The Cuban Research Institute is pleased to welcome the newest member of its Community Advisory Board. The board is a distinguished group of persons interested in Cuban and Cuban-American affairs and includes representatives from various business sectors and professional backgrounds. Board members contribute their expertise to support the institute's mission, advise its Director on its strategic goals, and assist with fund raising.
As founder/CEO of Gonza Executive Search, Juan Luis Betancourt runs a leading boutique executive search firm that works with portfolio companies of private equity firms. Prior to this position, he was a partner at Korn/Ferry International and Heidrick & Struggles. Mr. Betancourt previously had a global career as an operational general manager living for 15 years across Germany, France, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Dubai. He was CEO of the U.S. division of Décathlon, the world's largest sports retailer; worked in the U.S. and Brazil at CRM software leader, Siebel Systems; was CMO/Global Brand Strategy Head at Puma AG in Germany; and started his career doing brand management at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Betancourt earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in economics from Harvard University. He also attended the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania for an M.A. in international management. Mr. Betancourt sits on the board of the nonprofit Miami Theatre Center (MTC). Website
