Photo Credit: Spencer Kelly

On December 29, 2023, my father, Gustavo Cisneros, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 78. Many called him a visionary for his ability to see opportunities where others saw none. He embraced risks with relentless curiosity and a rigorous approach, often turning the impossible into reality.

But what truly defined my father was his insatiable curiosity, a trait passed down from his father and one he nurtured in his children and grandchildren. He was fascinated by people who excelled in their fields, engaging with everyone whatever their profession — with genuine interest and respect.

Books were his primary fuel for curiosity. A voracious reader, he always had a stack of books in both English and Spanish by his side. He read them all, absorbing knowledge like a sponge.

My father also loved walking, treating it as an exploration of ideas. He would observe and ask questions, turning a simple stroll into an enlightening experience. His curiosity extended to every aspect of life, from business trends in a Brazilian mall to the quiet beauty of a beach house.

Despite his busy schedule, he made time for us, his family. Whether through extraordinary adventures in the Amazonas or quiet, distraction-free days in the mountains, he ensured we felt engaged and loved. He was a father, a teacher, and a mentor, always finding ways to connect and impart wisdom.

As I reflect on his life and the incredible journey he led, I am reminded of his dedication to planning and purpose. While he was in his prime, he prepared me to succeed him, ensuring a smooth transition and continued success for our family business. Our relationship evolved beautifully, and I am grateful for the bond we shared.

Over the last two years of his life, he worked tirelessly on his book to record the valuable lessons he learned from his father, his experience at the helm of our business over many decades, and his wishes for the future as he passed the leadership baton over to me. Just weeks before passing, he approved the last details of his book CHALLENGES are OUR BUSINESS/LOS RETOS son NUESTRO NEGOCIO, which available from Planeta and Amazon in Spanish and English.

Now that he is no longer with us, his lessons are all the more valuable. I am so grateful that he took the time to share his wisdom with future generations, and hope that you too can find inspiration in his words and ideas.

#GustavoCisneros #CHALLENGESareOURbusiness #LOSretosSONnuestroNEGOCIO #Visonary #LifelongLearner #AdrianaCisneros

Preparing for commencement with UM President Julio Frenk

A special thanks to President Frenk for his leadership and his invitation to be a part of this great event. Congratulations to the class of 2022 and THANK YOU!

I wanted to share my speech here and below:

Adriana Cisneros UM Commencement Speech – Dec. 16, 2022

Thank you so much Jose for your kind introduction – I am humbled to be here with this amazing class of graduates. A special thanks to Dr. Frenk – the reason I’m here with you today – and, more importantly, the person who inspired and encouraged me to join the board of UM, which has enabled me to be part of such a special organization; a place you can all count yourselves fortunate to be a part of.

It has been a little while since I was sitting where you are, attired in a cap and gown, with people telling me that the world is mine to conquer. The fact of the matter is, that while I still clearly remember being in my early 20s, I can assure you I NEVER experienced – as a student – what you have all  experienced during your college years: Covid, lockdowns, omicron, hurricanes (not the sports kind), social unrest, war in Ukraine, immigration  crises, food shortages, or having your final weeks on campus and finals coincide with the  World Cup –  and  the threat of France winning the championship (y el domingo de la mano de Lionel, vamos por la tercera!!).  It is an understatement to say that you have persevered through great uncertainty and come out on the other side full of HOPE.

I’m not sure there is much I can tell you that will make you more prepared to face the world than you already are. So, I think we can wrap this up and get you off to your festivities because my work here is done!

Joking aside, I do have a few words that I hope will help you as you head out on your journey.

