Primary and secondary findings and interviews with subject matter experts on the importance of diversity in the boardroom with comparisons against Hispanics and Caucasians in the two-tournament system of corporate America. Further identifies the importance of mentors, specifically senior mentors, who help their protégées with obtaining stretch assignments and the opportunities for nominations into board of governance roles. However, with narrow specifications, it is the efforts of the Hispanic executive to work twice as hard, be a subject matter expert in his/her field of interest, and obtain the competencies required, and outlined in this study, to further their chances to be the future of C-Suite Hispanics.

1. USF - 611
The Future of C-Suite
Hispanics
Research Paper & Findings
Ed Hernandez, MBA
12/6/2011

2. 1
Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 2
Research question ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Definitions of Terms................................................................................................................................... 5
Methods....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Results......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Review of the literature............................................................................................................................... 6
Interviews.................................................................................................................................................. 10
Interview with Donna Blancero............................................................................................................ 10
Interview with Victor Arias, Sr............................................................................................................. 11
Interview with Carlos Orta.................................................................................................................... 13
Discussion & Findings.............................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 1................................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 2................................................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 3................................................................................................................................................. 18
Figure 4................................................................................................................................................. 18
References................................................................................................................................................. 20

3. 2
The Future of C-Suite Hispanics
Ed Hernandez, MBA
University of San Francisco, Masagung School of Management
MSOD Class of 2012
December, 2011
Abstract
Primary and secondary findings and interviews with subject matter experts on the importance of
diversity in the boardroom with comparisons against Hispanics and Caucasians in the two-tournament
system of corporate America. Further identifies the importance of mentors, specifically senior mentors,
who help their protégées with obtaining stretch assignments and the opportunities for nominations into
board of governance roles. However, with narrow specifications, it is the efforts of the Hispanic
executive to work twice as hard, be a subject matter expert in his/her field of interest, and obtain the
competencies required, and outlined in this study, to further their chances to be the future of C-Suite
Hispanics.
Introduction
There has been limited research on the importance of diversity in the board room and how Hispanics,
would represent the 10th
largest economy in the world (Sanchez, 2011), hold significant buyer power
that lacks market reciprocity in Corporate America, specifically the Fortune 1000 companies in the
United States and its corporate board rooms. This study leverages previous research and updates the
current state of the Hispanic talent pipeline for board governance roles that will help further the business
case for diversity in the board room and how it needs to start from the top and not the front lines.
(Garcia, 2009)
As background of the opportunity, Hispanic Americans, who represent 14% (as of 2009) of the United
States, occupy only 2.3% of the total board of director seats among Fortune 1000 companies. Some
Hispanics have reached higher organizational levels, as a whole the population continues to be
underrepresented at the upper echelons, or the C-Suites, of major Corporations. This ascension of the
few who have progresses up the corporate ladder presents social challenges with those who are still

4. 3
aspiring or do not have the requisite skills/education for such positions (e.g. social isolation,
disconnect/distance, and less civic engagement. (C. Douglas Johnson, 2009) Therefore, this research
will further understand the opportunity to bring more Hispanics into the boardroom in order to address
these social challenges as well as to fulfill the need for diverse experience and perspective in the
boardroom as more companies ride the globalization wave. (Garcia, 2009)
The opportunity to understand the challenge for Hispanic-Americans to proportionally represent the
population on Fortune 1000 corporate boards in the United States due to the concept of market
reciprocity and the need for diverse leadership in this ‘hyper-connected’ world is explored in this
research paper. Therefore, I leverage the established network that has been developed over my tenure as
a leader of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs for the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2009, I was
invited to attend the Hispanic Executive Summit where I learned about the opportunities that exist and
the challenges in obtaining board appointments to corporations in the United States. From my
experience, I learned there are a desired skill set, and a gap in the ability to proportionally represent
Hispanics in the upper echelons of Corporate America. (C. Douglas Johnson, 2009) From the
opportunity to undergo a research project and topic of my choice, I determined the best topic that could
build on my knowledge for future use, and that for others, would to better understand the challenges that
Hispanics face in being selected for these important roles in corporate America that shape policy and
make critical decisions for its stakeholders.
From my initial interest in this topic, there was an intuition that the status quo was a lack of market
reciprocity in the board room. Through the secondary research I discovered there had been challenges
for African-Americans, who were the first to be considered “Minorities” in the view of the dominant
culture. Only through the civil rights movement, did African-American obtain a seat at the table;
however still battle for opportunity into executive management. It is through the work of David Thomas
that identifies the ‘two-tournament system’ of corporate succession for whites in contrast to minorities
(Thomas, 2001). From Thomas, we can identify the need for mentors and corporate sponsors who need
to realize the importance of mentoring and that race matters when you mentor a minority protégée.
Thereafter, it is the importance of understanding the competencies as identified through Anna Duran’s
research and study that allow quantifying the skill set that will build competencies to serve in the board

