1. January 23, 2012
The woman behind the Cisneros Group screens
Adriana Cisneros de Griffin directs strategic planning for one of the world’s largest
privately held media, entertainment and telecommunications organizations.
BY JANE WOOLDRIDGE / THE MIAMI
HERALD
JWOOLDRIDGE@MIAMIHERALD.COM
When Adriana Cisneros de Griffin takes the
podium in Miami Monday at the annual
convention of NAPTE, the global TV industry
conference, she’ll be on familiar ground. The
Cisneros Group and its subsidiary, Venevision,
has offices in Miami, where she visits frequently.
Her job keeps her on the road: As
granddaughter of company founder Diego
Cisneros and daughter of chairman Gustavo
Cisneros, Adriana Cisneros directs strategic
planning for one of the world’s largest privately
held media, entertainment and
telecommunications organizations. Currently, its
Spanish and Portuguese-language content is
Adriana Cisneros De Griffin is Vice
Chairman and Vice President of Strategy of offered in 120 countries and, she says, “we are
the Cisneros Group of Companies. continuing the constant process of expansion.’’
ADRIANA CISNEROS DE GRIFFIN
Title: Vice Chairman and Vice President of To do so, Cisneros is looking to new
Strategy of the Cisneros Group; president of
Fundación Cisneros; chief executive of
technologies.
Tropicalia, a Cisneros Group eco-resort
project in the Dominican Republic “Our outlook is already pointed toward 2030,
Family history: Granddaughter of company and we are betting heavily in markets such as
founder Diego Cisneros; daughter of
chairman Gustavo Cisneros and Patricia
Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and
Phelps de Cisneros China; we are also seeking to have a greater
Education: B.A. from Columbia University; presence in social networks and alternative
master’s degree in journalism from New
York University; alumni of Harvard Business
media every day.’’
School
Community: A director of the International Q: If you were a book, what would your
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences title be?
(Emmys); involved with the Museum of
Modern Art in New York and various
This is Only the Beginning.
international development and scholarship
programs.
Personal: Age 32, married with two young
children

2. Q: What does your average work day look like?
When I am home in New York, I wake up early for a morning run along the West Side
Highway. Upon my return I wake the children, Eva Luisa (2) and Tomás (4), have
breakfast with them, take them to school and then I head straight to the office.
My work day begins touching base with my teams in Caracas, Brazil, Madrid, Miami and
the Dominican Republic. The rest of the day is filled with meetings and conference calls
with strategic partners and alliances. When time allows, I step out for lunch at a nearby
restaurant with colleagues or potential business partners.
Once I have wrapped things up at the office, I head back home to play with the kids, keep
them company while they have dinner, give them baths and read them a book (or two or
three.) Once they are asleep I spend quality time with my husband, Nick, and occasionally
meet up with close friends for dinner in our neighborhood.
When I am traveling I fill my days as much as possible - meeting with associates,
developing new business relationships, and networking in the community to ensure that I
am constantly in touch and aware of the local business environment. I also try to find time
to visit cultural exhibits and nonprofit organizations aligned with Fundación Cisneros’
philosophy. Lastly, when time permits, I try to connect over a meal with friends living
nearby.
Q. Media has become an increasingly competitive business, even in the
burgeoning Hispanic market. What’s your overall strategy for staying on top of
the market?
I could sum it up in one word, “innovation”. During the last five years that I’ve worked for
the Group, my main commitment has been to modernize the traditional media system and
take advantage of the new technologies, transforming our content and the way in which
we relate to our audiences.
Thanks to an innovative interactive strategy, during its transmission in the United
States, Eva Luna, our most successful telenovela to date, captured more than 2 million
new viewers by refreshing the genre and making this soap opera into an attractive format
for the younger audiences, incorporating blogs, episodes on line, summaries, exclusive
web videos and surveys among others.
Q: What’s your prediction for where media overall will go in the next 5-10
years? Will social media still be important? Will print have a role? And how will
television change?
The new technologies are transforming communications media and the social networks
are a fundamental part of that. We are closer than ever to our audience, there is now
practically immediate feedback and a greater involvement of the public with their favorite
programs. The tendency is toward interactivity, when we produce a format, we have to do
so thinking about designing special content for every screen.
Technology also allows us to have ever greater and quicker access to information; in my
own case, with the advent of the iPad I can say I now read more news than ever.

