Not who they expected

Executives hear Valdez's Mexican accent and last name and visibly recalibrate. She has run programs at the UN in Geneva and worked in the Clinton White House.

“I'm proud to represent whom a Latino should be regarded as.”

Fourth-largest economy on earth

As head of the Latino Donor Collaborative, Valdez puts one number in front of CEOs: U.S. Latinos generate $4.4 trillion. Standing alone, that would outrank all but three countries.

The disbelief in the room

Executives push back, sometimes crudely. Valdez says she has literally been told that a housekeeper cannot possibly add up to trillions of dollars.

“It can't be that my housekeeper produces $4.4 trillion.”

What Nielsen taught her

Working in Mexico City, Valdez watched market research redraw cities. Nielsen showed multinationals where overlooked customers lived, and stores, billboards, and ads followed.

Starting over in L.A.

She moved to the U.S. in 1996 for the Clinton Administration, then to Los Angeles for the '97 reelection campaign. Her elite Mexican degree meant nothing to Americans.

Ditch the stereotype or lose

Her pitch is blunt: Bad Bunny and Modelo already show where culture is heading. Companies that track the numbers win the coming years, and the rest do not.

“Those who don't recognize it will not.”