Council of the Americas Gathered Top Decision Makers To Discuss How Leadership Is Evolving In An Era Of Disruption

USA - English

• Brazil - Português
• Latin America - español

MIAMI, Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Influential leaders from top companies in the region, multilateral institutions and civil society, shared insights on business trends that are redefining leadership at the Council of the Americas (COA) Symposium held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami on Oct. 25.

Following the business Symposium, seven diverse luminaries were recognized that evening at the 25^th anniversary of the BRAVO Business Awards for their extraordinary contributions to the economic and social development of Latin America.

"We offer a platform for key figures to engage around a common theme of leadership redefined in an era of accelerated change," said Americas Society/Council of the Americas president and CEO Susan Segal. "Latin America can overcome constant geopolitical conflicts and weak economic growth rates only through dialogue and exceptional leadership. Only by coming together can we solve the most pressing issues."

The main topics of discussion among industry executives and experts included meeting the evolving needs of the empowered customer, leading-edge digital payments, diversity and inclusion, and the power of strategic partnerships.

When asked during their morning panel about adapting to a world of constant disruption, Gerardo Mato, Chairman, Global Banking and Markets-Americas at HSBC, highlighted the importance of young innovators: "We need to open space for them to grow and come with out-of- the-box ideas, because that's how we're going to win the next decade." While Votorantim CEO João Miranda, also the BRAVO Business CEO of the Year, said, "To change, you don't have to send a lot of people to Palo Alto. Change comes from within."

In a subsequent panel discussion on how digital payments have transformed the banking industry and expanded financial inclusion in Latin America, Nubank co-founder Cristina Junqueira, also recipient of the BRAVO Visionary Entrepreneur Award, said that finding talent for the digital bank as it seeks to expand beyond Brazil has been difficult. "The main challenge was and continues to be people. We've had to look globally, everywhere," she said.

In an inspirational conversation with Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno, recipient of the BRAVO Legacy Award, Grammy Award-winning artist Carlos Vives spoke of Tras La Perla, their joint initiative in Vives' native Santa Marta aiming at fostering socioeconomic development in Colombia. "The most important work is what we have done to empower the community," said Vives, recipient of the BRAVO Social Impact Leadership Award, adding that "we have created a sense of ownership and inclusion."

The afternoon sessions discussed the redefinition of cross border trade in the digital economy and the ethical implications and impact of artificial intelligence. The latter panel included founder and CEO of gA Roberto Wagmaister, who conveyed AI's huge potential particularly to transform healthcare.

Sponsors: HSBC, Bank of America, LLYC, The AES Corporation, Boston Consulting Group, Microsoft, Baker McKenzie, FedEx Express, gA, IBM, Mastercard LAC, SAP and Softtek.

Supporting Organization: Enterprise Florida.

Media Partners: CNN en Español and Financial Times.

Partner of the Symposium: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

For videos of the Symposium, please visit: www.as-coa.org/bravo

Press Contact:

Yndira Marin | [email protected] | 1-646-386-6523.

AS/COA Media Relations | [email protected] | 1-212-277-8384 | 1-212-277-8333.

Council of the Americas (COA) is the premier international business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere. Council of the Americas partners are leading global companies representing a broad spectrum of sectors such as banking and finance, consulting services, consumer products, energy and mining, manufacturing, media, technology, and transportation.

SOURCE Council of the Americas