5. 4
room such as Financial Acumen (Duran & Lopez, 2009). Finally, from my research findings and
interviews, we can obtain an update to the pipeline of Hispanic executives’ competencies for the board
room and the current economic environment that will galvanize the desired representation by the
Hispanic Directors of today as well as those who aspire to serve in corporate America’s boards of
influence.
Research question
Therefore, the question that I pose in my research is the following: Are American Hispanics
proportionally represented in the Fortune 1000 boards, and if not, how can my findings support the
efforts to proportionally represent them in the upper echelons of corporate America the board rooms of
major corporations.
After proposing my research topic, it was clear that the secondary research available had done some
analysis of the key attributes and behaviors that would lead to obtaining a board seat on a Fortune 1000
board as a Board Director. The gap was evident in a recent documentary by Hispanic Association on
Corporate Responsibility (HACR) in the ‘Insider Game’ released fall 2011 (Sanchez, 2011). In that
documentary, there is the realization that there is not a following of young Hispanic executives in their
shadows continuing through the glass ceiling, yet those Hispanic Executives who have achieved board
status are now looking to leave a legacy.
In my research, I have sampled my vast network of business professionals of over 1000 professionals
and obtained a response rate of approximately 20% from those surveyed for a total of 260 responses.
From those responses, I performed an analysis in attributes and competencies found in a previous
research study by Dr. Anna Duran and contrasted that information to those who currently seek to
become a governance member of a Fortune 1000 company with additional behavioral attributes that
leverage the work of Dr. Donna Blancero, whom I interviewed for this study.
From my interview with Dr. Blancero and two other senior executives, I was able to determine some of
the variables that matter in being invited to serve or being selected to sit on a Board. First and foremost,
it is the corporate sponsor or mentor who will serve as the individual who can help groom the individual

6. 5
to the role, but it is the individual who must excel at the work and challenges in corporate life that will
get him/her on those respective boards. In addition, there is the requirement to fulfill corporate roles
that may require the aspiring professional to relocate various times w/in his/her career for the benefit of
the corporation.
Definitions of Terms
In order to identify my sample to identify itself in race, I leveraged the U.S Census 2010 race
qualifications as follows, with an option to decline stating their race:
• Caucasian - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or
North Africa.
• African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
• Hispanic/Latino - A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central America, or other
Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
o Hispanic American – Infers Hispanic of U.S birth as the general definition does not state
if the respondent is born within the United States of America
• Asian - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or
the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, or Vietnam.
• American Indian/Alaska Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North
or South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or
community attachment.
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander - A person having origins in any of the original peoples
of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific islands.
Secondly, to define the term of a Fortune 1000, it is a list of public corporations listed by Fortune
Magazine on a yearly basis. In addition, most corporations, public or private, have a board of directors
who meet on a regular basis to provide strategic direction to the organization’s leadership on behalf of
its stakeholders. The Fortune 1000 is based on their revenues collected in a given fiscal period.

