California Business Roundtable

Dennis Arriola

Mr. Dennis V. Arriola has been Chief Executive Officer and President of Southern California Gas Co. since March 1, 2014. Mr. Arriola served as the Chief Operating Officer of Southern California Gas Co., from June 2012 to January 4, 2014. He served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of SunPower Corporation from April 2010 to March 6, 2012. He served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of SunPower Corporation from November 1, 2008 to March 2010 and also served as its Principal Accounting Officer until September 12, 2011. Mr. Arriola served as Senior Vice President of SunPower Corporation since November 1, 2008. He served as the Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President of Pacific Enterprises Inc., the parent company of Southern California Gas Co. from October 2006 to October 2008. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co. from September 20, 2006 to October 29, 2008. He served as Vice President of Communications at Sempra Energy and also served as its Vice President of Investor Relations from 2001 to 2003. From 1998 to 2001, he served as Regional President and General Manager of South American operations of Sempra Pipelines & Storage. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Arriola served as Vice President and Treasurer for Pacific Enterprises and Southern California Gas Co. Before joining Pacific Enterprises, he served as a Vice President of Bank of America and Security Pacific National Bank. He has been the Chairman of Southern California Gas Co. since November 2, 2015. He served as the Chairman of Chilquinta Energia SA since June 9, 1999. He was named one of the top 100 most influential Hispanics by HispanicBusiness.com. Mr. Arriola has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University.

Industry: Energy

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Henry Cisneros

Henry Cisneros co-founded CityView in 2000 and currently serves as the firm’s chairman. He also sits on each of CityView’s Investment Committees. In 1981, Cisneros became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, Texas, where he was subsequently elected to four terms. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Cisneros to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). After leaving HUD in 1997, Cisneros became president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications, the Spanish-language broadcaster. Cisneros currently serves on Univision’s board of directors. He has served as president of the National League of Cities and as deputy chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He is currently a member of the advisory boards of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation, and was honored by the National Housing Conference as the “Housing Person of the Year”. Cisneros is a graduate of Texas A&M and holds a Master’s degree from the Kennedy School at Harvard and a Doctorate from George Washington University.

Industry: Investment

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Tom Conley

Tom Conley is the Senior Vice President in California for State Farm Mutual Insurance Companies. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Conley joined State Farm as an agent in Arcadia, CA in 1987. During his 18-year tenure in California, he held numerous positions, including: Agency Manager, Senior Agency Field Consultant, Agency Field Executive and most recently, Agency Vice President, before being promoted to Senior Vice President. In 2000, Conley transferred to Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington, IL, where he worked as an Agency Administrative Assistant. Within the year, he was promoted to Executive Assistant to the Chairman’s Council. In 2005 he was appointed to Agency Vice President in California. This role required the development of vision, strategy, and direction for more than 1,900 agents and a leadership team of eight. The in-depth understanding of the California market that Conley gained in his early years, coupled with his varied leadership experiences, helped pave the way for State Farm California’s multiple years of profitable growth.

Conley participated in the Southern California Leadership Network’s Leadership Southern California Fellowship, an experiential learning program dealing with public policy issues. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School General Manager Program, a comprehensive executive education program designed to prepare business managers to help companies institute organizational learning and improve the ability to lead change. Active in the community, Conley currently serves on the boards of directors for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Teach for America, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Business Roundtable, and the Los Angeles Sports Commission. He is proud to support their missions to foster business development, educational excellence, and stimulate the local economy in California.