I wanted to share with you what I found to be the simplest, yet most interesting case I studied during my Henry Crown Fellowship Program. It’s about The Parable of the Sadhu. I loved this story not only for the thought provoking elements of how different cultures come together but for the simple messages it teaches us about personal choices and the impact those can have on us as individuals and collectively as a group. The Parable of Sadhu is a true story based on Bowen McCoy, a Morgan Stanley employee, who in 1989, was climbing across the mountains of Nepal, headed to a holy village. He was in the middle of the hike when he and three other groups of hikers from New Zealand, Switzerland, and Japan, discovered a Sadhu – one of the holiest persons within Hinduism who has renounced all earthly attachments with the unswerving objective of connecting to the Divine.

The Shadu was wearing only a few pieces of clothing and shivering from the cold.

Some people from the hiking groups gave him warm clothes, food, and drink, but that is where their assistance ended. One person argued they should carry the Sadhu to the nearest village so he could get the help he needed, but no one else offered to help more than they had already. Each of the other people in the trekking groups were from different countries, and each offered a different reason for refusing to stop their hike to help bring the Sadhu to a safer place. In the end, they left the Sadhu lying on a rock in the sun to warm up and continued on their journey. None of the hikers ever learned the fate of the Sadhu; whether he survived or if he made it to safety.

The story describes how each of the group members is focused so heavily on reaching the holy place, that they ignored their ethical responsibilities to a holy man. It highlights the tension that can arise between group and individual goals. Reaching the holy village was the single mission towards which all the hikers were focused.  None of the individual hikers viewed it as their ethical responsibility to take care of the Sadhu. Only one of the team members wanted to stay behind and help the holy man but he didn’t get any support from the other group members, so he continued on his hike. Often, in the business world, time and social pressures influence people to act by instinct and inertia rather than with logic and humanity.

What made this case so memorable for me was the discussion that erupted in the classroom when the Professor suggested we divide into two groups: the ones who would stay behind to bring the Sadhu back to the village and the ones who would continue the journey.

Around 90% of the class said that they would have stayed behind to help the Sadhu even if it meant not reaching the holy village. How do you think this class of 2022 would have responded? What would you have done and why? From what I have heard about this graduating class, I’m betting given all you’ve experienced that closer to 100% of you would have stayed behind. I think the pandemic gave us the gift of making us a bit wiser, more aware, and probably even kinder, more compassionate and empathetic.

This dilemma is similar to what you have experienced these past few years. As President Frenk mentioned during his remarks, you all, individually and collectively, have made personal sacrifices for the good of your classmates and your school. You self-quarantined, which probably felt lonely. You physically distanced to maintain a safe environment that changed much of the camaraderie that develops when you collaborate and confer with each other. Zoom is probably a word you would like to delete from your vocabulary at this point. I would normally advise young scholars to “be brave enough to spend time alone,” but you have done that and come out on the other side of it with so many hopes and dreams intact. The difficulties you’ve faced the past few years have armed you with a special set of skills to go out and conquer your goals.

As you head out into the work place you will be faced with difficult ethical decisions for which there is no definitive “right” answer. So, as you embark on this post-grad journey, take a moment to stop and think before deciding. There is a thin line between right and wrong, which can be difficult to notice when pressed for time or when working with a diverse team of individuals, each with different upbringings and conflicting goals. Make the choice to do something because it engages your heart as well as your mind. Make the choice because it engages all of you. And whether things go right or wrong, accept responsibility for the choices you make.

A key component of wisdom is fearlessness, which is not the absence of fear, but rather not letting your fears get in the way. Do not fear failure, but please – be terrified of regret.

I will close by saying: You are graduating at a pivotal time with a great sense of HOPE and RESILIENCE to propel you.  So…. I ask you, IF you weren’t afraid, what would YOU do?

Thank you for your time today and Congratulations Class of 2022!!!

I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Romi Bhatia, Executive Director of The Idea Center at Miami Dade College (MDC) to have a conversation about leadership, running a family business and navigating in a post Covid world, among many other topics.