7. 6
Mentors or Corporate Sponsors can be formal or informal individuals who develop a professional
relationship in the workplace through a mutual and beneficial interest in professional development
and/or a philanthropic desire to make a difference or give back to individuals who may benefit from the
support of another professional in the workplace.
Methods
I started by search in secondary research by reviewing a white paper that was published by Korn/Ferry
Institute in 2009 when I attended the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s (NSHMBA) Hispanic
Executive Summit that same year. From that research, I pursued subject matter experts, like the co-
author of the paper, an educator and previous Editor of the Hispanic Business Journal published by
NSHMBA, and was thereafter referred to existing publications and another subject matter expert, which
I interviewed in a face-to-face meeting during NSHMBA’s Annual Conference this fall. From the
review of the literature, I was able to identify competencies and challenges of Hispanics in management,
the history of diversity, and current efforts in driving the Hispanic Boardroom initiative to the forefront
of corporate America.
Results
Review of the literature
The literature that I found started with the Korn/Ferry white paper that spoke to the business case in
hiring diversity for corporate boards, followed by the competencies identified by Dr. Duran in her
research, that followed additional interviews, further research with Mr. Thomas’ findings in climbing the
corporate ladder and how race matters, while further research on diversity in the board room leverages
some of the same sources in my literature review. However, there has been little to update or provide
the importance of developing the pipeline to serve in corporate America for which this paper furthers the
dialogue within my academic and professional circles.
Out of the many articles and publications that I reviewed, I have summarized just a few of the ones that
we felt were most germane to my area of interest.

8. 7
A Leadership Repository for Boards of Directors, VICTOR ARIAS, SR. AND CARLOS GARCIA
Arias and Garcia presented statistics on how Hispanic Americans only represented 2.3 percent of the
total board of director seats among Fortune 1000 companies; at that time, only 19 percent of Fortune
1000 boards had a Hispanic director. In this white paper, it states the challenges in bringing Hispanic
executives for nomination due to the presence of new regulatory era, lingering misconceptions about the
Hispanic market (the difference between the Latin American executive from that of an American
Hispanic), a tough director recruiting environment, and, equally important, flaws in the directorship
search and selection process. This publication speaks directly to the implications of the Hispanic
representation gap within the ranks of U.S. publicly held corporations. As referenced, Vic Fazio, a
former Congressman who [at publication] sits on the board of Northrop Grumman Corporation states
“Individuals who have had direct responsibility in areas important to the company have a regulatory
perspective are valuable; it is an additional benefit if these people bring gender or ethnic diversity to a
board.”
As Arias states, this is a Trillion-Dollar Business Case that lends itself to competitors who understand
the market, where the U.S. Hispanic market is massive and growing and if neglected, will likely lose
“product and service of choice” opportunities and market share. Secondly, many Hispanic business
leaders cannot be identified and recruited through traditional networks; therefore, the boards that build
relationships with Hispanic executives will be better able to compete for increasingly valuable
managers, executives and directors in the future as the influence of the Hispanic market grows. Finally,
the required engagement with the community and stakeholder organizations will be established and
strengthen with the visibility into Hispanic communities when companies are seen as an employer of
choice and hire the Hispanic talent to bridge that gap to sell to the Hispanic consumer market. Arias and
Garcia recommend in order to strengthen the selection process to redefine the specifications to include
“business-cultural fluency” that requires “inclusion” which differs from “representation” to stimulate the
exchange of ideas and knowledge among intellectual peers on a board of directors. In addition to
redefining the specifications, they suggest to modify the search process to include more finalists and
take greater responsibility in brining Hispanic candidates to the nominating committee.