Industry: Insurance

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Dorene Dominguez

Dorene Dominguez is the Chairman of the Vanir Group of Companies. Ms. Dominguez succeeded her beloved late father, H. Frank Dominguez, overseeing 15 offices throughout the United States. The Vanir companies employ a growing staff of more than 300 talented executives, architects, engineers, construction managers, developers, contractors and support staff. The Vanir Companies, including Vanir Development Company, Inc., Vanir Construction Management, Inc. and Vanir Construction Company, Inc., have successfully completed over $8.5 billion in real estate developments, design-build lease, and construction services. Vanir Construction Management has been consistently ranked by Engineering News Record Magazine as one of the top construction management firms in the nation. Ms. Dominguez also created Vanir Financial Services, which owns Vanir Securities, and recently launched Vanir Energy, LLC, a green initiative specializing in solar thermal energy. Vanir Energy is known for the largest solar thermal energy facility in the world and is located in North Carolina. Currently an active member of various community improvement projects, boards and commissions, Ms. Dominguez was appointed by past President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the Commission to study the potential creation of a National Museum of the American Latino. She is a member of the American River Bank Board of Directors, member of the Young Presidents Organization, a board member and Latino Empowerment Chair of the California Business Roundtable, member of the Latino Studies Board of Notre Dame University in South Bend Indiana, New America Alliance and the National Council of La Raza. She has previously served as a member of the Los Angeles Planning Commission, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, California State Board of Geology and Geophysics, and Governor Appointee of the California State Medical Board.

Industry: Construction

Region: Sacramento, CA

Jenny Flores

Jenny is the Community Affairs Manager for Bank of the West and oversees the company’s Charitable Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. She manages a national team of professionals who are dedicated to ensuring that the Bank effectively meets the financial and credit needs of low-to-moderate income consumers in its 19 state footprint. Prior to joining Bank of the West, Jenny Flores served as the Community Development Director for Citi in Northern California. She was responsible for managing the company’s Community Reinvestment Act program which included oversight of grants and charitable contributions, the development of high profile partnerships as well as corporate social responsibility, marketing, employee engagement and risk mitigation. Earlier in her career, Jenny served as the Executive Director of the Congress of California Seniors, a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to assisting seniors and low-income families with issues of health care, affordable housing, transportation, technology and consumer protection. She also has extensive experience in strategic initiatives and legislative affairs through her position with the Greenlining Institute and her work in the California State Legislature. She has held numerous board positions with non-profits and currently serves as the National Board Chair of Juma Ventures, a social enterprise dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by ensuring that young people complete a four-year college education. Jenny also volunteers on the Board of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in San Francisco. Jenny earned a degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA at the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Industry: Banking

Region: San Francisco/Oakland

Dean Florez

Dean was first elected to the State Assembly in 1998, serving two terms before being elected to the State Senate in 2002. He was elevated to the position of Senate Majority Leader in November 2008. He served as chairman of several committees, including: Banking, Finance and International Trade; Governmental Organization; Assembly Water Committee and the Food and Agriculture Committee. His emphasis during his tenure in the Legislature was overseeing high technology implementation, water policy and educational reform. Dean Florez is an accomplished seasoned executive in the education technology and water sectors with over 20 years of public policy and business development experience. Over the past four years of his retirement from political life, Dean was President of the 20 Million Minds Foundation (20MM), allocating time to advance the use of innovative technologies to create more affordable, accessible, and effective opportunities for all learners in higher education. Dean now serves as a board member of California’s Awards for Innovation in Higher Education charged with awarding $50 million dollars to California community colleges, California State University (CSU) campuses, and University of California (UC) campuses that have changed existing policies, practices, or systems which have allowed students to complete their bachelor’s degrees within four years after beginning higher education. Dean attended Bakersfield College before earning his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he served as student body president. In 1993 he received a MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Industry: Education and Technology

Region: Greater Los Angeles

John Garcia

John Garcia is Vice President for Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento. He oversees government relations activities for California, representing the interests of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, The Permanente Medical Group, and Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Mr. Garcia has been with Kaiser Permanente for 20 years. Before joining Kaiser Permanente, Mr. Garcia was a field representative for United States Congressman Pete Stark. Prior to that, he was the community educator for the City of Hayward. Mr. Garcia is on the board of directors and advisory boards of various other organizations, including; Children Now, California Center for Civic Participation, John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes, Latino Community Foundation, and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Mr. Garcia earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from California State University at Hayward.

