federico Isuani is a serial founder, and global digital marketing and product development nerd, with 25 years of experience developing innovative startups and marketing strategies across various international tech & communications industries. An expert presenter, with coaching and team building skills. Former President of IAB México & HSMAI México.
16. Marta Decatrel
Marta Decatrel is the Executive Director of Technology at Morgan Stanley, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York, New York. In an industry where the ratio from men to women still isn’t where she wants it to be, her willingness and passion for developing interest in technology in not only Latinas, but all women, has brought her many opportunities and success for over 25 years.
17. Samara Mejia Hernandez
Samara Mejia Hernandez is a Co-Founder of Chingona Ventures. They recently closed a new fund with $52 million in capital commitments. Samara is actively involved in the Chicago tech community and passionate about helping underrepresented groups get into STEM education, venture capital and entrepreneurship. She co-founded the Latinx Founders Collective organization to bring together Latinx founders, investors, and community leaders to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Samara is an active member of Latinx VCs, a San-Francisco based group of experienced venture investors coming together to connect, engage, and foster the Latinx VC ecosystem.
18. David Cancel
David Cancel is the Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman of Drift, the world's leading conversational marketing and sales platform that helps businesses connect with the customers who are ready to buy. After just two years in the market, the company has become one of the fastest growing SaaS companies of all-time and was named to the Forbes Cloud 100, LinkedIn Top 50 Startups, and Entrepreneur's Top Company Cultures. Cancel is also a mentor at Rough Draft Ventures, a student team that helps university students in their journey from creating ‘rough drafts’ to startup companies by investing at the earliest stage.
Lisa Morales-Hellebo is the Co-Founder of The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, an organization that is changing how supply chain professionals learn about, collaborate, and adopt supply chain innovation around the world. She is also a co-founder and general partner of REFASHIOND Ventures, an NYC-based, early-stage supply chain technology venture fund that invests in startups refashioning global supply chains. Lisa is an active advocate for organizations that help minorities gain access to opportunities for funding, championship, and growth.
20. Beatriz Acevedo
Beatriz Acevedo's latest Fin-tech is Suma Wealth, where she is the CEO and Founder. Suma empowers Latinos via in-culture financial content, fintech products, and experiences to gain control of their economic power and build wealth. Formerly she was the Co-Founder and President of Mitu, a tech-driven media brand that lends a voice to the millennial Latinx community through relatable content. Under her leadership, Mitu raised $50M in funding, led by some of the most successful venture capital groups in California.
Eric, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Wollef, is a dedicated investor in tech-centric business models, with stakes in companies like Ben&Frank and Nubank. He also co-founded and presides over AMVO, championing Mexico's digital economy. Launching his online venture in 1999 with MercadoLibre Mexico, Eric's roots are deep in e-commerce. Starting in management consulting with giants like McKinsey and Bain, he's held roles as CEO, investor, and advisor across various internet firms. Today, he also sits on the boards of Walmart and CMR Foundation.
22. Ana Arriola
Ana Arriola is a Latinx woman of trans and non-binary experience. She is currently the Director of Product Design, AI & Insights, Cloud + AI at Microsoft. Previously, she led teams at Microsoft, Apple, Playstation, Samsung, and Adobe. Ana focuses on human-centered product design and product management, with every experience crafted as it should be - Human. Simple. Authentic. Ana was also included in our 101 LGBTQIA+ in Tech, Business & Storytelling.
23. Adolfo Corujo
Adolfo Corujo, Partner and CEO of Deep Digital at LLYC, is an expert in managing online reputation. In his 20 year professional career, he has collaborated on the design and implementation of projects both in the construction and defense sectors and on promoting the digital identity of different multinationals in Spain and Latin America. Corujo runs a podcast on the impact of artificial intelligence entitled “Esto es lo que AI” [This is what AI] and takes part in international informative and scientific congresses. He is the co-author of the scientific article “WePS-3 Evaluation Campaign: Overview of the Online Reputation Management Task” and Co-director of the European research project “LiMoSINe: Linguistically Motivated Semantic aggregatIon engiNes” in collaboration with Universiteit Van Amsterdam, University of Glasgow, Fundació Barcelona Media, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universita Degli Studi Di Trento and UNED.
24. Maria Ferreras
Maria Ferreras is the Global Head of Partnerships at Netflix where she oversees all of the company’s partnerships. She previously served as the Vice President, Business Development for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Netflix. Prior to joining Netflix in 2017, she worked at Google for 10 years as Director of Partnerships for YouTube for Southern Europe and Emerging Markets. She has 20+ years of experience and is fluent in several languages including English, Spanish, Italian and French.