9. 8
The Truth about Mentoring Minorities: Race Matters, DAVID A. THOMAS
Thomas builds on his book with John J. Gabarro, of Breaking Through: The Making of Minority
Executives in Corporate America (HBS Press, 1999) to the Harvard Business Review in brief to bring
attention to the two-tournament system that lends itself to fast track whites early into middle
management while minorities tenure in middle management lends itself to a longer yet beneficial period
into executive management. Thomas speaks to his interviews with 20 minority executives,
predominantly African-Americans but also Asian- and Hispanic-American, and 12 white executives
with 21 nonexecutives (people who had plateaued in middle management) through their experiences and
progression through corporate America over three years ;he also reviewed the promotion records of
more than 500 managers and executives at three major U.S. corporations: a manufacturer of commodity
products, an electronics company, and a high-tech firm. These corporations that Thomas studied had a
long history of commitment to diversity and he felt that these companies would have more to teach us
about how minority executives could succeed – even given various obstacles.
Through his findings, he found an Entry level to middle management stage where minorities watched
their white counterparts quickly receive plum assignments and promotions into middle management, and
grew discouraged. However, some minorities remain motivated by forging mentoring close and fuller
developmental relationships with mentors who opened the door to challenging assignment and expanded
responsibilities, sending the message, “These are higher performers.” During the second stage,
minorities “catch up” to fast-tracked whites through deep and broad functional expertise that leads to
influence over subordinates who might otherwise be resistant to minority leaders. Finally, after
minorities have forget mentoring relationships with powerful corporate-level sponsors, minority
managers take on challenges to working cross-functionally, learning to think and act more strategically
and politically than their white counterparts. Thomas continues to emphasize that minorities continue to
develop their networks of highly placed mentors and sponsors, relationships with bosses become crucial,
and they establish several new, long-term relationships with other executives as well, both white and
minority. After developing this framework of the two-tournament system, Thomas continues to discuss
the challenges on cross-race mentoring and its unique challenges with suggestions to openly discuss
racial sensitivities, see yourself in your protégés, and if unsure of one’s role as a mentor of a minority,
help protégés identify other appropriate supporters.

10. 9
Increasing Chances for Hispanic Selection and Participation in the C-Suite, ANNA DURAN, PHD
AND PATRICIA DENISE LOPEZ, PHD
Duran and Lopez survey Hispanic executives who are members of a corporate board and those who are
seeking corporate board appointments around eleven knowledge domains or corporate board member
competencies that they identified from a review of business and academic literature as well as interviews
with board members, search professional, and management experts. They used two-tailed t-test data
analyses to reveal that corporate board members and non-corporate board members evaluated their
competencies differently in two domains, namely, possession of knowledge of a specific industry or
organization of interest, and financial and statistical literacy. Duran and Lopez refined their questions
through a pilot phase of the survey a year in advance with 32 participants and added another domain of
knowledge called business cultural fluency.
The total pool of subjects for this study involved 180 Hispanic attendees of a series of corporate
governance courses held within an executive education program at a major school of business over a
span of four classes from 2003-2007. These subjects responded to the survey by letter, e-mail, and
personal calls for a response rate of 30%, or 54 participants. Out of the competencies defined in the
survey, Hispanic executives seeking board positions rated ‘More than Sufficient and Above’ knowledge
in the areas of having a portfolio of significant experiences and accomplishments, general leadership
experience, an understanding of the relationship between business and economic environment (on
domestic markets), and a well honed area of expertise.
However, areas that could be further developed were that of financial and statistical literacy, market
knowledge and marketing acumen, knowledge of boards and their functions, and the relationship
between business and the economic environment (as it refers to the realities of globalization on the
marketplace and the workplace). Through their research and findings, they discuss that it is not just
“who you know,” “how many contacts you have,” “what you stand for” or “what you have done as a
leader” that counts when being considered for the governance positions; it is also “what you know”
specific to the needs of business and the industry in question. Therefore, as found in the sample, those