Industry: Healthcare

Region: Sacramento

Ron Gonzales

Ron Gonzales is President & CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. Ron Gonzales is also Founder, Chairman and CEO of Presencia, LLC. He has 40 years of technology and public policy experience. Ron Gonzales served as Mayor of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley and the nation’s 10th largest city from 1999-2006. His achievements included nationally recognized initiatives that strengthened neighborhoods, improved public education, and ensured the economic vitality of the city with high quality public services and effective solutions to affordable housing and regional traffic congestion. Before his election as Mayor, Gonzales worked as an executive with the Hewlett-Packard Company, in the areas of marketing, human resources, and corporate philanthropy. Gonzales served for eight years (1989-1996) on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. While Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, he introduced technology into county government and launched the County’s performance-based budgeting system. As a two-time mayor and member of the Sunnyvale City Council (1979-87), Gonzales helped initiate governmental efficiency measures that were recognized in the best-selling book “Reinventing Government”.

Industry: Technology

Region: San Jose, CA

Xavier Gutierrez

Mr. Gutierrez received a Bachelor’s degree (A.B.) from Harvard College and his Law degree (J.D.) from Stanford Law School. Mr. Gutierrez serves as the Chief Investment Officer and President of the Meruelo Group. He oversees investments and acquisitions, and is responsible for deal origination, underwriting, execution, and capital sourcing throughout the Meruelo Group platform. Mr. Gutierrez also leads the strategic management of the group’s 25 affiliated companies across 10 primary industries. Prior to Meruelo, he was a Principal and Managing Director with Phoenix Realty Group. In addition, he has held positions with Latham & Watkins, Lehman Brothers and the National Football League in a 15+ year career focused on investment management, finance, business development, law, and the institutional capital markets. Furthermore, since December 2014 Mr. Gutierrez has also served on the Board of Directors of NCAL Bancorp, a national bank-holding company and its commercial bank affiliate, National Bank of California, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Industry: Investment management

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Brandon Hernandez

As Director of Corporate Affairs for Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Northern California region, Brandon manages relationships with civic and community leaders, and provides strategic direction to help PG&E become the leading utility company in the United States. Brandon spearheaded PG&E’s green efforts in San Francisco, including PG&E’s award winning multicultural environmental campaigns. He’s also responsible for helping to bring solar to prominent San Francisco institutions like the LGBT Center, Project Open Hand, San Francisco Food Bank, and the San Francisco Giant’s AT&T Park—the first park in Major League Baseball to go solar! He’s been recognized by San Francisco’s 7×7 magazine as one of the “Hot 20 Under 40.” Brandon also serves as executive liaison between PG&E and various environmental, LGBT, and Latino organizations.

Industry: Energy

Region: San Francisco

Randal Hernandez

Randal Hernandez serves as Managing Director, Government Relations for Union Bank where he is responsible for building relationships with civic and business leaders, community-based advocacy organizations, government officials and multi-cultural leaders. Hernandez leads the bank’s legislative efforts and overall governmental outreach. Hernandez, based in Long Beach, is part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas team. Hernandez was a Schwarzenegger appointee to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and served on the California Green Jobs Council. In 2005, Randal co-chaired a State Housing Task Force appointed by the Secretary of the State Business, Transportation & Housing Agency. In 1993 he was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to the Military Base Reuse Task Force. He also served as lead staff to the Economic Incentives Task Force of Governor Pete Wilson’s Council on California Competitiveness. He is a former member of the Long Beach Planning Commission. His current board memberships include: Los Angeles County Business Federation; Central City Association, Los Angeles; Center for the Study of Los Angeles at LMU, among others. Hernandez co-chaired the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp’s (LAEDC) Workforce Development Committee and served as a member of the Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Economy & Jobs Committee. He has served as a member of the Corporate Advisory Boards for the US Conference of Mayors, League of California Cities (corporate representative to the Housing and Community Development Committee) and California Latino Caucus Public Policy Institute.

Industry: Banking

Region: Long Beach

Sandra Hernandez

Dr. Sandra R. Hernández has been president and CEO of the California Health Care Foundation since January 2014. CHCF is an independent foundation with assets of more than $700 million, headquartered in Oakland, California, and dedicated to improving the health of the people of California. Prior to joining CHCF, Hernández was CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, which she led for 16 years. She previously served as director of public health for the City and County of San Francisco. Sandra is an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and maintains a clinical practice at San Francisco General Hospital in the AIDS clinic. She is a graduate of Yale University, the Tufts School of Medicine, and the certificate program for senior executives in state and local government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Sandra serves as a trustee of the Reno-based Asbestos Settlement Trusts and as an independent director of First Republic Bank. She is a member of the Public Policy Institute of California’s Statewide Leadership Council, the Yale University President’s Council, the UCSF Chancellor’s Advisory Board, and the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute Advisory Board.