25. Marta Alonso
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With 13 years of experience in the digital ecosystem. Marta is an entrepreneurial and creative dedicated to the field of marketing and communications where she has co-created and built 3 digital agencies that has sustained national and international recognition for the development of innovative and multicultural digital marketing strategies. She published "We Instagram" in 2015 with Grupo Editorial Planeta. A book that reflects the creative community on this platform.
Marta has been a guest lecturer in master and postgraduate programs in digital marketing and social media in several Spanish Universities: La Salle, UB, Abat Oliva, Universidad de Granada, ISDI...among others and a guest speaker at business seminars and industry congresses such as 4YFN at Mobile World Congress. In 2020, she won her first American Advertising Award (ADDY).
26. Francisco Ramos
Francisco is the Vice President of Latin American Content at Netflix where he is responsible for all original series, films and licensed content for the Latin American region. Francisco started his career in Spain, working for Grupo Zeta, a media corporation;, and at Antena 3 Television, where he was head of acquisitions and programming. Later, he moved to Aurum Producciones, the Spanish distributor for New Line, Morgan Creek, Spyglass, and Miramax films. Francisco received his degree in law from National Autonomous University of Mexico.
27. Paula Bellizia
Paula is the President of Global Payments at EBANX, a payments fintech company with a global presence, where she leads their global teams of Sales, Marketing, Operations and Expansion, currently located across the Americas, Asia and Europe. Paula has 29+ years of experience and was previously the VP of Marketing for Latin America at Google. Prior to Google, she held high-level executive positions at companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook.
28. David Vélez
David is the Founder and CEO at Nubank, a Brazilian-based digital bank that offers credit cards, checking accounts and life insurance. Before founding Nubank in 2013, David was a Partner at Sequoia Capital responsible for all Latin American investments, and also worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and private equity at General Atlantic. David got his MBA from Stanford and is currently on the 2022 Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List.
Alejandro Martinez Agenjo, Co-Founder & CEO of Erudit. He is also Spanish and lives in San Francisco. He is also a member of HYPCCCYCL, a global network of entrepreneurs and innovators who are solving the most pressing challenges of our time.
30. Ileana Rivera
Ileana is currently the Chief of Staff for Cisco’s Chief Digital Officer, where she leads the business operations, portfolio and change management functions for the Workforce Experience (WFX) organization. Since Ileana’s career at Cisco began in 2008, she has served as senior IT director, director of integrated customer services as well as director of client engagement. Before that, Ileana also served in IT roles at other San Francisco-based companies including Taos and Stryker. She received her bachelors in industrial engineering, masters in information systems, and is on the board of the Hispanic IT Executive Council.
31. Lili Gangas
Lili is the Chief Technology Community Officer at Kapor Center which aims to make the tech ecosystem and entrepreneurship more diverse, inclusive, and impactful through its work in education programs, community building, evangelism, investing and more. Lili has a full plate and is also currently a Communications Equity and Diversity Council Working Group Member (part of the Federal Communications Commission), the co-founder of LTX Connect, member of Chief (a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there), and board member of LA Collab Org (a collective group of entertainment industry leaders professionals and allies seeking to double Latino Representation in Hollywood by 2030).
32. Sergio Claudio
Sergio is the Vice President of Brand Experience at Zuora, an enterprise software company that creates and provides software for businesses to launch and manage their subscription-based services, where he is responsible for brand, creative, content, communications, corporate events and digital experience. Before that, Sergio was both senior director of enterprise and commercial experience and global head of brand, creative and digital experience at Adobe, chief innovation and strategy officer at RockOrange, digital creative director at Zimmerman Advertising, and creative director at NPR among others.
33. Lisa Feria
Lisa Feria is the Managing Director of Stray Dog Capital, one of the most prolific and well-recognized venture capital funds in the food-tech market. With over 45 investments in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Israel, and New Zealand, Stray Dog Capital invests in early-stage food, food-tech, and biotech companies that will transform our food system. Lisa brings more than 20 years of experience in food operations and consumer packaged goods, and led billion-dollar brands in multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble and General Mills. Lisa has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A Kauffman Fellow (Class 22), Lisa currently serves on the National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, a federal advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Commerce, and has been selected twice to the “Top 100 Most Influential Latinas” list.