11. 10
interested in holding a corporate board position, must be clear about an organization or industry that
they would like to serve as directors.
The governance experts and search professionals, as identified in the article, all agree that having a deep
understanding of the key drivers of the industry/business as well as the philosophical values of the
organization of interest are essential elements of contribution for corporate board members. This
perspective, as referenced by Duran and Lopez, suggests that knowledge transfer is a key component of
social capital or network development.
Interviews
I interviewed an educator who has published on Hispanics and the importance of mentorship, an
executive search partner who places Hispanic Directors into corporate boards, and the CEO of an
advocacy group for Hispanics. Within these interviews, I further discovered the fiber that connects them
all, a passion for representation and a voice that wants and needs to be heard in the rooms that matter,
the board rooms of America, the classrooms of higher learning, and in the halls of democracy where
policy is shaped for the average person.
Interview with Donna Blancero
Blancero, an Associate Professor at Bentley University, has been a supporter, a mentor, and informal
champion of mine since I joined the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and when I was interested in
pursuing my PhD and I researched that path through the PhD Project in 2007. She has been the editor of
The Business Journal of Hispanic Research and published numerous papers on diversity and the
importance of mentorship. In my phone interview with her, we discussed the importance of mentoring,
individuals who I should interview as well, and two articles that I have included in my literature review
to further develop this research project. In respect to networking, there was the importance of being
connected to the right people, that qualifications does not equal knowledge, and there needs to be a level
of digging deeper for Hispanic talent in the board room.

12. 11
The lack of representation in networking circles that drive the pipeline for executives in the C-suite, the
board rooms of corporate America, or the in-groups, must be bridged and that leveraging the research of
David Thomas in “Breaking Through…” can further identify the strategic, big picture importance of the
network and the importance of developing strategic partnerships through stretch assignments.
Thereafter, we stressed the importance of education as there is a significant gap in high school diploma
achievement versus that of Blacks (African-Americans) or Whites (Caucasians) in the United States. In
addition, there should not be the ‘poor us’ attitude in Hispanics, rather emphasizing the clear aspects of
educational concerns for all and the importance of connecting the lack of higher educational success for
Hispanics that leaves a gap in the pipeline of representation in corporate America and that impact on
decisions for proportionate representation in professional roles in the United States.
Thereafter, we discussed what is “Success” for the whites versus Hispanics who have looked for a
work/life balance and how the millennials (those coming to age in the 2000s, Generation Y) will also
crave for balance in their personal and professional lives. Finally, having the knowledge of those
knowledge areas of importance to succeed in corporate boards is critical, but we go back into have
mentors with influence, albeit they may be white males, it is important to be mentored and possibility
further education with the support of educations like the National Association of Corporate Directors
(NACD) and leverage the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) resources to
further close the gap.
Interview with Victor Arias, Sr.
Arias is an Senior Client Partner at Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm, whom advocates
for Hispanic executives for corporate appointments and is a board member of AFC Enterprises (i.e.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen), Advisory Council Member for Stanford Graduate School of Business, and
a mentor to the pipeline of aspiring Hispanic professionals like myself. In our phone interview, we
discussed the economic environment and its impact on board turnover contributing to the decline in
representation for Hispanics and minorities at public companies as existing directors do not want to
‘jump ship’ and mandatory retirement ages are being extended from 62 to 65 years of age. In addition,
corporate America look looks at CEOs/CFOs of public companies and does not consider private
companies, board of regents, board of trustees, and therefore narrows the scope of potential diversity
option, people of color, and is the ‘eye of the needle’ in this dilemma of proportional representation in

13. 12
the C-Suite. In addition, half of placements go to search firms with these narrow search criteria and the
remainder of the nominations go the “old fashioned way” as who you know and is found within the in-
group or ‘top of mind’ aspect of personal circle of influences.
Arias recommends changing the specifications and expanding the search criteria to go after general
managers and not just CFOs. As an example, he states there is an emphasis on execution compensation
and there is a need for a Human Resource executive on corporate boards who can understand how to
structure compensation as there is more scrutiny with institutional investors like California retirements
systems (i.e. CalPERS/CalSTRS). In addition, there is a peer compensation process that is creating a
‘paper up’ process for the right lend of compensation structure and company expertise on the board with
the HR representative focusing on representation of Hispanics- and African-Americans within said
boards. A company that states it is committed to diversity and its importance is being asked by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to divulge the ‘how’ board appointments occur and the
importance of Diversity is being seconded by big institutions like CalPERS.
Arias further leverages the Census findings from 2000 and recently 2010 that the wave was coming and
is now here, respectively, about preparing the work force to attract the Hispanic market and consumer in
the “how to” attract those segments into buying the companies products and services to sustain profits
and grow overall bottom lines in the United States. Further discussion around attraction of Hispanics
into the pipeline of board appointments can not only be solved within corporate America, but these
companies will need to reach out to Entrepreneurs, and non profits; those aspiring Hispanic executives
will need to be educated through search firms and HACR; corporate relations engagement may support
the idea of driving the pipeline forward, but may skip a generation on the importance of making an
impact. Finally, Arias further emphasized the importance of having a white mentor, not a Latino
mentor, due to power and influence in organizations with senior professionals as it is not a level playing
field where minorities have to work twice as hard to succeed.
In correspondence, Arias shared a PowerPoint deck that states that 86% of the Fortune 1000 have zero
Hispanic representation on the Board; total seats held by Hispanic-Americans are 142 out of 9,800 seats
(approximately 1.4%) as analyzed by Korn/Ferry. Some of the trends in his deck were International

