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The Hispanic Leadership Summit 2024: A Path Forward for U.S. Latinos

Recently, New York City played host to the seventh annual Hispanic Leadership Summit (HLS), where over 800 Latino leaders and allies convened to forge a forward-thinking agenda for the Latino community in the U.S. This year's summit followed the national elections, providing a timely platform to discuss crucial issues and strategies affecting the Hispanic community.

The summit kicked off with the Hispanic Star Week 2024, organized by the We Are All Human Foundation, which aimed to elevate the Latino narrative through data-driven discussions and collaborative planning. Spearheaded by Claudia Romo Edelman, Founder and CEO of We Are All Human, the event sought to empower leaders with insights and tools necessary to uplift the community.

Day 1: Building Corporate Engagement

The first day's activities, held at IBM's Headquarters, centered around specialized workshops and roundtable discussions designed to enhance corporate engagement with the Hispanic community. Leaders brainstormed ways to improve relationships between brands and Latinos, with a focus on genuine connection and understanding.

Day 2: Insights on Consumer Perception

Transitioning to the United Nations Headquarters for the next two days, the second day focused on consumer perceptions. Participants explored how brands can authentically engage with Hispanic customers. Among the key revelations from the Hispanic Sentiment Study, in collaboration with Nielsen, it was found that 60% of Hispanic consumers would cut ties with brands that fail to value their community. Furthermore, 59% of respondents expected brands to be supportive of issues that matter to them.

Day 3: Engaging the Community

The final day was focused on community engagement. This segment served as an opportunity for attendees to contextualize ongoing discussions around the most relevant topics impacting the Latino community today. One of the event's highlights was the introduction of the Hispanic Star Promise Pledge, which encourages participants to commit to 10 actions that would promote the Latinidad narrative, foster community unity, and strive for greater equity in the future.

Notable speakers, including Isabel Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Emilio Estefan, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning producer, shared their valuable insights on various industries to guide participants in understanding Latino consumers and employees better.

A Unified Voice for Latinos

As Romo Edelman emphasized, “The U.N. is a place where decisions shape the world, and today we can do the same for our community.” The objective from the summit's inception has always been to establish a shared agenda to enhance the state of Latinos in America. With every passing year, the summit's audience expands, showing an increasing interest in understanding the latest data and engaging in meaningful conversations.

Among the co-chairs were Martin Cabrera, Jr., of Cabrera Capital and Ying McGuire, CEO and President of NMSDC. Their participation added gravitas to the summit, further reinforcing the message of unity among Latino leaders.

Key sponsors and supporters of the summit included major corporations such as AARP, Airbnb, Facebook, and Mastercard, showcasing the commitment of the private sector to improve engagement with the Hispanic community.

For those wishing to learn more or participate in the pledges made during the summit, additional information is available on the official website of Hispanic Star.

As the summit concluded, the commitment to uplift the Latino community persisted, with leaders leaving empowered to advocate for each other, embodying the principle that “empowered Latinos empower other Latinos.”