34. Mariano Amartino
Mariano Amartino is the Microsoft Startups Director for the Americas, overseeing startup engagements and programs. Previously, he led Wayra, Telefónica's Accelerator across 12 countries and spearheaded Hipertextual, a top Spanish-language blogging network. With over 7 years in investment and digital transformation roles, Mariano excels in venture investing, business development, and corporate innovation. He also advises startups and writes for uberbin.net, a leading Spanish blog on Online Communities.
35. Aubrey Blanche
Aubrey is the Founder and CEO of The Mathpath, a name combining ‘math nerd’ and ‘empath.’ In addition to her role at The Mathpath, Aubrey is the Senior Director of Equitable Design, Product & People at Culture Amp, and a startup investor and advisor. She is the inventor of the balanced teams approach to building proportional representation and a culture of belonging in the workplace. She is an advisor and/ investor to a variety of companies seeking to build a more just world, including OnRamp, Seed&Spark, Stark, Joonko, and Pivot Diversity. Her work has been featured in Wired, the Wall Street Journal, the Australian Financial Review, USA Today, Re/Code, First Round Review, and more.
36. Pedro Franceschi
Pedro is the Co-Founders and co-CEOs of Brex, a San Francisco-based fintech firm known for its corporate credit card tailored to the needs of startups, and they have been featured in Forbes, CNBC, TIME, and TechCrunch. Brex announced their $300 million in funding in January 2022, giving it a $12.3 billion valuation.
37. Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos is a self-proclaimed intergalactic defender and Co-Founder of Swim, a social networking app designed as a community space where Generation Z can connect, hang out, and explore life. Swim was, initially launched around college campuses which was featured in Forbes earlier this year. Hailing from Mexico, JC is also a Harvard Business School grad, serial entrepreneur, and CEO of Innovation Lab Silicon Valley. His previous jobs include brand expert at Proctor & Gamble, Founder of the innovation agency Zealmark, chairman at Harvard Business School Community Partners and teacher at Stanford University.
38. Alicia Abella
Alicia is the Managing Director of telecom, a media and entertainment industry solutions for Google Cloud, leading the North America and LATAM regions. Before that, Alicia served as the chair of the Consumer Technology Association's technical advisory council, was the vice president of integrated systems engineering and realization at AT&T (where she worked for 24+ years!), and earned her bachelors in computer science and PhD in computer science from NYU and Columbia University, respectively.
39. Cindy Alvarez
Cindy is the Director of UX for PowerPoint at Microsoft where she runs user experience and product design for Yammer; she is also a published author. Prior to her current role, Cindy was the Director of Customer Research for GitHub and Principal Group Product Manager in the Cloud & AI group. Cindy is passionate about diversity and inclusion and supports women, Black and Latinx people, and girls in tech. Cindy earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Harvard University and has worked in interaction design, customer research, and product management for both startups and Fortune 500 companies.
40. Grecia Castaldi
Grecia Castaldi serves as the Program Manager for the Digital Community at Women Who Code, a vital organization that dedicates itself to empowering and educating women by equipping them with essential tech skills. These skills not only open new horizons, but lead to professional success. Grecia fervently champions diversity and inclusion within the tech industry, embodying a vision for a more inclusive and thriving community.
41. Kristen Sonday
Kristen Sonday, Co-Founder of Paladin, plays a crucial role in bridging the justice gap. With a profound dedication to making a positive difference, Paladin's vision transcends mere business goals, aiming to create a world where legal and vital services are accessible to all, regardless of circumstance.
42. Nuria Santamaría
Nuria Santamaría Wolfe is the CEO of Canticos – the first brand under the Encantos Media, PBC family of brands. Nuria also serves as the Head of Strategic Audience Partnerships at Meta. Before her role at Meta, she was a co-founder of Encantos, a celebrated media and edtech venture that Fast Company hailed as one of 2021's Most Innovative entities. Beyond starting her enterprise, Nuria played pivotal roles at renowned tech organizations such as Twitter and Accenture, aiding brands in harnessing tech to engage with varied demographics. For her efforts in championing diversity within tech and media sectors, Nuria has earned accolades like AdAge's "Woman to Watch", a spot in Digital Diversity Network's "40 Under 40 Silicon Valley", and a title as one of Walker’s Legacy "Power50 Women".