14. 13
replaced diversity as focus, SOX created demand for CEOs/CFOs, low turnover in seats (as referenced
in our phone interview). Some of the demand drivers are higher turnover of seats, improving economy,
census results, IPO influence, government regulations and scrutiny, institutional investor pressure.
Supply issues stated in his presentation are that Hispanics can’t be found, lack of corporate executive
development/retention, critical mass, narrow specifications (little desire for non-traditional candidates),
and few reliable sources of Latino Candidates. With his next slide, he looks for the action plan of who is
responsible, what can be done, where is the focus, and how to create sustainable change.
Interview with Carlos Orta
Orta is the CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and recently published the
“Insider Game” 12-minute movie that speaks to current Hispanic Executives on corporate boards desire
to answer Mr. Arias’ questions of who is responsible, what can be done, where to focus, and how to
create the desired change. During our face-to-face meeting in Anaheim during the National Society of
Hispanic MBA convention that we both were attending, we sat down for the hour to understand the
challenge of market reciprocity in corporate America, the history of diversity and its challenges, and
what HACR is doing to support this initiative with the help of Hispanic executives with influence in the
board rooms.
Orta states that proportional representation is not owed to us, but the numbers show that Hispanics have
a 20-30 market share in the products and service offering in the United States. It is about asking the
question of diversity in business to business interactions and that there are not enough opportunities for
Hispanics to be CEOs, to Arias’ point, and look beyond the traditional specifications into entrepreneurs,
as well as city, county, and state boards of commissions and federal boards to obtain a “Stamp of
Approval” to serve in corporate governance. As boards look to prioritize who sits on them, there is a
prioritization to obtain an expert on the board, be the best of the best, and if they get a diversity
candidate, that is great; however, competence adds the value required to fulfill the required
specifications. Furthermore, it is who you know as if you are not on “main street, you miss out” on the
opportunities to be nominated. He further illustrates that the power structures can be found in the
Symphony, Orchestra, and Ballet boards, or as he states that Anita Fey has coined the SOB boards.

15. 14
We discussed the importance of mobility in assignments and his previous experience in corporate
America with advice to be mobile as being a Cuban in Florida is not a rarity and if he did not like his job
assignments, that he could come back with additional experience that his peers would never obtain. He
suggests it is best to socialize and be strategic on boards, create a (20 year) plan or roadmap to become
an executive and champions/corporate sponsors will seek you out for the opportunities you may desire.
In addition, he suggests that Hispanics learn to make sacrifice and that African Americans demand what
they want and Hispanics do not. From this point, we discuss the history of blacks’ workings to become
the predominant “minority” and through their efforts, define those civil rights that Hispanics are now
stepping into and benefiting through their own efforts. Even though, the efforts have been made for
inclusion, it is still important to be the best and have a solid track record.
Finally, passion is important for Hispanics and Orta held that passion through his professional
experience working at Ford and his passion for cars and current role as CEO for HACR as a politico
working on behalf of the many Hispanic executives in power who are looking to HACR for the support
of moving the goal of proportional representation in the board room and hence, leaving a legacy for the
Millennials to step into the doors those Hispanic executives have opened and no one has yet stepped
through in their foot steps as thought would occur. He speaks to the benefits of being bi-cultural and
that is an importance trait to hold as diversity is critical in this global economy that is now leaning on the
BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) that will be driving significant growth in the
upcoming years. And if Orta could, he would learn Mandarin to further his qualifications to be the best
and compete with the best in this hyper-connected world.
Discussion & Findings
In my findings, I surveyed my network of professionals of 1,340 professionals via email and subsequent
postings via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter with 249 (partial and complete) responses for a response
rate of 18.6% in the fall of 2011. In my responses, a majority of my respondents where Caucasian and
Hispanics, whom I analyzed for the findings to the questions developed using the categories developed
by Duran and Lopez in their Board Competency Survey (Duran & Lopez, 2009). In addition, I included
behavioral type questions developed through my secondary research, interviews, and feedback from

