Board of Advisors

JOAQUIN R. CARBONELL III

Joaquin Carbonell retired as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of AT&T Wireless. Previously, he was Vice President and Group Counsel of wireless services for BellSouth Enterprises. Prior to that, he served as President of BellSouth Europe where he supervised cellular business operations in Germany and Denmark. Prior to his European assignment, he was BellSouth Enterprises President for Latin America where his responsibilities included overseeing operations and business development activities for that region. He began his career with BellSouth in 1980 as an attorney with Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company. He obtained his J.D. degree from Duke University School of Law, and he is a Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate of Boston College. In 1989, he was named an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow at Stanford University where he received a Masters Degree in Management. A native of Camaguey, Cuba, Joaquin resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

ALFRED GARCIA

Alfred Garcia is a private investor. He was Vice President of Technology Business Development at America Online. Prior to that, he practiced transactional law as a partner of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler and Marmaro LLP in Los Angeles, California. He obtained his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and he obtained his B.S. degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Florida. He is married to Claudia Garcia. They have three children. Alfred and his family reside in Virginia.

CHARLES P. GARCIA

Charlie Garcia is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Garcia & Company Merchant Banking LLC, a merchant banking firm focused on the Hispanic market in the United States and Latin America. In 2006, he sold his investment banking firm which he founded in 1997. He serves on the boards of two Fortune 500 companies: the board of directors of Winn-Dixie Stores and an advisory council of Aetna. The Obama administration re-appointed him to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors whose 15-member board, which includes four U.S. Senators and four members of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected him as Chairman in three consecutive years. In 2001, then Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to two terms on the seven member Florida State Board of Education, responsible for all public education in Florida and an annual budget of $15 billion. Hispanic Business magazine recognized Mr. Garcia as one of the "100 most influential Hispanics in the United States." He is the author of two books on leadership: A Message from Garcia that was ranked #6 on the Wall Street Journal Best Seller list and Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows published by McGraw Hill. He obtained his law degree in 1994 from Columbia Law School, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983 from the U.S. Air Force Academy achieving the rank of Deputy Wing Commander. Charlie and his family reside in Boca Raton, Florida.

KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF

Kaihan Krippendorff is a business strategist and author who works regularly with large and medium-sized corporations such as Microsoft, J&J, L'Oreal, and Estee Lauder to design bold and innovative growth strategies. He delivers keynote speeches across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America and lectures regularly at business schools including Wharton and MIT Sloan. He is a former consultant with McKinsey & Company and is the author of three business strategy books -- The Art of the Advantage, Hide a Dagger Behind Your Smile, and The Way of Innovation. He obtained his MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School, his BSE degree in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and his BSE degree in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering. Kaihan and his family reside in Connecticut.

MARTI LA TOUR

Marti La Tour is Vice President of Florida Field Sales for Pepsi Beverages Company. She has worked at Pepsi Beverages Company (formerly PepsiAmericas) since 1977, and she worked as Region Manager at four separate Chicago locations before her relocation to Florida in January 2006. She is a native of Chicago. She graduated with high honors from Lewis University in 1989 with a B.A. in Marketing, and she obtained her MBA in 1993 with a concentration in marketing, finance and operations. She serves on the board of directors of Economic Council of Palm Beach County and Know Florida's Beauty (Keep America Beautiful). She is actively involved in Women Angels, an angel investors group. Marti resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

DEAN C. LOVETT

Dean Lovett is a private investor and community leader. He was the majority owner and operator of Cellular One of Berrien County, Michigan, from its inception in 1989 until its sale in 1996. Cellular One of Berrien County was listed in the 1995 Private 100 ranking of Michigan's fastest growing privately held companies. He obtained his MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and he is a certified public accountant in Maryland. He is married to Pamela Jean Lovett, and they have six children. Dean and his family reside in North Carolina.

RALPH MORERA

Ralph Morera was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bacardi Limited until his retirement in July 2009. Bacardi Limited, the parent company of all Bacardi companies, is the largest privately held spirits company in the world. His responsibilities included financial reporting including implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley, information technology, risk management, treasury and tax global functions. He is a certified public accountant and was a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers for more than 20 years serving public and private clients of the firm. During his career as a certified public accountant, he practiced in the offices located in New York, Puerto Rico and Miami. His current activities range from participating in the board of directors of listed companies as well as nonprofit organizations. He is a graduate of Pace University of New York City and has been an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. While a resident of Miami, he participated in various community activities including Board of Directors Chairman of the American Red Cross of Greater Miami, Board Member of the Beacon Council, Goodwill Industries of South Florida and President of the Cuban American CPA Association. Ralph and his family reside in Miami, Florida.

RAMON A. RODRIGUEZ

Ray Rodriguez is Chairman of Bank of Florida Southeast. He serves on the board of directors of Bank of Florida Corporation, Bank of Florida Trust Company and Republic Services, a NYSE company in the solid waste industry. Active in community affairs, he serves on the board of directors of WPBT Channel 2, Holy Cross Hospital and Broward Center for the Performing Arts Center. He served on the board of directors of Barnett Bank of Broward County. He is a former President of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a former Chairman of the Florida Board of Accountancy. Prior to its sale in 2009, he was Treasurer and a shareholder of DME Corporation, a manufacturing company involved in the aerospace and defense business. He obtained his B.B.A. degree with a major in Accounting from Florida Atlantic University, and he completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1983. Ray and his family reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

SHARONA B. ROSS, M.D.

Dr. Sharona Ross is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, Department of General Surgery. In addition, she is Director of the Endoscopic Surgery Fellowship, Director of the Minimal Invasive Surgery Fellowship, and Founder and Director of USF Women in Surgery. She graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC, and she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from American University in Washington, DC. She completed her General Surgery residency at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and was later awarded the prestigious Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship at USF/Tampa General Hospital. She then participated as an Endoscopic Gastroenterology Fellow at USF/Tampa General Hospital and is one of the few surgeons to have ever completed an Endoscopic Gastroenterology Fellowship. Sharona and her family reside in Tampa, Florida.

CARLOS A. SALADRIGAS

Carlos Saladrigas is Chairman and CEO of Regis HR Group, a professional employer organization offering a full suite of outsourced human resources services to small and mid-sized businesses. He serves on the board of directors of two NYSE companies: Progress Energy and Advance Auto Parts. He was co-founder and CEO of The Vincam Group, which in 1998 was listed as the largest Hispanic-owned company in the United States and was acquired by ADP in 2000. He is a member of the PepsiCo Hispanic Advisory Board. Active in community affairs, he is Vice Chairman of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, Co-Chairman of Cuba Study Group, a corporate director of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Miami, and a trustee at Belen Jesuit School. He was a certified public accountant in Florida. He obtained his MBA degree with honors from Harvard Business School, and he graduated cum laude from the University of Miami where he obtained his B.B.A. degree in Accounting. Carlos and his family reside in Miami, Florida.