Latina Procurement & Small Business Summit

The Latino Coalition’s Latina Procurement & Small Business Summit Highlights Commitment to Building Communities and Partnerships for a Stronger America

Event draws top speakers and leaders including U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard (D-CA), Comcast Corp. Executive VP David L. Cohen, Secretary of the California Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency Anna Caballero, Senior VP and Managing Director of Herbalife’s North America Region Ibi Fleming and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Pamela Gibbs

Washington, DC [CapitalWirePR] October 15, 2014 - The Latino Coalition(TLC), one of the largest membership and advocacy organizations for Latino-owned small businesses, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce (LALCC) held the Latina Procurement & Small Business Summitlast week at the City Club Los Angeles.  Attracting over 200 entrepreneurs and high-profile speakers, the event honored women in the Hispanic business community, discussed the evolution of small businesses today and established key partnerships with leading groups.

“The Latina Procurement & Small Business Summit was a huge success showcasing Latina innovation, expertise and influence at its best,” said The Latino Coalition Chairman and former U.S. Small Business Administrator Hector Barreto.  “The interactive environment of the summit provided the small business community of California with access to key industry leaders, networking opportunities and great insight from informative breakout sessions.”

The event attracted both national and international business executives as well as California government leaders, including U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard (D-CA), Comcast Corp. Executive VP David L. Cohen, Secretary of the California Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency Anna Caballero, Senior VP and Managing Director of Herbalife’s North America Region Ibi Fleming and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Pamela Gibbs.

Panels during the conference highlighted: Latina’s Success in Business, E-Commerce Solutions, Procurement, Energy and Healthcare/Regulations.  The Latina Fireside Chat gave an in-depth look at how women-owned businesses in this country have been increasing at a dramatic rate and how they are leveraging professional gains in a competitive workforce.  The high-impact sessions emphasized the Hispanic community’s influence in small business and provided attendees with groundbreaking strategies to help grow businesses, access capital and seek new opportunities.

The Latino Coalition presented the “Sanchez to Sanchez to Smith Award” to Antonio Leaño del Castillo, Vice-President of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG), for his leadership and significant contributions to the Latino community.  UAG has graduated more than 15,000 practicing U.S. physicians and has promoted our critical bi-lateral relationship between the United States and Mexico.

A new partnership agreement was formalized with the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  The LALCC and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce join The Latino Coalition’s national network of 65+ organizations working to enhance the overall business, economic and social development of small and mid-sized businesses.

“The partnership of LALCC and The Latino Coalition will help empower our members by expanding their network and helping them gain further access to critical resources necessary to succeed in small business today,” said Theresa Martinez, CEO, of the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce.  “We look forward to collaborating with TLC and building a relationship to foster and grow entrepreneurial efforts.”

Evidenced in successful conferences such as the annual America’s Small Business Summit and the Latina Procurement & Small Business Summit, TLC has been providing valuable and beneficial resources to the small business sector nationwide for over two decades.  The Latino Coalition recognizes that Hispanic Americans are a major force in this sector with 3 million plus Latino-owned companies and over $500 billion in revenue. 

“The Latino Coalition understands that small business is the backbone of this nation,” Barreto added.  “Anticipating our 20 year Anniversary in 2015, TLC will continue to expand its national footprint in the Latino small business community by meeting the diverse needs of this productive group of entrepreneurs and advocating for improved policies to help Latino business owners prosper and grow the U.S. economy.”

The Latino Coalition would like to thank the following Title Sponsors: Lucrazon and Wal-Mart.  In addition, TLC acknowledges: Intuit, Google, Herbalife, MasterCard, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, PG&E, mywireless.org, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, American Express Open, Comcast Universal, ConvergenceHealth, AltaMed, Vanir, Honda, Verizon, DSS Staffing, Opt4, The Libre Initiative, Conexion, 305 Communications, Southern California Edison and CapitalWirePR.