16. 15
peers and my professor. In the analysis I found that approximately 90% of the sample favored
“Increasing diversity in gender and ethnicity among Fortune 1000 board members is critical to
improving corporate governance and building a competitive advantage.” However, those responses
could be found biased due to the social likeability factor and may be not as high if tested in indirect
methods to find further validation of this belief. However, the response to mentors and having senior
mentors was more surprising and representative of the population through hypothesis testing and
confidence intervals at the p-value of 0.05, that Hispanics are more likely to have a mentor or corporate
sponsor by an approximate ratio of 2-to-1 than Caucasians. Furthermore, this ratio stays consistent with
that of a senior executive mentor whom, from the research, provides further validation that the
individual is someone who should be mentored and be watched as a high-potential employee for stretch
assignments (Figure 1).
Even though the majority of Caucasians and Hispanics do not have a senior mentor, it is important to
note the difference between those that do have the senior mentor as Mr. Thomas writes in his article that
white middle managers plateau and do not achieve executive management status while Hispanics tend to
‘catch-up’ due to mentoring relationships forged in their early parts of their career through stretch
assignments that propel them into executive management in the two-tournament system. Being in this
sample, I performed a hypothesis test and confidence intervals for the range of responses that I would
receive from the general population at a 95% confidence interval. From my hypothesis test that there is
no difference in the sample (null hypothesis) between Caucasians and Hispanics having a Senior
Mentor, as asked “Do you have a senior executive (VP level or above) as a mentor and/or corporate
sponsor?” I found that I could reject the null hypothesis (there is a difference) at p-value of 0.00002 and
that the confidence level at 95%, for Caucasians having a senior mentor range from 27.2% to 45% with
my proportion sampled at 36.1% and Hispanics interval range from 54.7% to 73.1% with my proportion
sample at 63.9%. Therefore, I can confidently state at the 95% confidence level Hispanics are twice as
likely to have a senior mentor as their Caucasian mentor helping Hispanics obtain stretch assignments
and announce them as high-caliber employees.

17. 16
Figure 1
Furthermore, I analyzed the findings of Duran, et al findings of the Board Competencies a found within
her survey and contrasted her means to those found within my survey to see that my sample has a
“sufficient knowledge to “more than sufficient knowledge” (mean averages of 3.0 - 3.4) of the board
competencies versus her sample of Hispanic executives with “more than sufficient knowledge” to “high
levels of sufficient knowledge” (mean averages of 3.9 - 4.3) in general leadership experience, a well
honed level of experience, a portfolio of significant experiences and accomplishments, and an
understanding of the relationship between business and the economic environment. Therefore stating,
that those attending executive training versus my sample may be more senior in their progression
towards board attainment or that there has been a lack of progression for the C-suite Hispanic in today’s
environment since the study. However, Duran’s sample was relatively smaller and a more captive
audience, versus a generalized population that is in business and Hispanic, therefore my current sample