3. Q: What is the Cisneros Group doing to adapt to these new trends?
Rather than adapting ourselves, we identify the opportunities provided by these trends
and we capitalize on them. There are two ways of talking about our work:
1. Activities aimed at creating synergies with our traditional business such as: our alliance
with Netflix; the work we have been doing with Hulu in the United States; our winning
presence on YouTube (where we receive 25 million visits a month); and of course on our
site www.venevision.com.
2. The initiatives we undertake based on business opportunities that present themselves.
Even when these initiatives are not directly linked to our traditional business, such as the
advertising network and mobile agency that we are creating for the Hispanic and Latin
American market.
Q: Do you envision Cisneros moving into English-language programming? Or
will the shift in demographics and increasing use of Spanish in the U.S. be
enough to keep the company where it wants to be?
The Hispanic market is the segment with the greatest growth in the United States; the
Hispanic population grew 43 percent from 2000 to 2010. Moreover, this segment watches
more television and its buying power and influence grows every day; which is why it is
such an important focus for the Cisneros Group.
However, we are aware that this segment is changing, and if there is a part of the
population that still prefers content completely in Spanish, there is also a good part,
principally bilingual families, that watches more and more television in English, but that
doesn’t mean they stop being Latinos and thinking as such. There is a great opportunity in
the creation of content for this market and that is why we are starting to work on a
strategy for the development of content in English.
Q: You work in a high-profile company that also happens to be a family
business. What’s the hardest part about being in a family business? And what’s
the best part?
Given that our company is 80 years old this year, our TV network 50 years old and our
Family Foundation 35 years old, the hardest part of running a family enterprise is knowing
that I am expected to do so for the next 20 or 30 years. I know that my family is looking
forward to celebrating our 100 years, so clearly this is a game of not only strategy and
success but also of endurance.
The best part is knowing that all the hard work, the long hours, the endless travel is all to
benefit my family and our business. I like having that sense of purpose. From a young age
I have been immersed in the business culture of the organization, which allowed me to
have a natural formation of the business philosophy. I always knew I wanted to work for
my family, to continue the work that my father and mother have done in the Organization
and the Foundation; it’s a vocation that I enjoy tremendously.

4. Q: Being a woman in business in Latin America isn’t always easy. What impact
do you think that has had on you? Have you had any difficulties because of it?
Do you have to juggle more between family and business? Has it in some ways
been an advantage?
The “woman” issue has never been an issue at Cisneros. I grew up in a household where
our parents had the same expectations of us regardless of gender, so I suppose that way
of thinking also carried over into the work place.
The only challenge I face in being a woman is feeling like I am always in a hurry from
work to home. For me, it is as important to succeed at my job as it is to be a great mom
and wife, but doing all three can, at times, be exhausting! I wouldn’t have it any other
way though, all three roles are equally important to me.
Q: What’s the best business advice you ever got?
“Put Mind, Heart and Courage” in business. This was my grandfather, Diego Cisneros’,
philosophy. He inculcated it in us, and over three generations it has allowed us to
consolidate into a leading organization, diversified, innovative and with a great social
commitment.
Q: What’s the best business advice you wish you had been given, but had to
learn the hard way?
I wish someone had told me early on that this is an endurance race, with long-term goals,
where time is a key factor in planning any business.
I am a results-oriented person and have always wanted to see immediate results. I can be
impatient in that regard, but now I can see that timing is a key factor in the planning of
any business and that being in a hurry to deliver can actually get in the way of seeing the
greater potential of a deal.
Q: As women, we know that packing for business trips is harder for us than it is
for men. How do you handle packing?
I travel four days a week on average, so packing is a big part of my life. At this point I
have it down to a science. When I am packing for a business trip, I have two objectives:
to be able to take only carry-on luggage and that my clothes should arrive without
needing pressing. I have a few cardinal rules: commit to one color accessories, fold
clothes strategically to avoid getting wrinkles, and though I am an avid runner, if the hotel
has a pool I bring goggles instead of my sneakers, which gives me some welcomed extra
space.
When I travel I like to be able to focus on my job 100 percent, packing strategically is one
of those things that really makes my life less complicated.
Q: How does being the CEO of a real estate project square with your company’s
media interests?
The company’s entrepreneurial spirit has always been to identify and capitalize on
opportunities, my grandfather said we should "collect all the diamonds that we find"; we
have worked under this philosophy and as a result, we are a company capable of
successfully undertaking new business when it presents itself, regardless of the sector.

5. Q: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do in business?
The hardest thing I have had to do in business is accepting the challenge to be my
father’s successor and to feel confident that I am the right person for the job.
I am surrounded by people who are extremely smart and have been at it for a much
longer time than I have. I always feel that I still have so much to learn from my team and
most importantly from my father.
Q: What keeps you awake at night?
I lose sleep when I feel that the day has ended and I don’t have full clarity on something I
am working on.
Q: What do you do to unwind?
To unwind I like spending time with my family. I try to make it home for the weekend no
matter where I am. I love cooking for them, going for long walks in the woods with our
kids and dog, and reading books. Pretty simple, but very gratifying.
Q: Tell us one thing your colleagues might be surprised to learn about you.
I love climbing big mountains. More concretely: I like climbing 14,000-foot peaks. Recently
I climbed Plata Peak, Pyramid Peak and Mt. Elbert in Colorado.
Next on my wish list are Pico Duarte, Cotopaxi and Kilimanjaro.