Latino Business Speakers Bureau: Jorge Ferraez
story by: David Gomez
Successful people avoid complacency. They never get the feeling they have arrived. The fight is on and they must give it a 100% every day. For Jorge Ferraez’, success is an ongoing path and a fight he partakes daily. Jorge’sstory begins in Mexico City. After working for major television networks in Mexico, Jorge and his brother Raul, decided to invest their hard work and money to start a publication of their own. Without investors or sponsors, theystarted with a small magazine thatsoonbecame the leading magazineto an exclusive business audience. Today, Jorge is the president publisher of Latino Leaders, president and host of the Latino Franchise Symposium, and member of the Hispanic Advisory Council of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. However, Jorge is fully aware that his leadership is a consequence of hard work and never quitting. He shares his story with humble reflection and a genuine desire to inspire others to pursue their goals with relentless determination.
Jorge’s humble beginning instilled in him the determination to succeed. He reflects how he grew to admire successful people who contrasted the culture of mediocrity that was prevalent in politics and government in his homeland. He became interested in the shared qualities of those successful people and wanted to know their own assessment of how they succeeded. This prompted him to ask questions and to find a way to get honest answers from those people he interviewed. Their stories became the inspiring focus of Latino Leaders.
Among the stories he cherishes, herecalls a journey to India to meet with the 14threincarnation of the Dalai Lama. As he prepared for the meeting, he was overwhelmed with the journalistic responsibility of asking the questions that would extract the essence of this great leader. As Jorge reflected on this conversation his voice filled with passion and excitement as he relived this once in a lifetime experience. This experience taught him the importance of his role as a publisher. He shared stories and extended the voice of those who needed to be heard.
Over the last decade, the natureof the news and magazines industry has changed drastically.Sharing stories has become more important than ever, and such a drastic change means new challenges for magazines. However, these challenges have created an atmosphere of collaboration between Latino publications. Instead of going after each other’s market share, Jorge has experienced a willingness from his competitors to introduce him to their own clients and mutuallychampion each other’s magazine. There is a valuable lesson to all Latino leadersin Jorge’s experience with other Latino publications, we must lift each other up. It will help us, Latinos, reach places of leadership we didn’t think were attainable.
As Jorge looks forward tothe future ofLatino Leaders, he envisions that the magazinewill reach to a broader audience. He is passionate to deliver the message that leadership is for everyone and he plans to continue sharing it with younger audiences. He is also transforming Latino Leaders’ outreach from virtual events to highlight indexes(ie, Top 10 Latina leaders). His mission is to continue sharing those uplifting stories to inspire the next generations and leaders.