Industry: Healthcare

Region: Oakland

David Lizárraga

David is internationally renowned as a pioneer in the field of community and economic development. He created the innovative TELACU Model, the community investment engine that sustains TELACU as the nation’s largest Community Development Corporation. He also shares his expertise, leadership, insight and time with many other civic, business, educational, governmental and community-based organizations. David is a past Chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, advocating for more than 2.5 million Latino businesses throughout the nation. He was recently appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Community Development Advisory Board. He was additionally the Area Coordinator of Teen Post Program, Los Angeles, CA from 1966 to 1969.

Industry: Non-Profit

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Monica Lozano

Monica Lozano is one of the most respected Hispanic business leaders in America, with a thirty year record of accomplishment leading diversified media organizations. She is currently Chair of the Board of US Hispanic Media, Inc., the parent company of ImpreMedia LLC. Lozano recently retired after five years as Chief Executive Officer of ImpreMedia, one of the largest media companies serving Hispanic communities in the United States. As CEO, she led the transformation of the business into a fully integrated multimedia content company. Prior to this, Lozano led the publications division for the company and was Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of La Opinión, the largest and most influential Hispanic newspaper in the country. In 2013 she completed a 12 year term as Regent of the University of California, but was asked to return by Governor Jerry Brown who then re-appointed Lozano in 2014. Today she is widely regarded as one of the most influential Latinas in the country and is a member of the board of directors of Bank of America, the Walt Disney Company, the University of Southern California, the Weingart Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Most recently, she was brought on as the board director of Target.

Industry: Media and Publishing

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Lidia Martinez

Ms. Lidia S. Martinez serves as Manager of Corporate Community Affairs/Southwest Airlines at Southwest Airlines. Ms. Martinez began her career at Southwest Airlines in 1990. In 2004, she was named Regional Manager of Hispanic Community Affairs where she played an integral part in identifying the airline’s role within the Latino community, and successfully opened many of its doors. In addition to being responsible for Southern California, Lidia leads a Team responsible for community outreach in the West Coast, and continues to support national efforts in New York City and Washington, DC. On top of her work at Southwest Airlines, Ms. Martinez serves on numerous boards and is involved in a variety of organizations dedicated to empowering under-represented communities on a much larger scale. She has served as the National Board vice Chair for the Los Angeles-based National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), whose mission is to improve the image and employment of Hispanic Americans in all media. She is the Immediate Past Chair and continues to serve on the MANA National Board of Directors. She has also served as a Director of Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Ms. Martinez studied at the University of Texas in Arlington where she received a Business Administration degree with a focus in marketing.

Industry: Airlines/Aviation
Region: San Diego, CA

John Molina

John Molina, JD has been employed by Molina Healthcare, Inc. since its inception, and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer. The current headquarters of Molina Healthcare is in Long Beach, CA, with centers in 16 other states. As CFO, Mr. Molina oversees all financial activity including corporate finance, investor relations, accounting, treasury and actuarial functions. In addition, he is responsible for executing Molina’s expansion efforts by overseeing the company’s business development, mergers, and acquisition program, during which time the Company has grown to have health plans in nine states, serving over 1.4 million Medicaid beneficiaries.

Mr. Molina serves on the boards of several organizations including the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach Community Foundation, Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the California State University Foundation. Mr. Molina received his B.A. in Economics from California State University, Long Beach where he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and he later earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Southern California School of Law in Los Angeles.

Industry: Healthcare

Region: Long Beach, CA

Luis Nogales

Prior to founding Nogales Investors, Mr. Nogales built an extensive and successful record as a senior operating executive and a private equity investor. He served as president of Univision, the preeminent U.S. Spanish language television network, president and chief executive officer of United Press International, principal of the Lombard/Nogales Radio Fund and senior advisor to the Deutsche Bank Private Equity Latin America Group. He has received several U.S. presidential appointments, including his appointment as a White House Fellow in 1972. Mr. Nogales is a board member of Edison International, KB Home, Arbitron Inc., The Getty Trust, Cedars-Sinai and the National Association of Investment Companies. He has previously served on the boards of Coors, Levi Strauss, Lucky Stores, Bank of California, Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Ford Foundation, Stanford University and the Mayo Clinic Trust. Mr. Nogales received his B.A. from San Diego State University and his Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School.

