Senator Menendez Engages Virtually with Corporate Thought Leaders at 2011 NHCC Fall Member Meeting in Omaha, NE - "The New Face of Hispanic Involvement"

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Corporate Council, a non-profit organization, which has been in partnership with corporate America since 1985, and provides its member companies a multi-layered approach and resources to maximize the diversity of the Hispanic market, held its first session of the 2011 Fall Member Meeting & Think Tank, on Tuesday, October 4th in Omaha, NE.  This two-day conference highlights "The New Face of Hispanic Involvement."

NHCC announced yesterday to corporate Fortune 1000 NHCC member companies that Senator Menendez would be appearing via Skype to discuss the release of his second survey of corporate Fortune 500 companies, highlighting changes and improvements in diversity and inclusion efforts within Corporate America.  Senator Menendez's survey digs deep into the current representation of diverse members on corporate boards throughout the nation and proves through survey data that companies whose boards are more diverse are, indeed, more profitable. Senator Menendez recognized NHCC for the work they are doing in filling the Hispanic talent pipeline within corporations which assists in reversing the trend of under-representation within corporate boards.

The NHCC have reformatted their bi-annuals "NHCC Member Meetings" to include concurrent tracks in Marketing and Employee Resource Groups that enable a variety of individuals to attend from their respective companies.  Through these sessions, these individuals have benefited from the relevant and timely information obtained at our conference.  A Leadership Development Session was incorporated and customized so that NHCC members could sample the NHCC-SMU Cox collaboration that addresses the business case for preparing high potential Hispanic leaders for the topmost levels of corporate responsibility. In addition, an informal recruiting session with entry level Hispanic professionals from local universities has been added to serve another vital component to the goal of pipeline Hispanic talent development.

Track 1 of our member meeting event included a focus on Social Media "The State of the Latinosphere" presentation by Giovanni Rodriguez, of Latism.   Mr. Rodriguez highlighted a groundbreaking report that credibly outlines the new opportunity for engaging Latinos in the post Web 2.0 world and has provided corporate members with key insights on how to tap into Latino markets and how this new communication vehicle can be used in a corporate setting. In addition, Mr. Rodriguez provided an interactive discussion on leveraging the social media landscape to meeting corporate business goals and objectives.

Track 2 included a panel discussion by top diversity experts on Employee Resource Groups.  This session helped to explore how employee resource groups, affinity groups leaders and members connect their programs, activities and events to the organization's strategic imperatives.  The moderator was Angela Jones, Vice President, ConAgra Foods, Inc. The panelists were: Lupe Alcala, Operations Manager, State Farm Insurance; Edgar Quiroz, National Director, Workforce Diversity, Kaiser Permanente; Todd Sheldon, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, SUPERVALU Inc.

The afternoon highlighted an interactive Leadership Workshop by Southern Methodist University – Cox School of Business.  Presenters: Professor Mickey Quinonez, O. Paul Corley Distinguished Chair in Organizational Behavior and Dr. Frank Lloyd, Associate Dean, Executive Education, explored best practices that support transfer of learning and behavior change in executive leadership development to the workplace. A business case for preparing high potential Hispanic leaders for the topmost levels of corporate responsibility, regarding driving change in organizations lead to an impactful learning experience for NHCC members!

The NHCC Think Tank taking place on Wednesday, October 5th, will focus on Business Ethics in Diversity & Inclusion, and will offer a new answer to "what is equality" and will provide new insights into how equality in the workplace can be pursued and achieved. Covering theoretical debates and practical applications, this discussion will demonstrate real-world practices. To reflect the broad nature of current businesses, we will look to discuss implications of workplace equality for multinational corporations both locally and globally.  The NHCC Think Tank will be moderated by Daniel Gutierrez, who is an international business consultant, radio personality, and renowned motivational spokesperson.  Panelists include Colleen Batcheler, EVP, General Counsel and Secretary, ConAgra Foods, Inc.; Eric Watson, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, Delhaize America; and Sal Mendoza, Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

Increasing the pipeline includes the engagement of entry level employees.  Through this afternoon's initiative, NHCC will connect a pool of highly talented Hispanic college students with NHCC member companies to fill entry level jobs and internship opportunities. The panel discussion on "Increasing the Pipeline of Hispanic Talent" will take place right after the Think Tank and be followed by a networking session. The NHCC members will address the need and responsibility of corporate America to engage talent at all levels of business in an effort to sustain the pipeline.

The NHCC would like to thank its sponsor, ConAgra Foods, Inc. for hosting the 2011 Fall Member Meeting & Think Tank, in Omaha, NE at ConAgra Foods, Inc. We would especially like to thank Maria Valentin, Manager, Community Relations of ConAgra Foods, Inc. for her passion and dedication to making this event a great experience for the NHCC member companies.

The National Hispanic Corporate Council is a non-profit organization working with corporate America since 1985 to provide its member companies a multi-layered approach and resources to effectively maximize the diversity of the Hispanic market.  The NHCC offers programs such as the Corporate Executive Leadership Program, bi-annual conferences focusing on leadership, human resources, supplier diversity, marketing and community relations within the foundation of corporate social responsibility as well bringing the learning to your desktop with a series of webinars on "Leveraging Affinity Groups," "Conversations with the C-Suite" and "Lunch-n-Learns" with subject matter experts.  For more information, please visit www.nhcchq.org.

Contact :

Zuleika Cuevas
Vice President & Director of Operations
National Hispanic Corporate Council
1050 Connecticut Ave., NW 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Office: 202-772-1100/Direct line: 202-528-7229/Fax: 202-772-3101

SOURCE National Hispanic Corporate Council