43. Erik Cardenas
Erik Cardenas is a healthcare strategist with 20+ years of experience. In August, 2021, he founded Zócalo Health, with Mariza Hardin, to deliver a first-class family medicine experience for the Latino community. Prior to this, he served as a Sr. Leader at Amazon Care, where he oversaw several technical teams and programs, including Amazon’s broader COVID-19 response. In 2020, his work at Amazon led him to be selected as one of Business Insider’s 30 under 40 who are working to transform U.S. healthcare. In addition to Zócalo Health, Erik currently serves on the board of directors at Rogers Behavioral Health.
Erik Cardenas is a healthcare strategist with 20+ years of experience. In August, 2021, he founded Zócalo Health with Mariza Hardin to deliver a first-class family medicine experience for the Latino community. Prior to this, he served as a Sr. Leader at Amazon Care, where he oversaw several technical teams and programs, including Amazon’s broader COVID-19 response. In 2020, his work at Amazon led him to be selected as one of Business Insider’s 30 under 40 who are working to transform U.S. healthcare. In addition to Zócalo Health, Erik currently serves on the board of directors at Rogers Behavioral Health.
Joshua Encarnación, of Dominican heritage, is a seasoned consultant specializing in training and recruiting. He's mentored 5,000+ professionals, crafted 750+ training programs, and contributed his expertise to tech giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, among others. Additionally, he's played a key role in building three startups.
46. lil Gangas
Liliana Gil Valletta, originally from Colombia, journeyed to the U.S. at 17 without English fluency. Today, she's celebrated as an award-winning entrepreneur and a leading figure at Cultural Intelligence™. Recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and an A.I. tech expertise, her legacy includes a decade at Johnson & Johnson, where she is pioneering diversity strategies. She's also the co-founder of CIEN+ and CulturIntel.
47. Hanoi Morillo
Hanoi Morillo is the CEO of Fivvy, a US-based fintech, and a recognized figure in digital transformation and innovation. She's a partner at Gate93 VC, a Shark on "Shark Tank Colombia", and formerly the Vice President of Digital Banking and CDO at Scotiabank. With executive roles at IBM and a 12-year leadership at Google, Hanoi is a renowned speaker and author of bestsellers like "Six Pack Executive" and "Start with Culture". Educated at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and holding accolades from institutes like INSEAD and Singularity University, she was named among the Top 50 Influential Women in Miami 2023.
48. Ariana Abramson
Ariana Abramson, MSc, is an Afro-Latina Data Scientist, STEM champion, TEDx Speaker, and Queens native. A trailblazer, she's the first woman in her family to embrace STEM and entrepreneurship. As CEO of DivySci Software, she pioneers AI to diminish biased communication. Passionate about her Latina roots, Ariana promotes advancing girls of color in STEM to address global challenges. Her innovative AI research has garnered attention from outlets like GrepBeat News, NowThis News, and the City of Newark’s Mayor’s Office.
49. Ivelyse Andino
Ivelyse Andino (she, her, ella) is the CEO & Founder of Radical Health. With a background in technology, healthcare, and equity, Ivelyse serves as a Commissioner on the NYC Commission on Gender Equity and has shared her insights as a TEDx Speaker.
50. Ashley Aydin
Ashley Aydin is currently a Principal at VamosVentures. She is an investor focused on supporting founders in the Health + Wellness, FinTech, and Commerce sectors.
51. Rose Hartwig
Rose Hartwig, former Marketing SVP at Peloton and Managing Partner at Marketing Fluency, is a global marketing executive with two decades of expertise in driving tech companies from startups to giants like Google, Meta, and Abbott. Renowned for launching pioneering technologies, she navigates businesses through hypergrowth, brand revamps, and pivotal strategic transitions, emphasizing AI's role in refining marketing strategies. Adept at aligning founders, investors, and shareholders' interests, she's spoken at tech conferences and advocates for women in tech. Rose serves on the board of Latinas in Tech.
Felipe Villamarin co-founded Rappi, a Colombian tech startup that offers app-based two-hour deliveries of groceries and various goods.
53. Ariel Lopez
Ariel Lopez, a career coach and entrepreneur with a forte in digital media and technology, founded Knac—a platform revolutionizing recruitment. With nearly 10 years in the recruiting sphere, she's assisted top global brands in team-building. Ariel has guided countless professionals in marketing, advertising, and tech towards prosperous careers and has shared her insights in renowned publications such as Forbes, FastCompany, and BusinessInsider.
For over 15 years, Rocio has been a force in the tech industry, championing Latinx representation. As CEO & Co-founder of Latinas in Tech, she's an esteemed investor, speaker, and advocate for diversity. Her dedication was recognized with the 2022 United Nations Women - Rise and Raise Others Award.