Industry: Investment

Region: Greater Los Angeles

George Pla

George Pla is a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist whose work spans business, civic and philanthropic activities that hold the common theme enhancing communities throughout California. George L. Pla is President, CEO, and founder of Cordoba Corporation, a statewide full-service civil engineering, construction management, and program management firm specializing in transportation, education, water, and energy infrastructure. Cordoba Corporation offices span across California with locations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Ana and San Diego. George Pla’s civic and philanthropic activities include serving as a Regent Emeritus at Loyola Marymount University, Presidential Associate at the University of Southern California, and co-founder of the USC Latino Alumni Association. He is a co-founder of the City Club, a premier private business club in Los Angeles that embraces and reflects the diversity and spirit of the city. George Pla’s financial knowledge and track record has been demonstrated in the founding, development and sale of two banks, First American Bank (OTC: FTAB) and Santa Ana Business Bank (OTC: SABB). Pla has been named by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Latinos in the nation.

Industry: Engineering and Construction

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Richard Polanco

Mr. Richard Polanco is a former California State Assemblymember and Senator, having been first elected in 1986. Mr. Polanco served in the State Assembly for eight years. In 1994, he was elected to the State Senate and served as Senate Majority Leader since 1998 until his retirement in 2002. Mr. Polanco chaired the California Latino Legislative Caucus from 1990 to 2002. In October 2002, Mr. Polanco established the California Latino Caucus Institute for Public Policy, a non-profit organization to serves as a broad based public policy, educational and leadership development organization. Prior to elected office, Mr. Polanco served on the staff of Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman, Assemblyman Richard Alatorre and Governor Jerry Brown. Mr. Polanco serves as a Director of Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc. and Evoq Properties, Inc. He also serves as a Member of Advisory Board of Sylvatex, Inc. Mr. Polanco attended East Los Angeles College, the University of Redlands and the Universidad de Mexico where he majored in Business Administration.

Industry: Non-Profit

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Jerry Poras

Jerry I. Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior, Emeritus. He received his BSEE from Texas Western College, his MBA from Cornell University, and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Among the honors he has received are the Brilliante Award from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Silver Apple Award from the Stanford Business School Alumni Association, and the Kanter Medal from the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1972. Professor Porras is author of Stream Analysis: A Powerful Way to Diagnose and Manage Organizational Change (Addison-Wesley, 1987); co-developer of the Stream Analysis Software Package (1999); and coauthor of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies(Harper Business, 1994) and “Building Your Company’s Vision,” Harvard Business Review (1996). He has served on several editorial boards including the Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review. Additionally, Mr. Porras is the founder and chairman of the board for the Latino Business Action Network; an organization involved with numerous Latino Startups

Industry: Management of Companies and Enterprises

Region: Palo Alto

Cástulo de la Rocha

Mr. Cástulo de la Rocha is President and CEO of AltaMed Health Services Corporation and a long standing community health leader. In the last 30 years, he has taken AltaMed, a non-profit community health clinic, from two employees to a fully-accredited Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with over 1,900 employees. Mr. de la Rocha was also named one of the Top 10 Latinos in the healthcare industry by Latino Leaders Magazine and one of the Top 100 Influential Latinos by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2008. Mr. de la Rocha currently serves on the boards of the California Association of Physician Groups, the Los Angeles Center Theatre Group, L.A.’s BEST, and the Latino Theater Company. He is also a Senior Fellow at UCLA School of Public Affairs and has served on the Board of Governors of L.A. Care Health Plan, as a Corporate Board Member of Blue Shield of California, as Regional Chair of the Surgeon General’s Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative, and as a Board Member of the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. Mr. de la Rocha holds a Juris Doctorate from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Certificate in Management from Stanford University.

