Hispanic Executive shines a light on the Latino leaders moving their industries forward—the strategists, builders, and problem-solvers redefining what leadership looks like today.
Published during Hispanic Heritage Month, our September Executives to Watch 2026 list brings together nine Hispanic and Latino executives whose work spans technology, legal, HR, food & beverage, supply chain, marketing, and more. From Silicon Valley to South Florida, and from corporate legal departments to restaurant kitchens, these leaders share a commitment to delivering results while opening doors for the next generation.
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Mariana Bedolla
Vice President, People Function North America
PepsiCo
Mariana Bedolla has spent more than twenty-five years proving that human resources is a business discipline. Educated at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, where she earned degrees in human resources management and accounting, and later at Cornell University, she built more than two decades of her career at Xerox. There she held roles of increasing responsibility, leading HR operations across Latin America and eventually serving as vice president of human resources for software services and commercial operations, driving HR transformation and a high-performance culture on a global scale. She joined PepsiCo in 2019 as vice president of human resources for PepsiCo Beverages Canada and today leads the people function for North America. Along the way she has completed a headquarters expatriate assignment, led diverse teams across highly matrixed organizations, and built deep expertise in compensation, global mobility, performance management, HR policy, and shared services. Her strength lies in partnering with C-level leaders to turn human capital strategy into measurable business results.
Connect with Mariana Bedolla on LinkedIn here.
Juan Carlos Cardona
Director, Marketing and Strategy
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Juan Carlos Cardona has spent the better part of fifteen years making sure Hispanic families see themselves in the Walt Disney World story. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, he earned his business administration degree at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and started out in pharmaceutical marketing before moving to New York for a master’s in integrated marketing at New York University. He then spent more than six years in advertising, leading multicultural work for clients including Verizon and Macy’s, an experience he credits with making him a better client and a more nimble marketer. At Disney he has worked across the Hispanic market, niche audiences, and Latin America, where he led consumer marketing for Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and Walt Disney World. Today he directs marketing strategy for Walt Disney World Resort, Central Florida, runDisney, the water parks, and multicultural audiences, and he helped build Pura Magia, a dedicated Hispanic brand platform that now shapes everything from creative and media to sales partners and cast. His advice to fellow marketers is to stop thinking of themselves as multicultural specialists. Cultural fluency, he argues, is simply what modern marketing requires.
Connect with Juan Carlos Cardona on LinkedIn here.
Juan Chipoco
Founder & Owner
CVI.CHE 105 Restaurant Group
Juan Chipoco has helped put Peruvian cuisine on the national map, one ceviche at a time. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, he built his flagship brand, CVI.CHE 105, into a defining force in South Florida’s culinary scene, and today he operates seven CVI.CHE 105 restaurants and two Pollos y Jarras locations in Miami. Two more CVI.CHE 105 restaurants are in development, with one opening in Atlanta later this year and another planned for Puerto Rico in 2027. His work has earned him a Special Congressional Recognition in 2025 for his contributions to the culinary industry and the promotion of Peruvian cuisine in the United States, a place among Ronald McDonald House Charities’ 12 Good Men, and the Marca Perú distinction for representing his country with excellence. Beyond the kitchen, he leads the Juan Chipoco Foundation, which supports children and vulnerable communities in South Florida and Peru through initiatives focused on food insecurity, healthcare access, mentorship, and education. His journey as an immigrant and entrepreneur has made him a model of perseverance and cultural pride for the community he serves.
Connect with Juan Chipoco on LinkedIn here.
Phil Fernandes
Associate Director, Talent Acquisition
AT&T
Phil Fernandes went to Australia for six months to improve his English and stayed for five years. Born and raised in Brazil, he earned a psychology degree there in 2010 before that detour turned into the start of his human resources career, beginning at the University of Notre Dame Australia. After moving to the United States, he shifted into talent acquisition, first on the agency side, including recruiting for Microsoft across Latin America and North America, and then in corporate roles at PepsiCo, TikTok, and H-E-B, adding a graduate certificate in industrial and organizational psychology along the way. Today he is based in Dallas and leads call center hiring for AT&T across the country, a high-volume operation that accounts for roughly 80 percent of the company’s total hiring. Living in three countries taught him to adapt quickly to new environments and industries, and he credits a mentor at PepsiCo and the support of his wife for helping him accelerate his progression. His philosophy is simple: own your career, take on the difficult problems others avoid, and be intentional about the work you put in.
Connect with Phil Fernandes on LinkedIn here.
