BRAVO Leadership Conversation with Hamdi Ulukaya and José Antonio Fernández
BRAVO Leadership Conversation with Hamdi Ulukaya and José Antonio Fernández
The Chobani CEO and Tent Partnership for Refugees founder together with FEMSA's board executive chairman made the case for why hiring refugees is a positive investment in society.
Speakers
- Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani and Founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees
- José Antonio Fernández, Executive Chairman of the Board at FEMSA
- Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
In a private 2021 BRAVO Leadership Conversation, Hamdi Ulukaya and José Antonio Fernández explained the important impact that hiring refugees has on their businesses and in communities in the United States and across Latin America. Not even the pandemic hindered the positive results, they told AS/COA's Susan Segal, listing success stories from the past year.
Fernández explained that investors are motivated by social and economic value that they see in the community, adding that hiring refugees serves as learning experience that proves diversity can generate 35 percent more value to companies. “We have an undeniable priority to be at the forefront in diversity and inclusion. We have to be an example in Latin America,” he said.
Ulukaya explained how he founded Tent and how committed these employees can be when given an opportunity. "Access to a job makes magic," he says. When talking about his experience visiting Colombia after the country announced Venezuelan refugees will have access to work legally, as well as to public education and healthcare, he said that Colombia 10 years from now will be known for innovation and diversity. "It's an investment in society," he said.