By Sheryl Jeans - Leading the nation's most influential group of Hispanic-owned enterprises is a role well suited to Javier Palomarez.
The youngest of 10 children born to a Mexican mother and Spanish father in Edinburg, in South Texas, Palomarez learned English as a second language. He dropped out of high school but later earned his GED and graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American with a bachelor's degree in finance. Palomarez, 49, has worked as a multicultural marketing executive at ING Financial Services, Sprint Inc. and Allstate Insurance Co.
This year, he became chief executive of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the leading advocate on issues such as financing, immigration and trade for nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses with more than $345 billion in annual sales.
Texas has the third-largest proportion of Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S., at 21 percent, generating $62 billion in sales in 2007.
Palomarez is in Dallas as the chamber holds its annual national convention here for the first time, starting today. He talked with The Dallas Morning News about some of the issues facing Hispanic-owned businesses here and nationally.
Here are excerpts:
What has been your focus at the chamber?
I refocused on advocating on behalf of our local Hispanic chambers, Hispanic-owned businesses and our corporate sponsors. On any given week, I will be on the road. Last week, I was in Florida, Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio. It's all about understanding what the needs are of the local chambers -- and that the Obama administration and Congress understand the needs of Hispanic small businesses.
What are some of the key issues facing Hispanic businesses today?
Access to capital and access to credit are at the top of everyone's mind. It's a tough time for small businesses in America today, and especially for Hispanic small businesses. We are hopeful that the administration will continue its focus on small business, which represents 64 percent of jobs in this country.
What could be done about financing?
Community banks and other small-business lenders need all the help they can get from the federal government. We're slowly getting there. The Senate recently passed the small-business bill. That was a step in the right direction.
What else could be done to help Hispanic-owned small businesses?
On the government side, we need help to ensure that Hispanic-owned businesses have an opportunity to participate in contract and procurement opportunities.
This summer, the U.S. Treasury Department said small brokerages owned by women and minorities would be able to help sell Citigroup's common stock. [The Treasury named 12 small brokerages to help sell 7.7 billion shares of Citigroup common stock it received after pumping $25 billion into the bank.] This is an indication that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner gets it. From the private sector, we need to make sure corporations are doing what they can to allow Hispanic-owned companies to do business with them.
What are some of the challenges in representing small businesses today?
The biggest challenge is for us to recognize that while we are in arguably the toughest economy this country has seen in decades, there's still a lot of opportunity. This nation will come back, and when it comes back, it will do so on the shoulders of small business.
Were you involved in trying to resolve recent leadership conflicts at the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce?
As a policy, I don't get involved in local chamber politics. I was not involved in the local dialogue and won't get involved in it. The Dallas chamber has a 70-year history and has been named as chamber of the year before. Under chairman Rick Ortiz's leadership, they'll get back to where they were before.
What is your stance on Arizona's controversial immigration law? Obviously, we're outraged. We are watching carefully to see what develops in Arizona and perhaps in other states. The chamber has called on the administration and Congress that we need comprehensive immigration reform in this country. Period. End of story. This is not a Hispanic thing. This is an American thing.