Ana Bretschneider is the Director of Development at Latinas in Tech. She is an investor, public speaker, activist and advocate for diversity and inclusion and the Awardee of the 2022 United Nations Women USA Rise and Raise Others Award.
56. Kristi Lamar
Kristi Lamar is a managing director and Strategic Growth Leader for Monitor Deloitte, with over 20 years of experience advising c-suite and technology executives. She specializes in creating lasting enterprise value and navigating business and technological shifts. As the digital leader for Deloitte's Executive Accelerators team, she spearheads insights and solutions for complex business challenges. Additionally, as the US leader for Women in Technology, Lamar is a passionate advocate for equity and a respected voice on the topic.
57. Brian Whittaker
Brian Whittaker launched the 'Humans of Public Service' (HOPS) project in May, inspired by the renowned 'Humans of New York' series. Hosted on social media, it boasts 1,400+ followers on LinkedIn. As the interim chief innovation officer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of the Federal Innovation Council, Brian uses the HOPS website to seek nominations for dedicated public employees across all government levels.
58. Ileana Musa
Ileana Musa currently holds two positions at Morgan Stanley: she is the Managing Director, as well as the Managing Director and Head of International Banking & Lending.
59. Jennifer López
Jennifer López holds the dual role of VP of Product Development and Venture Partner at Capital One Growth Ventures, where she works to enhance innovation value from the startup ecosystem to Capital One.
Aristizábal is the CEO and founder of PROTalento, a company that provides comprehensive training and support for individuals seeking to enter industries with high demand, including the bio-economy, experience economy, and digital economy.
Daniel Acevedo Hernández is the Co-founder and CEO of Kuadra and a Techstars '23 Entrepreneur, specializing in shaping the future of microbusinesses in Latin America. With a proven history in the Fintech industry across the United States, Mexico, Colombia, and Spain, he possesses strong strategic, growth, and business development skills, demonstrated by founding and leading business expansions internationally.
Laura González-Estéfani is the founder of TheVentureCity, an accelerator and fund. She has an extensive background in growth strategies, having spent almost a decade at Facebook, where she headed the Growth, Mobile & Partnerships team for Latin America and directed the Internet.org and connectivity initiatives from Silicon Valley and Miami. Prior to Facebook, Laura held managerial positions at eBay, Siemens, and Ogilvy Group.
63. Marta Forero
Martha Helena Forero Sepúlveda, Co-Founder and COO of Ubits, is dedicated to creating exceptional online courses that yield results, address challenges, outperform competitors, and facilitate business growth.
64. Gabriel Braga
Gabriel Braga is the Co-founder and CEO of QuintoAndar, a São Paulo-based proptech startup founded in 2013 by Gabriel and André Penha, offering comprehensive solutions for long-term rentals. The company has successfully raised over $755 million and is presently valued at $5.1 billion.
65. Freddy Vega
Freddy Vega is the Co-founder and CEO of Platzi, the leading tech school in Latin America, serving as the growth catalyst for the Hispanic tech ecosystem. Platzi students are found in every startup across the region, and founders from every country have received education at Platzi. A quick search for "platzi" on LinkedIn or Twitter will reveal its extensive reach. Platzi was the first Hispanic-focused company to receive funding from Y Combinator.
Cristina Junqueira is a prominent Brazilian banking executive and co-founder of Nubank, a fintech firm. She holds the distinction of being Brazil's second female self-made billionaire and is widely regarded as the country's 'Wonderwoman of Finance,' being one of the first women globally to attain billionaire status in the fintech sector.
67. Hernan Kazah
Hernan Kazah is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Kaszek Ventures, the biggest venture capital firm in Latin America, that has invested in over 100 startups. Before his venture capital journey, Hernan co-founded MercadoLibre, one of the largest tech firms in the region, and a quintessential Latin American "from-garage-to-Nasdaq" success story.
68. Martín Migoya
Martín Migoya is the Co-founder and CEO of Globant, a tech services firm. With over two decades of tech industry experience, he has collaborated with Fortune 1000 companies globally.
69. Ximena Aleman
Aleman serves as the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Prometeo, an open banking platform that centralizes access to financial information and transactions for banks, fintechs and corporations. It links 42 financial institutions via 127 APIs across 10 regional countries. Additionally, Aleman is part of WeFintech, an Ibero-American network promoting women's involvement, growth and collaboration in the fintech sector.