Silvia Fernandes
Chief Legal and Operating Officer
ARCTRUST
Silvia Fernandes wants her story to open doors for the next generation. She began her legal career as a law clerk in the general counsel’s office at Ernst & Young before spending several years as an attorney at Lindabury, McCormick, Estabrook & Cooper, focusing on commercial real estate financing and transactions. She joined the ARCTRUST Group of Companies in 2016 as associate general counsel, rose to general counsel in 2020, and today serves as chief legal and operating officer, leading legal strategy, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day operations across the firm’s real estate investment platforms and affiliated private REITs. She earned her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, a master of laws in taxation from New York University School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Ramapo College of New Jersey, and she is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Outside the office, she serves on the executive board of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association and brings her passion for mentorship to everything she does.
Connect with Silvia Fernandes on LinkedIn here.
Rochelle Gonzalez
Senior Counsel
Live Nation Entertainment
Rochelle Gonzalez helps make the magic of live music possible, one contract at a time. As Senior Counsel in the corporate legal department of Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, she reviews, drafts, and negotiates commercial agreements for Live Nation and its affiliates, specializing in technology and AI agreements on both a national and global scale. She joined the company in 2018 after serving as contracts manager at the University of Southern California, and she holds her law degree from Chapman University School of Law. Her dedication to the industry is personal as well as professional, and it has created unforgettable concert memories with her own family. Public service has always been central to her career. Since 2017 she has served on the Los Angeles County Business License Commission, where she is now vice president representing the Fourth Supervisorial District, helping decide whether to grant or deny business licenses in unincorporated areas of the county and taking action on matters involving the health, safety, and welfare of county residents.
Connect with Rochelle Gonzalez on LinkedIn here.
Dominik Holasek
Director of IT Financial Operations
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Dominik Holasek has built his career at the intersection of data and finance, turning technology spending into strategic insight. Born in the Czech Republic, he graduated from a Spanish high school and went on to earn a master’s degree at Colorado State University, putting his trilingual skills to work throughout his career. He developed his analytical foundation through financial analyst roles at TIBCO Software and finance leadership positions at UserZoom before leading IT financial operations at Juniper Networks, now part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Today he oversees IT financial operations at HPE, drawing financial conclusions that help shape the organization’s technology strategy. A Certified Technology Business Management Executive, he is an active voice in the TBM Council community, where he helps lead peer forums on IT cost transparency and financial planning and has been featured in the council’s member spotlight. He also gives back by helping Latino small business leaders with budgeting and financial planning through volunteer opportunities and other engagements.
Connect with Dominik Holasek on LinkedIn here.
Alejandra Ospina Rodriguez
Regional Head of Cold Chain Logistics, North America
Maersk
Alejandra Ospina Rodriguez has built a career out of starting things from scratch. Raised in Colombia, she studied environmental and industrial engineering at Universidad de los Andes, interned with Procter & Gamble in Panama, and joined Maersk eleven years ago through its international graduate program. Roles in Panama and Peru put her in front of senior stakeholders from the beginning and gave her hands-on experience across sales, procurement, and P&L ownership, along with a big-picture view of how global teams set strategy. About five years ago she moved to the United States, where she has launched new functions, built teams, and worked across warehouse operations, e-commerce, and vendor management alongside colleagues in China and Europe. Today, as Regional Head of Cold Chain Logistics for North America, she leads cold chain logistics across the region and is focused on strengthening the connection between Latin American growers and North American markets. At home, she and her Brazilian husband are raising children who speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese, carrying both family cultures with them across three countries.
Connect with Alejandra Ospina Rodriguez on LinkedIn here.
Guillermo Porcaro
VP of IT Operations and Engineering, Enterprise AI
Medallia
Guillermo Porcaro has spent nearly eleven years at Medallia making the leap from individual contributor to executive. A native of Argentina with a systems degree from Universidad Kennedy, he built his early career in technical roles at companies including EY, Chevron, Philip Morris International, and IBM before joining Medallia, where he went on to serve as Argentina site leader and to lead office build-outs in Sydney, London, New York, and Tel Aviv. Today he leads Medallia’s IT operations and engineering teams, with two directors reporting to him who oversee everything from how employees collaborate to how they access the tools they need. His team is replacing paid software with AI tools built in house, a shift that has already saved more than $400,000 and is forecast to save even more over the next year. Moving to Silicon Valley also turned him into an advocate for Latin American talent. By opening vendor engagements in Mexico and Argentina, he found time zone alignment, deep expertise, and a level of commitment that delivered strong results, and he believes more companies are only beginning to recognize the value of doing business in the region.
