Luis De La Hozis a business and community developmentexecutive who has focused his entire career on helping local small and mid-sized businesses developstrategiesfor growth, with particular emphasis in supporting organizations withLatino and minority leadership.In 2019, De La Hozwas recognized byNJ-ROI, for the second year in a row, one of the top 10 most influential people of color in New Jersey, and he has consistently established himself as an undisputed leader in hisfield. Throughout his career, Luishas worked with major community involvementorganizationand other groups in various leadership role. De La Hoz has recently worked asthe Chairman of the Board of Directors of New Jersey Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NJ-SHCC), the largest Chamber of Commerce by membership in the state. De La Hoz also serves on the Board of Directors of Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey BNI Hawks Chapter, Chairman of the Hispanic Small Business Council, Business Track Coordinator -Latinos in Social Media Conference, and Board Member of Middlesex County Workforce Development.Most recently, De La Hoz, VP Community Business Development BCB Bank, a 2.5 Billion asset financial institution. DeLaHoz is responsible for the Community Redevelopment Act (CRA) activities in Middlesex County, manages relationships with the Hispanic community, and coordinates outreach efforts to minority business groups through the state. DeLaHoz alsopersonallymanages a portfolio of over $15Min loans to minority business owners, consistently acting as an advocate for his clients. De La Hoz began his career in the UnitedStates as a Manager at MarMar, LLC, providing personal income tax firm servicing low-and moderate-income familiesin the community. He the progressed to his time as the Senior Vice President of Lending at The Intersect Fund, a non-profit CDFI certified micro-lender. At theIntersect Fund, DeLaHoz personally closed 290 business loans, ensured that the loss-loan ration remained below 5%, and trained and supervised several loan officerswhile driving further organizational growthand expansion in the community. De La Hoz is an active media commentator and a top social-media influencer in the Hispanic community, resulting inrecurringguest spots onUnivision, NJTV, and several radio programs. Additionally, De La Hozis a frequent speaker at many conferences and business round tablesas well as a guest speaker at Rutgers, NJIT, and other local education institutions.De La Hoz earnedhisbachelor’sdegree in Economics from the Autonoma University of Manizales in Manizales, Colombia, and a certificate in Management from the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. He alsograduated from the Entrepreneur Pioneer Initiative from Rutgers in December 2012.