Since 2017, Carlos Eduardo Moyses has led iFood as CEO. Under his stewardship, the company's monthly orders surged from 30,000 to 8.7 million. Carlos has also been associated with the Just Eat Group, a key investor in iFood, for over half a decade.
71. Sebastian Mejia
Sebastian Mejia, a Stanford University alumnus and former Managing Director of Business Development at Simpleshow, is the Co-Founder and President of Rappi, a Colombian delivery startup.
Silvia is the Founder and CEO of Courageous Girls, a foundation whose mission is to provide the healing and empowering of sexually abused girls through physical endurance, creative, somatic and mindfulness techniques. An accomplished mountaineer who became the first Peruvian woman to summit Mount Everest, and the first openly lesbian woman to complete the Seven Summits, Silvia is also an NYT-featured author. She was previously the principal of global enterprise technology & financial systems at PayPal and held an executive position at eBay. Vasquez-Lavado was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the Corporate Heroes of 2015, and CNET named her one of the 20 most influential Latinos in Silicon Valley.
Laura Moreno Lucas is a Partner at L’ATTITUDE Ventures (LAT VC) and Founder of Pandocap, a financial services company built around her experience in the capital markets. She is a finance executive and Latina entrepreneur. Previously Laura worked at Nasdaq as Managing Director for New Listings & Capital Markets. Laura also founded Ladada, one of the first startup fashion subscription services that featured emerging new designers. Laura is an advisor to 500 Startups, Fulcrum Ventures, California Lutheran University, and the board of Pangea Legal. She is also a published co-author of ”Hispanic Stars Rising.”
74. Kennie Blanco
Kennie Blanco is a General Partner at L’ATTITUDE Ventures (LAT VC). Kennie is a former portfolio manager at BlackRock and recently worked in private markets, in venture and buyout stages. He is also the former president of Bay Area Latinos in Finance.
75. Jorge Soto
Jorge was formerly the Co-founder of Miroculus and currently holds the position of Co-Founder & CTO at Justos. Before Miroculus, he co-founded CitiVox and served as the deputy general director of innovation at the Mexican President's office. He is an Endeavor entrepreneur, World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and a part of MIT TR35.
Rogelio De los Santos, Founding Managing Partner of Dalus Capital, is a Founder-&-Funder of venture-stage disruptive companies and is also recognized for building high-impact initiatives. Since 2013, he founded and chairs INCmty, the Latin American entrepreneurship festival that aims to provide entrepreneurs with access to different types of resources.
77. Pabel Martinez
As an Afro-Latino of Dominican heritage living and working in NYC, Pabel often found himself repressing parts of his identity inside & outside of work in an effort to feel more included and less judged. Pabel Martinez is redefining professionalism with Plurawl. Pabel launched PLURAWL to create an inclusive community that’s changing the narratives in the Latinx Community. Previously he was the global account director at TikTok. He is an Afro-Latino (Dominican) living & working in NYC who often found himself repressing parts of his identity inside & outside of work in an effort to feel more included and less judged.
Guillermo Diaz Jr. is the chairman of the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC). Previously, he was the CEO of Kloudspot, an AI and IoT analytics platform that continuously identifies, predicts, and takes action in real-time to maximize opportunities for businesses. In his prior role as a chief information officer at Cisco, Diaz was responsible for information technology organization, strategy, and services. Diaz is passionate about inclusion and diversity, evidenced by his sustained work in his organizations, across Cisco, and broadly in the community.
79. Lilian Rincón
Lilian Rincón is a Senior Director of Project Management at Google. She has over 20 years of consumer internet experience and 15 years of management experience. In her role, Lilian is responsible for category-leading products in artificial intelligence, communications, search, advertising, and mobile. She has been recognized as one of the top 15 most powerful women at Google by Insider in 2019, top women in tech by Refinery29 in 2018, top powerful women by Marie Claire in 2017, and top 20 Latinos in Tech by CNET in 2016.
80. Marcelo Claure
Marcelo Claure is the Chairman & CEO of Claure Group and Chairman of SHEIN Latin America. Previously, Marcelo was the CEO of SoftBank Group International and COO of SoftBank Group Corporation. Claure previously served as Sprint's CEO and is credited with having "led a turnaround" at Sprint. Prior to joining Sprint, in 1997, Claure founded the wireless services company Brightstar, which ranked as the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States for six years. Claure is also involved in philanthropy and founded One Laptop Per Child and the 1Million Project Foundation, both of which provide computer access to students.
