The sold out 2019 Latino Economic Forum was a complete success! Thank you to Title Partner, Wells Fargo, and Participating Partner, Chase and all who attended. The event featured experts on business succession, taxes, access to capital and social media on top of a macro economic overview from our event Keynote speaker. A special thank you to Abel J. Montanez, Wells Fargo Private Bank Regional Managing Director (LA Region) for his part in being instrumental in helping develop the content of this session, as well as moderating the event's phenomenal panel. For those that did not attend last week's Latino Economic Forum, following is a summary of our speakers:

Sanjay Varshney (Keynote), PhD, CFA, investment strategy specialist, Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management Group. He provides thought leadership on investment management strategies and market commentary for Wells Fargo Private Bank and serves as professor of finance at California State University, Sacramento, as well as the chief economist for the Sacramento Business Review – one of the most comprehensive economic analysis and forecasting publications for California and the region. Varshney will provide an overview on global and local economies and offer tips on what business owners can do to remain competitive.

Christopher Pegg, senior director of planning, Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management Group. He leads the wealth planning efforts for Wells Fargo Private Bank in California. A certified financial planner, he speaks and writes frequently on matters relating to tax law and wealth planning and has been quoted in various national publications. He is experienced in structuring asset protection strategies, business succession techniques as well as estate planning vehicles for business owners and their families. He will share strategies to help move family businesses to the next generation.

Chirag Sagar, co-founder of Digital Luxury Agency, a global Internet marketing and branding agency and also a fundraising/syndication group, which has worked with over 3,000 Fortune 500 and small companies, governments, nonprofits and investment firms. He will discuss the importance of digital and social media in today’s business climate and some of the must-have tools needed to grow and succeed.

Vanessa Torres, assistant vice president and business relationship manager, J.P. Morgan Chase. She supports business owners and community stakeholders in the Greater Los Angeles Area and serves on multiple internal advisory boards promoting corporate diversity and community mentorship. She will cover some of the access to capital and scaling challenges Latino and other entrepreneurs face and what they can do to overcome these hurdles.

Vanessa Faggiolly, chief financial officer, Amerisal Foods, a privately-owned wholesale food distribution company that imports Latin American food products. She and her mother, Nora Saca, bought the financially struggling company in 2008, and today, it’s a multimillion-dollar enterprise with more than 500 employees and distributing products to supermarket chains such as Superior, Vallarta and El Super. Faggiolly will share how the El Salvadoran mother-daughter duo started with nothing and worked to achieve the American dream.