Industry: Healthcare

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Fred Ruiz

Frederick Ruiz is the current Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents. He is Chairman Emeritus and Co-Founder of Ruiz Foods, Inc. Ruiz Foods is a privately held frozen food company founded in 1964; headquarters in Dinuba California with two additional facilities in Tulare, California and Denison, Texas. Mr. Ruiz held the position of Chairman of the Board at Ruiz Foods since 1998; he previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the company. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Ruiz Foods, McClatchy Newspapers, University of California Board of Regents, California Chamber of Commerce and San Joaquin Valley Partnership.

Additional business and community affiliations include: 2009 Chairman of the California Chamber of Commerce; Board of Trustees, University of California Merced; President’s Advisory Board, California State University, Fresno; Founding Board Member of The California Endowment, The Hispanic College Fund, and The Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Industry: Food Industry

Region: Central Valley

Frank Sanchez

Mr. Frank M. Sanchez serves as a Principal of The Sanchez Family Corporation (D/B/A McDonald’s Restaurants. Mr. Sanchez is a Licensee of McDonald’s Corporation. He has served as Director of Capital World Bond Fund – Class 529 – A since 1999. He now serves as a Trustee of Tax-Exempt funds in its fund complex. Frank served as a Director of New America Alliance. He serves as a Director of Short-Term Bond Fund of America and Intermediate Bond Fund of America – Intermediate Bond Fund of America. He also has served as a Director of H.F. Ahmanson & Company since 1995. Furthermore, he serves on the board of the LA84 foundation, the Los Angeles Sports Council, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and McDonald’s Operators Association of Southern California.

Industry: Food and Beverage

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Tom Soto

Tom Soto is a Managing Director and an Investment Committee Member at TCW|Craton. Tom has been a member of the board of many of Craton’s portfolio companies such as Liquid Environmental Solutions and Propel Alternative Fuels. Tom has been an active contributor to much of the state and federal legislation regarding climate change, Cap and Trade, and greenhouse gas emission reduction. As a business leader, Tom’s companies have included Cabrillo Fuels, where it was the largest minority producer of ethanol fuel in Southern California. During this period and prior to Craton Equity Partners and then TCW|Craton, Tom built his management consulting company, PS Enterprises, into the country’s leading consulting firm working with government and fortune 500 companies such as American Airlines, Verizon, and the White House in ensuring their compliance with new and stricter environmental regulations. Tom was an appointee of President Bill Clinton to the State Department’s Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, and was President elect Barack Obama’s Co-lead of the Executive Office of the President’s Transition Team for The White House Council on Environmental Quality from November of ‘08 to January of ‘09. Tom was recently recognized by Poder 360 Magazine as one of the Nation’s Top 100 Latino Green Leaders and was one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Latinos of 2010. During his limited spare time, Tom is the long time Board Secretary of the Mono Lake Committee and the former Chair and current Vice Chair of the California Science Center Board of Trustees. He is a leading voice in the emerging manager sector promoting diverse fund managers in finance as Chairman of the board of the New America Alliance. Tom received a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Industry: Sustainable Energy

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Michael Torres

Michael A. Torres is Chief Executive Officer and portfolio manager. Mr. Torres joined the firm in February 1995. He has 30 years of real estate and securities research experience. Prior to joining Adelante, Mr. Torres was the Director of Real Estate Research and a portfolio manager for Wilshire Asset Management. At Wilshire, he created the Wilshire Real Estate Securities Index, widely recognized as the industry’s performance benchmark. Mr. Torres is currently an active member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and YPO/WPO International. Mr. Torres serves on the Board of Directors of Renova Therapeutics and Colovore LLC; Investment Committee for the Stern Grove Festival Foundation, as well as on the Northern California Advisory Board for City National Bank. Mr. Torres received a B.A. in Architecture and an M.B.A. from University of California, Berkeley.