Ignacio Contreras is the senior director at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., where he leads a product marketing team of 20+ people responsible for 5G wireless solutions. He joined Qualcomm in 2009 to support the expansion of 3G and 4G businesses. Prior to his current role, Contreras managed media and analyst communications in support of automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses. Before joining the workforce, he earned a BS in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Engineering Sciences at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
82. Ariel Arrieta
Ariel Arrieta is an established VC Investor and entrepreneur. As co-founder & managing partner of NXTP Ventures, a seed-stage VC fund, he targets Latin American markets across industries such as B2B and SaaS, with investments from 500k USD to 2M USD. His portfolio boasts +190 companies. A Kauffman Fellow and Harvard alumnus, Ariel's notable ventures include the co-founding of Digital Ventures and InZearch, which were acquired by Fox International Channels in 2007.
83. Miriam Rivera
Miriam Rivera is the co-founder and managing director of Ulu Ventures, a seed-stage venture firm focused on enterprise IT in the Stanford and Silicon Valley communities. Prior to Ulu Ventures, Miriam was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Google, which she joined in 2001 as the second attorney. She helped Google scale from $85 million to $10 billion in 5 years. She is currently a board member of Kauffman Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States focused on advancing opportunities in education and entrepreneurship for Americans. Miriam is dedicated to increasing diversity in both the entrepreneurial and investment communities.
84. Iris Mejias
Iris Mejias is a principal partner at PwC, where she’s worked for over twenty years. She started her career in Silicon Valley and has served a wide range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to smaller emerging growth companies. Her breadth of experience garners her ability to provide insights around risk and controls, revenue and business process automation, and cloud technology risks. Iris leads a local Latino Inclusion Network “LIN” which includes over 200 LatinX professionals across the West Coast.
85. Isis Rodriguez
Isis Rodriguez is the marketing lead at Erudit AI. Erudit AI helps executives and team leaders understand if employees are suffering from burnout or mental wellness issues and acts on frictions in the workplace before they have a chance to escalate. Rodríguez is committed to “helping companies make the workplace a more human place with the help of AI technology” and calls herself a “challenge-driven” marketing professional. On the side she uses her marketing, e-commerce, SEO content strategy, and email marketing background to freelance.
Courtney McColgan is the founder and CEO of Runa, an HR startup based in Mexico City. The cloud-based HR and payroll software solution is built specifically to support small to medium-sized businesses across Latin America. Previously, she worked as the chief marketing officer of Cabify, a ridesharing platform founded in 2011 in Madrid with operations across Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. McColgan is also a contributor for Mexico Business News.
Ester Borges Santos is a teacher and coordinator at Minas Programam, an organization that challenges gender stereotypes in the technology space. She’s also a researcher at Brazilian web governance and freedom of speech think-tank InternetLab, an independent research center in law and technology. Borges and her Minas Programam colleagues recently received coverage in Forbes for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic to set up virtual study groups on gender, race and technology.
88. Laura Mendoza
Laura Mendoza is the co-founder and CEO of Unima, a biotechnology firm in Mexico focused on the development of fast and low-cost diagnostic devices. Under the motto of “Diagnostics for everyone, anywhere”, its goal is to increase access to healthcare in underprivileged areas. Before helming Unima, Mendoza was in charge of operations planning at pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, where she helped launch a new line of products for the company.
89. Sebastian Vidal
Sebastian Vidal is the Head Of Operations at Raincoat, a disaster insurance startup that recently received $4.5 million in seed funding. Previously he was the Chief Innovation Officer at Puerto Rico’s Science, Technology and Research Trust, a public-private trust looking to transform the island into a technology hub. Vidal has a storied background in technology and startups. Having worked his way to become the Executive Director of Start-Up Chile, Latin America’s most iconic startup accelerator, Vidal was recruited by the government of Puerto Rico in 2015 to lead the island’s government backed tech accelerator, Parallel18.
90. Victor Delgado
Victor Delgado is the Strategic Partner Manager at Google. Prior to Google, Victor was the director of Samsung’s global B2B alliances. His team develops new business opportunities and drives strategic partnerships to deliver the most innovative end-to-end mobility solutions. Delgado was the individual to reveal the Galaxy Z Fold2 folding phone to the world. He currently resides in South Korea.
91. Ricardo Weder
Ricardo Weder has a proven track record of scaling businesses in LATAM. He is the co-founder and CEO of Jüsto and previously served as the president of Cabify. With an MBA from Mannheim Business School, Ricardo most recently invested in CLIVI's $10M Seed Round on June 20, 2023.