I would like to thank Romi and the whole MDC team for inviting me to be a part of the prestigious Mike Fernandez Speaker Series. For those unfamiliar with the Mike Fernandez Global Business Leadership Series, I encourage you to listen to some of the previous guests; renowned global leaders, sharing their insights about leadership, new trends in their respective industries and providing first-hand knowledge of business practices.

I really enjoyed sharing and reflecting on my family’s story with Romi and the MDC community. To hear our conversation please click on the link below. I hope you enjoy it!

After meeting its founder, Abel Avellan, and understanding the greatness of what he was set to accomplish, we immediately knew we wanted to be a part of it.

On the heels of the year that we were all forced into lock-down and Internet access became a basic necessity for humankind, the prospect of connecting the unconnected has never been more essential.

Since we invested in AST SpaceMobile, the company signed partnership agreements with most major international wireless operators.

Early in 2020, AST completed its Series-B financing round, adding to its shareholder base a handful of blue-chip strategic investors: Vodafone, Rakuten, American Tower and Samsung.

Today’s first big news is that the company and Vodafone jointly announced AST’s plan to launch its first phase commercial mobile communications service from space in 2023. This first phase will cover 49 of the largest countries in the equatorial region, reaching 1.6 billion people.

“We are thrilled to move forward in executing on phase one of our commercial launch for these initial countries in conjunction with Vodafone,” said Abel Avellan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “Our high-speed, low latency platform represents the world’s first venture aimed at massively closing the digital divide by bringing affordable and accessible connectivity to the regions that need it most. We believe our game-changing solution will serve to drive universal and global connectivity, allowing societies to utilize digital technology to gain greater access to education, healthcare and commerce.”

Today’s second big news is AST’s announcement of its plan to merge with New Providence Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (or “SPAC”). Upon consummation of the transaction, AST SpaceMobile will become a publicly traded company listed in NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “ASTS”. The merger will provide AST with the cash necessary to fully fund the phase-1 of its commercial launch.

At Cisneros, we feel honored to be part of AST SpaceMobile. Our prior space venture –the launching of DirecTV in Latin America in the mid-90’s– consisted of bringing international news, live sports and world-class entertainment to every corner of that region. Our new space venture, AST will connect the unconnected and will make the “digital divide” a concept of the past … We could not be more thrilled!

Portrait of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros with Lygia Clark’s “Composição” (1953) by Mark Mahaney.

It is with great pride that we announce that my mother, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, has been inducted to the 2020 member class of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, an immense recognition for her decades-long work in enhancing appreciation of the diversity, sophistication, and range of art from Latin America. Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ mission is to convene, “leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” To date, the Academy has elected more than 13,500 members including more than two hundred and fifty Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, and luminaries ranging from Charles Darwin, Alexander von Humboldt, Thomas Jefferson, Margaret Mead, Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk, Martin Luther King, Jr., Martha Graham, I.M. Pei, and Toni Morrison, to name but a few.

Gustavo and Patricia Phelps de Cisneros with Pia Gottschaler at the Getty Research Institute.

As a Venezuelan family, we are extremely proud of this recognition. Patricia has worked tirelessly over four decades to foster a greater appreciation of Latin American culture throughout the world. In addition to this great American honor she has also been awarded the Leone D’Oro di San Marco (Italy 2000) and the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur (France 2002).

Congratulations mom, well deserved you are an inspiration to us all!

Patricia Phelps de Cisneros interacting with Jesús Rafael Soto’s Penetrable (1990) in front of the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 2006

Ten years ago, as I was preparing to take over as CEO of Cisneros we started working on an idea to launch a new division in the digital space. Our company, which has been around for almost 100 years, has never been afraid of venturing into uncharted territory. With the support of our Board I started travelling to Latin-America, meeting entrepreneurs, making small investments in tech funds like 21212, NXTP Labs and Kaszek Ventures and also directly in a few startups to get a feeling for what was happening in the region. Over the course of the next two years, together with Victor Kong, we developed a thesis and launched Cisneros Interactive. Informed by the fact that no one at the time was monetizing, we ventured into the digital advertising business and, not just in the US Hispanic market but also in Latin America.