Industry: Real Estate

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Fidel Vargas

Fidel Vargas is President and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). After serving on HSF’s Board of Directors from January 2010 through December 2012, he assumed leadership of the organization on January 2, 2013. Mr. Vargas sets HSF’s overall direction; develops and oversees the execution of strategy; leads the senior management team; plays an active, leadership role in development and outreach activities for all constituencies, and advocates for HSF, throughout the country. Prior to joining HSF, Mr. Vargas was a Founding Partner of Centinela Capital Partners, an alternative asset management firm that invested nearly $1 billion in and alongside leading emerging private equity and venture capital funds. Prior to joining Centinela, Mr. Vargas was a Founding Principal and Managing Director of Reliant Equity Investors, a private equity investment firm investing in lower middle market companies. At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Vargas became the country’s youngest elected Mayor of a major city: Baldwin Park, California, with a population of 85,000, twenty miles northeast of Los Angeles. Time Magazine named him as one of the Top 50 Young Leaders in the United States, Hispanic Magazine named him one of the Top 30 Young Hispanics in the United States, he was named one of the country’s 100 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine and one of the 101 Most Influential Latinos by Latino Leaders magazine. Mr. Vargas graduated with honors from Harvard University with an A.B. in Social Studies. He received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and General Management.

Industry: Non-Profit; Education

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Gaddi Vasquez

Gaddi H. Vasquez is senior vice president of Government Affairs for Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, and its parent company, Edison International. He is responsible for government relations activities at the Federal and State level, as well as Local Public Affairs. Prior to SCE, Vasquez served as U.S. Ambassador and permanent representative to United Nations Agencies based in Rome. There he managed a U.S. multi-agency team responsible for oversight of U.N. Organizations. Vasquez has served on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, the California Criminal Justice Council and the California Film Commission. He serves on the boards of the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts, the Orangewood Foundation, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. Vasquez received a bachelor’s degree in Public Service Management from the University of Redlands and is the recipient of five honorary doctorate degrees.

Industry: Energy

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Daniel Villanueva

Mr. Villanueva is a Partner in Rustic Canyon / Fontis Partners, LP. Prior to RCF, Mr. Villanueva was involved in Spanish-language broadcasting and started several companies. Most recently, he led the launch of Major League Soccer in Southern California as President of the Los Angeles Galaxy, the young league’s most successful team. Villanueva is also known for his role as co-founder of Moya, Villanueva & Associates, Inc., a national marketing and public relations firm that was acquired as part of DMBB Worldwide. He also co-founded Radio America, Inc., a company involved in nationally-syndicated programming and radio station ownership. Additionally, he managed Spanish-language television stations KTVW-TV of Phoenix and KMEX-TV of Los Angeles, both Univision affiliates. Currently, Villanueva serves on the boards of Zoria Farms, Johnson Products and SAFE Security for RCF, and is an Observer for Sambazon, Inc. He also serves on the board of Pneumoflex Systems and previously served on the board of Pan American Bank. Mr. Villanueva supports many non-profit activities, and serves on the Boards of Fuller Theological Seminary, Focus on the Family, Opportunity International, and Westmont College. Past boards have included World Vision, Inc., Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Sports Council, California Community Foundation, Occidental College, Los Angeles Educational Partnership, Special Olympics, East Los Angeles YMCA, and Junior Achievement of Southern California.

Industry: Marketing and Athletics

Region: Greater Los Angeles

Peter Villegas

Peter R. Villegas is Vice President of Latin Affairs of the western region for The Coca-Cola Company. In his position, Mr. Villegas establishes and manages the execution of local, regional and national strategies that position The Coca-Cola Company as a leading corporate citizen in the U.S. Hispanic community. Responsibilities include establishing and managing relationships with key local, state and national Hispanic political, business, civic and community leaders. Peter has 23 years of experience in corporate America and began his career as a bank teller, working his way up through various roles in the financial industry, and has spent the last 15 years in key management positions. Villegas is a board member of the following organizations: U.S. Conference of Mayors Business Council Steering Committee, Central City Association, MALDEF, USC Latino Alumni Association, American Israel Public Affairs Committee National Council, (Chairman) United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Corporate Advisory Board, and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Jobs Pac. Peter received the 2012 United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Corporate Advocate of the year award and is recognized by the Orange County Business Journal as one of the most influential Hispanics in Orange County, CA, and in 2005, the Orange County Register identified Peter as one of the top ten people who will help shape the next 100 years of Orange County.

Industry: Food and Beverage
Region: Greater Los Angeles