Mariely Bandas-Franzetti is the Digital Services Vice president at Dell where she leads a global team responsible for the systems enabling Dell to efficiently and effectively serve customers. Her team’s portfolio of software platforms includes customer relationship management, remote support, field services, supply chain, managed services and configuration services solutions. Mariely is passionate about mentorship and giving back to her community through programs she sponsors, including Empowering Women Leaders and Empowering Diverse Leaders. She also serves on the leadership board of Dell’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group, Latino Connection.
Jimena Almendares is a Product Executive at Facebook. She has 19 years of experience leading teams at public companies and startups, from serving as the Vice President of Global Expansion at Intuit to the Chief Product Officer at OkCupid where she helped lead them through IPO. She has worked in 16 countries and led teams across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Jimena received an MBA from MIT, and an MA and a BA from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. She has been awarded the 2020 Fast Company Queer 50, 2019, Silicon Valley Business Journal Latino Leadership Award and the 2019 Expansión/CNN Magazine Mexico 30 Under 40.
94. Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina astronaut, has a remarkable trajectory—from a researcher to leading NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Recognizing the significance of diversity in STEM and women leaders, she's a testament to transformative change management. Ochoa customizes her keynotes to discuss topics ranging from diversity and leadership to space exploration.
Raúl Lomeli-Azoubel is the Co-Founder, Chairman and chief community officer at Welcome Technologies: a venture-funded mobile tech platform helping immigrant communities connect to opportunity, products and services they need to succeed in a new country. The platform is currently focused on the U.S. Hispanic community, the largest immigrant community in the world. Prior to launching Welcome Tech, Raúl was the vice president of diverse growth segments at Wells Fargo. He is the proud son of migrant farm workers, and labored the fields in the San Joaquin Valley the summers of his youth through his first year of college.
96. Andrea Barrica
Andrea Barrica (she/they) is a Founder and investor. She is a partner at Mahway and the CEO and Co-Founder of O.school, a judgment-free platform for sexuality education. Author of "Sex Tech Revolution." She co-founded inDinero.com and served as a venture partner at 500 Startups. Andrea contributes to the New York Times, SELF, and Forbes.com and she is the author of Sextech Revolution, the Future of Sexual Wellness.
97. Bernardo Tavares
Bernardo Tavares is a VP and Group CIO at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, where he’s responsible for strategy, planning and execution of the group's business technology direction. Bernardo brings 20+ years of experience in unifying business and technology to create competitive advantage for global organizations. With work experience in North America, Europe and Latin America, he’s well seasoned in leading global teams in consumer goods and technology companies.
Leonardo Dionicio is the Vice President of the technology foundation at Sun Life where he is responsible for driving innovation to advance Sun Life's U.S. technology footprint by supporting the company's technology products and digital assets. He also leads application maintenance and security as well as business continuity and disaster recovery for Sun Life. Leonardo joined Sun Life after working at Travelers for 21 years, where he oversaw global networks and infrastructure security.
99. Noramay Cadena
Noramay is an engineer, venture capitalist, community leader, and is currently a Founding Partner at Supply Change Capital, an early stage venture capital fund focused on the rise of the rest in food. She is also a lead investor in Portfolia's Rising America Fund investing in Latinx, Black and LGBTQ Founders, an advisory board member of the Homeboy Industries Ventures and Jobs Fund, and a founding board member of Latinx VC, an organization increasing the Latino ecosystem of funders and Founders. Noramay was also appointed to the board of the Housing Authority Commission of Los Angeles, and in 2020, she was named one of 50 renowned women in robotics and one of the top 100 influential Latinas in the United States. Noramay is a Kauffman Fellow and holds a MBA, a Master’s in Engineering Systems and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering – all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
100. Ana Corrales
Ana Corrales is the Chief Operating Officer for Google’s consumer hardware business and oversees the Google Store. In addition, Corrales serves on the board of directors for Watermark, an organization of women executives centered on the tech industry of Silicon Valley. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas in Business, as one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times,and as a Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Council.
101. Tanya Menendez
As the Co-Founder and CEO of Snowball Wealth, Tanya Menendez has pioneered a platform offering tailored advice to alleviate financial concerns, streamline debt repayment and nurture wealth growth.
Thank you to sites that historically and continuously highlight Latinx/Latine/Latino/Latina/Latin/Hispanic people in Tech and VC including Bloomberg Linea, Latinas’ in Tech, HITEC, Techqueria and many more.
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