Over the course of the following 7 years, we became the largest digital advertising network in the region. Our strategy was to be a pan regional player from the get-go. It’s in the DNA of Cisneros to always think beyond one market. Today we have 17 offices across Latin America and the Carribbean.

Our big break came back in 2016 when we received a very last minute invitation to pitch Facebook as they launched a pilot program for resellers. A deluge of rain came down as Victor and I got out of the car to enter the building and ended up sopping wet for our presentation. A few weeks later we learned that we had won and a few months after that, we had opened offices in Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador to represent Facebook and its family of products. This was definitely a story of betting on the underdog. I am so grateful to Diego Dzodan, the former head of Facebook Latam, for giving us a chance.
At the beginning of 2020, we also started working with Spotify and LinkedIn. I could not be prouder to represent such great brands in the region.

The pandemic has had its challenges; nonetheless, we managed to not only keep the business going, but to significantly exceed our goal. The shut down in all our markets resulted in most of our client’s finally going fully digital (with a bit of handholding). The results have been spectacular and I am certain that behavior will not revert when things go back to normal.

Yesterday we announced a major milestone. Entravision bought a significant stake in our business. In them, we have found the perfect partners to continue growing in our region and beyond. We have known Walter Ulloa, the Chairman and CEO of Entravision from the time when we were owners of Univision. It has been great to reconnect with someone we share so much history with and who is aligned with our vision in terms of the potential of the digital economy in the region.

Stay tuned ….

Every year, 300 girls from Miches attend the Soy niña, soy importante (I’m a Girl, I’m Important) camp, an initiative that was developed seven years ago by Fundacion Tropicalia in response to the inequalities that we witnessed as a result of the burden these girls carry in termsof domestic work, teenage pregnancy, child marriage and school dropout rates.

The camp provides girls between 9 and 12 years of age living in vulnerable situations, a safe space, where they can simply be girls, and where they participate in recreational activities that carry transformative messages. The program encourages and teaches them to design a positive life plan, to build confidence and to empower themselves to make age appropriate decisions such as continuing their studies, preventing untimely pregnancies, and avoiding and escaping situations of violence.

These activities are traditionally implemented in person, during 3 one-week camps; however, the COVID-19 pandemic presented us with the challenge of reaching 300 girls in a setting of social distancing.

Through “I’m a Girl, I’m Important in a Box”, we are reinventing our work methodology to ensure that we do not leave any of these girls adrift; particularly important during these times of sheltering at home, where stress levels in the homes skyrocket, triggering greater situations of gender-based violence.

Starting in August and running through December, the girls will receive a box every month filled with activities designed around the following themes:

In addition to the thematic activities, each box will contain a snack, guides and recycled materials to complete a creative activity, an experiment, and a didactic activity to reinforce academic objectives based on the girl’s age.

The boxes will include a suggested calendar to complete each activity. Each month, upon delivery of the boxes, the girls will receive a brief tutorial on the use of the materials and then the volunteers, who usually participate in the camp and who know the girls, will be in charge of doing the pertinent follow-up by phone and/or video.

We would love to invite our friends and past donors to join us in keeping the girls’ dream of being able to participate in the I’m a Girl, I’m Important activities alive, even if this year is not in the traditional camp format. A $20 donation supplies a girl with a box and makes such a valuable impact on her life. We look forward to your help! You can click the link for more details: snsi.fundaciontropicalia.com/donate

In the last few weeks we have all in one way or another had to rethink our business goals and strategies. At the same time, at Cisneros we have looked at how we can harness our business operations and existing social impact initiatives to communicate relevant content.

As the leading broadcast TV station in Venezuela with nationwide reach, Venevision, has honed in on its power to communicate through both television and social media to educate on prevention of the virus and to promote staying at home. Actors and program hosts have participated in campaigns from their own homes and special efforts have been implemented to reach the younger audiences with the participation of young, local talent, particularly through social media messages.

