WorldCity Business Magazine

02 WorldCity People

by WC

TECHNOLOGY
Sanchez is new CEO at Telefonica USA

Diane Sanchez is the new president and CEO of Telefonica USA, the Miami-based subsidiary of the Spanish telecommunications conglomerate.

Sanchez replaces Pete Pizarro, who accepted a position as president and CEO of eLandia. (See separate item.) Sanchez, like Pizarro before her, has responsibility for U.S.-based multinationals. We see that a lot of the global economy is driven by U.S. multinationals,

Sanchez said, with those companies making investments in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Now, it is trying to connect the dots, to put the continents together. We manage most of the top leaders in most of the top sectors.

Sanchez hopes to expand Telefonicas efforts in building businesses with U.S. multinationals by opening offices in Texas, California and the Midwest. There are significant expectations on top-line growth, she said. With regard to hiring to get that new business, she said with a smile that she was told, Diane, you can add as many people as you need as long as the revenue is growing.

She joined Telefonica in 2005, coming from another key player in the telecommunications industry, Miamibased Terremark, NAP of the Americas, where she was also president. Prior to that, she was president and CEO of Global Crossing Latin America, another important player in the industry. Sanchez also worked with AT&T and Lucent as well.

In 2007, Sanchez was honored as the top corporate woman leader of the year in South Florida by the Organization of Women in International Trade. She is active in a number of local organizations including the a board member for the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the South Florida chapter of the Mexico-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Florida International University School of Business.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
BankUniteds Usategui is new FIBA head

Ramon Usategui, senior vice president and international private banking manager for South Florida-based BankUnited is the new president of the Florida International Bankers Association for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

FIBA represents 70 financial institutions from 18 countries across four continents. The international banking industry has faced escalating regulatory expectations from multiple regulatory agencies. Tis is FIBAs year to address these very issues that can threaten the well-being of financial institutions in the United States. We want to remind Washington that South Florida is a vital and vibrant international banking region and continues to be a center of excellence for banking despite growing competition from London, Singapore, Panama, Dubai and others, he said.

The board of directors for the one year term, which began July 1, include First Vice President, John Rodriguez, Wells Fargo Bank; Vice President, Mark North, Espirito Santo Bank; Vice President, George Crosby, HSBC Private Bank International; Vice President/ Secretary, Teresa Foxx, Barclays Bank; Treasurer, Alejandro Pereyra, Bank of America; Immediate Past President, David Schwartz, Regions Financial Corp.; General Counsel, Clemente Vazquez-Bello, Gunster Yoakley & Stewart.

TECHNOLOGY
Pizarro joins telecommunications firm, eLandia, with eye on expansion

Pete Pizarro is the new chairman and CEO for Fort Lauderdale-based eLandia International, after six-year run at Telefonica USA, where he was also CEO. (See separate item.)

Pizarro will work out of a Coral Gables office for the company, which provide integrated telecommunication solutions for companies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Rim.

The company, comprised of three subsidiaries, has operations in 19 countries, more than 1,000 employees and 38,000 customers. Desca has offices throughout Latin America while AST Telecom operates in American Samoa and Datec in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and other islands in the region.

With the hiring of Pizarro, the company intends to expand through strategic regional acquisitions and expansion in the markets eLandia serves, according to a company statement.

Prior to his experience at Te l e f o n i c a , Pizarro worked with KPMG, Esavio and the Siman Group. Pizarro is the outgoing chairman of the the Beacon Council, Miami-Dade Countys economic development organization.

TECHNOLOGY
Duarte departs SAP LatAm to head SAP EMEA sales

Jose Duarte, the president and CEO of SAP Latin Americas for the last two years, has been promoted by SAP to executive vice president of sales for Europe / the Middle East / Africa. Rob Enslin, the COO for SAP North America, will serve as the interim head of Latin America operations. SAP Latin America has about 50 employees in its Blue Lagoon area offices just south of Miami International Airport.

Duarte has worked in Europe previously for SAP, the business software giant. He started its Portugal subsidiary in 1993.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
Two at Merrill Lynch make Barrons Top 100 list

Two Miami-based Merrill Lynch financial advisors, Patrick Dwyer and Louis Chiavacci, have been named to Barrons 2008 list of the Top 100 financial advisors in the nation. The two are among almost two dozen Merrill Lynch financial advisors nationwide to make the list. Dwyer ranked No. 31 and for Chiavacci, it was the fifth consecutive year on the list.

LEGAL
Media, immigration attorneys named partners at Adorno Yoss

Osvaldo Torres, who has served as general counsel to HBO Latin America and for Telemundo, is a new partner at Adorno Yoss, working from both the Miami and Fort Lauderdale offices. Prior to
joining the firm, Torres was the principal owner of Weston Law Associates.

Fernando Socol is chairman of Adorno Yosss immigration practice in the Miami office. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner with Gerardin & Socol.

EXECUTIVE SEARCH
Veterans Mestepey, Smith, Kean join Philadelphia-based DSRB

Diversified Search Ray & Berndtson has entered the South Florida market by purchasing the office of Edward W. Kelley and Partners. With that purchase come three veterans of the search business in South Florida and Latin America, John Mestepey, Marjorie Keen and Lauren Smith.

What is now DSRB was founded in 1974 by Judith M. von Selderneck as Diversified Search. In 2005, the company acquired Ray and Berndtson of New York, forming DSRB. The company also has offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

IMMIGRATION
With experience in Venezuela, Colombia, two women open doors near immigration office

Adriana Gomez, an attorney in Colombia and the United States, and Johanny Uzcategui-Kahn, an attorney in Venezuela and the United States, have opened a law office to specialize in immigration issues. The office is located at 561 NE 79th St., Miami, across from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services district office.

WC