WorldCity Business Magazine

South Florida's Fusion Cuisine

by Ian McCluskey

South Florida’s cultural mix is also its corporate strength.

At a media luncheon hosted by Rui da Costa, the head of Hewlett-Packard’s Latin American operation, a familiar scene unfolded at our table. As the journalists, media relations folks and HP executives introduced themselves, I did a quick mental tally: one Brazilian, one Venezuelan, a Mexican, two Canadians (yours truly included), a Cuban-born American and a Puerto Rican. A survey a couple weeks earlier at WORLDCITY’S monthly CEO Roundtable yielded a similar result. After personal introductions, Stephen Owens, head of Hong Kong-based real estate developer Swire Properties, declared: “I’ll bet I’m the only gringo at this table.” Sure enough. His companions consisted of a Chilean, a South African, a Brazilian-born American and a Cuban-born American. In other words, a typical South Florida cultural stew. Or perhaps I should say guisado or feijoada or ragout . Miami may be maligned by backwoods critics threatened by its strange and foreign ingredients. But therein lies its intoxicating appeal and, to a large degree, the dynamism and strength of its international business community. WORLDCITY showcases this unique community in every issue, but never more clearly than in our January and February editions when we present our annual Who’s Here listings of South Florida’s global companies. With more 1,250 multinational companies from 55 countries, the Who’s Here directory is as exotic a menu as you’ll find. Part I of this directory, found on pages 25 to 50 includes a French inspections company, a Japanese camera manufacturer, a Brazilian transport operation, a Mexican TV production company and a Romanian IT security firm. They all have chosen South Florida as a regional platform for Latin America and the Caribbean or as a beachhead from which to expand across North America. But companies don’t provide the flavor of a place. People do. And, when it comes to its residents, Miami is to multiculturalism what Baskin Robbins is to plain vanilla. A recent ranking in The Economist listed the most culturally diverse cities on the globe measured by the percentage of each city’s foreign-born residents. Miami ranked second only to Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. (Another recently maligned place, it should be noted.) If the United States is a melting pot, then South Florida is a boiling cauldron. Our motto at WORLDCITY? Turn up the heat!

Contact: imccluskey@worldcityweb.com