Atlanta to welcome the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 46th annual National Conference

By: Mark Meltzer

Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing Hispanic markets in the nation, with soaring population, buying power and business startups. That’s a big reason why the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is bringing its 46th annual national conference here this September.

More than 2,000 are expected to attend the conference, which is Sept. 21-23 at the Hyatt Regency hotel.

The conference unites the most influential Hispanic business owners, corporate executives and industry experts from across the country. The three-day event inspires and empowers guests, offering networking, mentoring and educational workshops, alongside powerful speeches and advocacy training. It serves as a catalyst for new business growth opportunities.

On July 23, leaders of the USHCC kicked off the event with a press conference at the Fox Theater. USHCC President and CEO Ramiro A. Cavazos and Board Chair Jackie Puente, who is VP of External Affairs for Comcast, said they’re excited to be bring the conference to Atlanta, with its vibrant community of Latino entrepreneurs.

Veronica Maldonado-Torres, president and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, noted that Georgia is perennially the No. 1 state to do business.

Along with the GHCC, the host city also features the Latin American Chamber of Commerce (once known as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce), which focuses on restaurants and labor, along with the GHCC, which has bigger businesses and corporate America. 

Dozens of Hispanic business and community leaders showed up for the kickoff, excited to welcome the USHCC and for the opportunities the conference provides.

The conference offers the opportunity to showcase Atlanta for the USHCC membership and people across the country.

It’s a far different environment than the last time the USHCC came to Atlanta, when it had the misfortune of taking place just weeks after the tragedy of 9/11.

Rudy Beserra, who was senior vice president for Latin Affairs at The Coca-Cola Co., said neither Coke, nor any of the other corporate sponsors, pulled their funding for the event, but only about 70 people showed up.

“It was basically like a wake,” Beserra said in a recent phone call. “It was a horrible time to have a convention.”

While the environment is far better than it was in 2001, there are significant concerns. The high cost of goods and services is hitting small businesses especially hard, and there’s a lot of apprehension because of the uncertain political environment.

But the growth Atlanta has experienced over the years is remarkable. During and after the Olympic Games in 1996, Latinos came to Atlanta in bigger and bigger numbers, started businesses, joined the city’s leading companies as executives, and became an essential part of the city, culturally and economically.

There are more than 700,000 Latinos in metro Atlanta and 1.2 million in Georgia, and their percentage of the metro Atlanta population is expected to grow to 21 percent by 2050, up from about 12 percent now. Beserra, who came to Atlanta in 1989, has seen a lot of it that growth. “Who would have thought Ole Foods would be an $800 million market?” he said. “In 1989, there were not that many tortillas sold in the South.”