Hon. Henry Cisneros is currently Executive Chairman at CityView, where his duties include overseeing the urban institutional investment firm, which finances commercial and residential developers with more than $2 billion in transactions from 45 projects in 30 markets across 13 states.
A Democrat, Henry served as the 10th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the administration of President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. As the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, he was credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s highest-ever home-ownership rates. In his role as the President’s chief representative to the nation’s cities, Henry personally worked in more than 200 U.S. cities in all 50 states.
Prior to his cabinet position, Henry served four terms as the second Hispanic mayor of a major United States city in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. As a mayor, he rebuilt the city’s economic base, recruiting convention business, attracting high tech industries, increasing tourism and creating jobs in San Antonio. Before being elected mayor, he was elected to three terms on the San Antonio City Council.
Throughout his career in politics and business, Henry remained actively involved with creating housing and development that resulted in urban revitalization for this country’s large cities. He is also a diligent advocate for the Latino community. He serves on corporate boards, as well as chairing and serving on several non-profit boards that promote Latinos and the immigrant population – in addition to his efforts in support of fair housing policy. Henry has authored, edited and collaborated on several books, and is in demand as a public speaker.
Solomon D. (“Sol”) Trujillo is an international business executive with three decades’ experience as CEO of large market cap global companies in the US, the EU, and Asia-PAC. A digital pioneer operating in the telecommunications, technology, and media space, Sol has been a long-time champion of high-speed broadband and a pioneer and innovator of smart phone and the mobile Internet to stimulate productivity and innovation across all sectors of the economy. Sol currently sits on corporate boards in the US, EU, and China and has managed operations in more than 25 countries – including developed and emerging markets from the EU and North America to China, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Beginning in 1996, during his tenure as President & CEO of US West, Sol achieved a string of “firsts” – a record of innovation related to service integration over broadband platforms repeated over the course of his career — including:
Throughout his career, Sol has consistently used market-based management to achieve “customer intimacy” as a strategic advantage and differentiator. According to Trujillo, “Companies that win are those that achieve customer intimacy by knowing consumer wants and needs and executing with that knowledge.” Though The New York Times has described his style as “humble, soft-spoken, and earnest,” Sol is also steadfast in his commitments and resolute when it comes to getting things done.
Sol is actively engaged in corporate governance for both domestic and global enterprises. He currently serves on the corporate boards of Western Union and WPP plc. He has previously served on the boards of Target, Bank of America, PepsiCo, EDS, Move Networks, Inc., Orange, Telstra, and Gannett, the newspaper chain that includes USA Today.
In the public sector, Mr. Trujillo has served in advisory roles at the federal, state and local levels — including trade policy advisor to the Clinton and Bush administrations — and as a member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Group to the Mayor of Shanghai.
Sol is also active in community affairs and civic initiatives at every level and has been ranked by Hispanic Business magazine as one of 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. Service in the Third Sector includes governor of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the information technology industry, trustee of Boston College, trustee of UCLA’s School of Public Policy, a director of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, a California-based think tank that addresses Latino issues in North America.
Sol has also been active at the national level in the US on issues related to technology development, Hispanic affairs, and other public policy issues – including trade policy, immigration, and advocacy on behalf of workplace diversity and the nation-wide deployment of high-speed broadband as an enabling technology to advance innovation across all sectors, stimulate productivity growth, and spur new economic growth and development.
In recognition of his lifetime commitment to workplace diversity, Sol received the Ronald H. Brown Corporate Bridge Builder Award from President Clinton in 1999. His achievements in the privatization and transformation of Telstra were recognized by his selection as “CEO of the Year” for 2008 by Australian Telecom Magazine. Sol received the first Brillante Award for Excellence from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs at the Society’s annual conference and career expo on October 15, 2011. The Brillante Award, the most prestigious honor granted by the Society, was given to Sol for his lifetime achievements and contributions to the Hispanic community, reflecting NSHMBA’s mission “to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development in order to improve society.” Most recently, Sol received the prestigious National Hispanic Hero Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI).
Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1951, Mr. Trujillo earned his undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree with a major in business and a post-graduate MBA (finance) from the University of Wyoming. He has also received honorary doctorates from both the University of Wyoming and the University of Colorado.