18. 17
could be more accurate and generalizable to the skill set of the Hispanic executive with the age range of
35-54 years of age versus her sample that did not include age, rather seniority at the executive level
status. Some of the characteristics of my sample is more of Individual Contributors to Senior Managers
(Figure 2) with 11 to 20 years of experience and the majority of the sample with 10+ years working for a
Fortune 1000 company with the majority of the sample not serving on a corporate board, rather half of
the Hispanic sample serving on a non-profit board.
Figure 2
For Hispanics in this sample, I have identified the summary statistics against some of the key
competencies in Duran’s competency survey where 2 is “Some competency,” 3 is identified as
“Sufficient competency,” 4, is “More than sufficient competency,” and 5 is “High levels of sufficient
competency” (Figure 3). In addition, some of the competencies that seemed lacking in Duran’s study
where sampled where the mean is this study is approximate 3 (Sufficient knowledge) where Duran’s

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study realized a 4 (more than sufficient) or 5 (high level of knowledge) ratings. Therefore, it can be
seen that having these competencies and levels of knowledge in these areas can lead Hispanic executives
to the board room with further experience and/or training in corporate America.
Figure 3
Figure 4
2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00
A well honed area of areas of expertise
General leadership experience
A portfolio of significant experiences and
accomplishments
A record of advocacy leadership
An understanding of the relationship between
business and the economic environment
Current Findings: Identified competencies in
serving on a Fortune 1000 Board. (Duran, 2009)
Mode
Median
Mean
2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Understand basic finance principles, including
risk assessment
Understand basic marketing principles and
strategies (pricing, etc.)
Organizing, Analyzing and Interpreting
Statistical data for business purposes
Designing an effective communication strategy
about product value
Reading and Interpreting Financial Data
Current Findings: Identified areas of improvement
in serving on a Fortune 1000 Board. (Duran, 2009)
Mode
Median
Mean

20. 19
To leverage the importance of education and that of having a mentor, I cross-tabbed and filtered for
Hispanics and Caucasians with a Master’s degree to identify income levels and percentage of the sample
with a mentor to further illustrate the importance of mentors in corporate America. Regardless of race,
the majority of my sample was earning over $135,000 in annual income level where Caucasians in this
sample only 32.7% of them had a mentor, Hispanics had 53.5% mentors. Therefore stating that
education and mentors can be the viable combination that unlocks high earning potential and captures
the only Fortune 1000 board director in my sample with 2 Board of Regents/Trustees for a public
institution.
In conclusion, I would recommend obtaining a senior mentor or corporate sponsor in one’s attempt to
climb the corporate ladder and have a high earning potential that allows one to fulfill one’s legacy.
Albeit owning a fancy car or becoming a mentor, just like the cross population with a Master’s and a six
figure salary, regardless of race, is mentoring at 61.9%. Furthermore, to speak to the fact you must have
people you trust in and out of the organization is vital in maneuvering through the corporate politics and
being tapped for ‘stretch projects’ to grow from middle management into the C-Suite of corporate
America. This confidence, that my sample exudes with education, experience, and mentors, allow them
to agree or completely agree with their abilities at work and be a resource when that stretch assignment
requires a relocation to a different part of the country as the sample agrees that is also an important
factor in contributing to one’s progression through the tournament of corporate America. Advocacy
groups like HACR and Hispanic Directors will be knocking on the doors of the Fortune 1000 and I am
confident that the pipeline is growing to fill those seats that will help proportionally represent Hispanics
and other minorities in the board room and be leaders in driving the U.S economy forward into the
hyper-connected world.

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References
C. Douglas Johnson, P. &. (2009). Step-Up Leadership Development for Hispanic Professionals with
Walkout. The Business Journal of Hispanic Research, 46.
Duran, A., & Lopez, P. D. (2009). Increasing Chances for Hispanic Selection and Participation in the C-
Suite. The Business Journal of Hispanic Research, 3(1), 54-76.
Garcia, V. A. (2009). A Leadership Repository For Boards of Directors. Los Angeles: The Korn/Ferry
Institute.
Sanchez, L. (Director). (2011). Insider Game [Motion Picture].
Thomas, D. (2001, April). The Truth About Mentoring Minorities: Race Matters. Harvard Business
Review.