Moreover, building on our ongoing corporate social responsibility (CSR) focus on the rights of women and girls, we have joined efforts with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to raise awareness on the rise of gender-based violence during confinement, and to provide information regarding support available for victims. These communication efforts have been designed for different audiences and beneficiaries of our CSR programs.

Over the last ten years, Fundacion Tropicalia’s work in Miches, Dominican Republic, has allowed us to not only learn about the local community’s needs and design initiatives to address them, but also to gain the trust of the community as advocates for their development and well being.

With this in mind, the Foundation has not only replicated official information regarding COVID-19 prevention, but has also addressed gender-based violence in collaboration with UNFPA, both through its institutional platforms, and its flagship gender program Soy niña, soy importante (I‘m a Girl, I’m Important), which provides girls with the guidance and tools they need to be self-reflective, critical thinkers and make timely life choices.

In addition, Miss Venezuela candidates have continued participating in social responsibility workshops, although virtual, as part of their integral training. These sessions, which allow them to become aware of pressing social issues and the potential impact of their voice and actions as public figures, have been complemented this year by the candidates participation in UNFPA’s communication campaign, in addition to UNICEF’s COVID-19 prevention and family well being messaging through the Miss Venezuela social media platforms.

In addition, FISA, our personal hygiene products company in Venezuela, identified the opportunity to contribute to COVID-19 prevention by assigning one of its production lines to manufacture hand sanitizer, a product that was not previously among its product offering, but for which regulatory conditions could be met.

Our ongoing efforts during this global health emergency lead us to reflect upon, and reaffirm, the responsibility that we all hold as members of the private sector and the impact that the sum of our actions can have on society at any given time, and more so during times of crises.

Learning how to advance in your career and field doesn’t come easy. As CEO of Cisneros, I went through many ups and downs to get to where I am today, including the challenge of carrying on the 100-year-old legacy my family built while making a name for myself and staying true to my vision.

Understanding the many career challenges women face today, I’m always delighted to share my experiences in the hope of being of help to others, particularly during these uncertain times. This is why I was truly humbled to receive an invitation from Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, the two masterminds behind theSkimm, to have me as their next guest in their Skimm’d from the Couch podcast.

During the podcast, I shared some tips on how to balance personal and professional relationships in a family business and my thoughts on the importance of thinking ‘big picture.’ We also delved deep into how to navigate times of change. Here are some of the key takeaways and insights I shared:

– On future planning: When making any decision, whether it’s a big investment, a new launch, or a new partnership, it’s very important to be able to play it short and long. By long, I mean that it’s important to play it forward and think: how is this going to impact my business in the next ten, 15, or 20 years? When thinking that far in advance, you’re protecting the impact of your decision. By short, I mean you should move and execute quickly on opportunities.

– On curating your team: To move quickly, it’s important to set up a well-rounded core team made up of generalists that are good with many things and bring in different perspectives. This allows you to evaluate and make sound decisions quickly. As a next step, you can look for specialists or experts on the matter at hand.

– On leading by example: Every time you come up with a bold business idea, you should always think about the benefits for society. It goes back to the perspective of playing it long. If you want your business to be around for the next 20 years, you have to be a good citizen and lead with transparency and honesty.

Right now, a lot of companies and business leaders are faced with tough decisions and challenges. While a difficult time, this serves as an opportunity to put things into perspective and really think about what truly matters to the core of your business and where you want it to be in the next few years. The moment something feels like it’s extra, or a little ‘fluffy’, is the moment to rethink priorities.

It’s always a pleasure to share my personal and professional experiences, but even more so when doing it with two female entrepreneurs who are disrupting their field and providing a platform for female millennials.

You can hear our full conversation at https://www.theskimm.com/live-smarter/career/skimmd-from-the-couch-adriana-cisneros.