The journey to the C-suite can be daunting, not to mention a long and arduous one. While not everyone can join the highest leadership level within the top businesses and organizations in the world, a small percentage of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies have been Latinos.

Latin Americans or Hispanic races account for 16.7 percent of the population in the United States. Unfortunately, Latinos only comprised less than one percent of CEOs at top Fortune 500 companies. According to CNN Money, Roberto Goizueta became the first Latino CEO in 1981 when he was appointed by Coca-Cola as the company's chief executive.

Today, there are only 10 Latino leaders who have bravely shown the world their remarkable leadership skills that help shape and transform the global business sector, as Al Dia News listed.

1. Oscar Munoz

Company: United Continental Holdings Inc. or United Airlines

Appointed as United's CEO on Sept. 8, 2015, Munoz has previously served as president and CFO at CSX Corporation. He also worked in senior financial and strategic capacities at AT&T, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Under his leadership at United, Munoz made significant efforts to resolve the complaints of customers and employees, which surfaced after the merger of United and Continental airlines, in recent years. He also concentrated on rebuilding the morale of the company following years of strained labor relations.

2. George Paz

Company: Express Scripts (to retire in May)

One of America's 25 highest paid CEOs, Paz, who is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, joined Express Scripts in 1998 as SVP and CFO. He then became the president of the company in 2003, Huffington Post revealed. He also has led the company through three major mergers and has achieved profit growth of 30 percent annually.

3. Carlos Rodriguez

Company: Automatic Data Processing (ADP)

Named as the company's president and CEO in November 2011, Rodriguez joined one of the largest providers of business outsourcing and human capital management solutions in 1999. Under his leadership, he took the company to $11 billion in revenues, serving 620,000 clients in more than 125 countries.

4. J. Paul Raines

Company: GameStop

Prior to taking the top spot at the gaming retailer in June 2010, Raines spent almost two years as the company's Chief Operating Officer. Before joining GameStop's board, Raines worked in various retail operations management positions at Home Depot. He holds an industrial engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.

5. Joseph Alvarado

Company: Commercial Metals Company

Alvarado has been the Chief Executive Officer at Commercial Metals Company since Sept. 1, 2011 and its President since April of the same year. He also serves as the vice president of U.S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc. Prior to his CEO appointment, he served as the company's Chief Operating Officer of from April 30, 2010 to April 6, 2011. He is an industry executive with over 25 years of senior-level experience in operations, sales and marketing, finance, corporate development and international business.

Also included on the top 10 list are: Robert E. Sanchez of Ryder System Inc.,  J. Mario Molina of Molina Healthcare, Mary T. Barra of General Motors, Marcelo Claure of Sprint and Richard A. Gonzalez of AbbVie. In addition, 67-year-old Antonio Perez, the former CEO of Eastman Kodak Company, is also among the notable Latino CEOs in America. 

 

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