1. Suzanna Sanchez specializes in competitive business development and has primarily worked
for national and international Fortune 500 companies helping them to identify their set of
core competencies and conceptualize a strategic direction for new market entries and growth.
She also is experienced in the management of inter-corporate alliances and the relationship
between corporate strategy and government policy. Her areas of expertise cover the following
business/media categories: Broadcast network television, radio, print, newspaper, web project
management/e-commerce, B2B, M&A, legal industry, biotech, architecture, consumer goods,
community outreach and development.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva: Let’s talk
about where you are right now in
terms of your career, your outlook on
life.
Suzanna: At this point in my career,
I feel that I’ve come full circle. For
many years, I felt that I had to prove
myself intellectually to so many
different audiences in order for them
to accept me. I always thought that if
I continued to pursue more degrees,
higher positions at work, and more
money, then I was obviously on the
right “American Dream” track. In
time I discovered that there was
one thing that continued to resonate
within my being, and that is that I
have always been an advocate for the
Latino community. My passion as an
advocate for the silent and growing
majority has given me the opportunity
to make a difference and to change
perceptions while climbing the
corporate ladder. My advocacy and
the social responsibility in the media
and in business will remain a constant
and a very important part of who I am
throughout my career. My philosophy
is very simple, just give back and do
the right thing. My career and my
outlook on life go hand in hand.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva. : Can you
trace the development of your
relationship with the arts and with
media?
Suzanna: As a child, I always thought
that I was going to be an artist, but
when I expressed that interest I was
laughed at and they’d say, ‘Well,
you know artists don’t make any
money.’ Well then maybe I’ll be an
Architect, my high school counselor’s
response to that was “Humm? There
is too much math involved for that”
not too encouraging. I was quickly
disillusioned by the lack of support, so
in the end, I decided to take another
route and decided to get involved in
business. Mergers and Acquisitions
and business development strategies
for national and international Fortune 500
companies became my focus. Right brain, left
brain, I didn’t want to compromise any of my
dreams; I wanted to have it all.
I was always interested in the power of mass
communication and the influence that media
has on our daily lives from the day we are born
to the day that we die. Over time I realized that
I didn’t necessarily have to let go of the artistic
or creative side of me. The entertainment
television broadcast industry that I am currently
working in requires that I think of not only
creative ways of achieving quarterly profits
but of ways to de mystify the complexities of
how technology has changed how we view
and interact with the array of integrated media
options. Balancing abstract and critical thinking
skills seemed to fit my new definition of how
media today is very much an art within itself.
So I think, in a nutshell, I’ve always tried to
balance my corporate responsibilities of what I
do for a living along with maintaining a creative
element in the business models that I create.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : Where are you
working now?
Suzanna: I’m an advertising executive for an
entertainment Hispanic television broadcast
network in Los Angeles, CA. I wanted to
experience the convergence of this media
first hand. Television is a very powerful
communication medium that is experiencing
technological and evolutionary changes.
There are many similarities in the companies
that I worked with in the past that are also
going through either restructuring or are in the
transitional phase of a merger or acquisition.
For some reason the communications industry
is a little quieter about this convergence/
transition. It’s very subtle externally, time is
a valued commodity, everybody wants it, and
we have very little of it. Time and convenience
is the driving force. The challenge lies in
delivering multiple messages in a competitive
landscape, while keeping it non-intrusive and
seamless, and that is what caught my interest.
The integration of television, radio, internet, pod
casting, music and print….quite frankly can be
a sensory overload, but it has become a way
of life.
Having worked with both the general market and
the Hispanic market one observation remains
constant. The inequities in the distribution
of revenue for Hispanic media dollars have
not changed very much. Many corporate
business models do not reflect the proper
ratios necessary to maximize their return on
investment. Corporate projections, forecasting,
and current expenditures don’t seem to be in
line with reality. Numbers are numbers and
money does not have ethnic barriers. Activism
always seems to creep up in how I view
business models. It just doesn’t make business
sense to ignore our buying power, and to
continue with antiquated ways of thinking.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : You use the word
Hispanic – many people have ideological
problems with using the term Hispanic as
opposed to Chicano or Latino, but in your world,
the business world, Hispanic seems to be the
more accepted terminology. Do you have
an opinion about the words that are used to
describe cultural identity?
Suzanna: To me, Latinos are Latinos. You
can call us Mexican American, Hispanics,
Bilingual, Chicanos, Chicanas, oh! The most
recent new term “Nuevo Latinos” – to me it’s
all the same because we all have the same
basic fundamental needs, desires and while
our experiences in life may be diverse, we have
more commonalities than differences. I think it
just depends on each individual person, on what
term they feel most comfortable using. I don’t
have a particular preference.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva: You follow the Chicana
art movement here in Los Angeles pretty closely.
Can you speak about your involvement?
Suzanna: Art has always been a part of my life,
as a child, Spanish was my first language and
I loved that art was like a universal language,
I connected immediately. My father exposed
us to art and to museums at a very early age.
Museums and art allowed me to venture off into
my own fantasy world, it was very liberating.
Art gave me the freedom to dream about the
possibilities of what I could be in the future. In
college I had the privilege of studying under
Shifra Goldman- (UCLA), she taught me to

2. appreciate the contributions of Chicano art and
their influence in history. I eventually moved to
Los Angeles, and became another Angelino. My
activism in the arts was catapulted while serving
on the Board of Directors for VIVA, whose sole
mission was to showcase Latinos and Latina
artists. I wanted to do my part to highlight and
to give artists a voice. VIVA gave me the sense
of community that I lacked while living in Los
Angeles. Los Angeles can be a very big city,
and if you don’t connect to a group of people
that share a common interest, it’s an easy city
to get lost in. Through this organization, I met a
lot of wonderful friends that are now well known
artists, in various disciplines – Miguel Angel
Reyes, GRONK, Frank Romero, Luis Alfaro
who is now at the Mark Taper, Cherrie Moraga,
Lourdes Portillo, George Yepes, Dyan Garza,
Monica Palacios, just to name a few. I try to
keep in touch with as many of them as possible;
it’s also exciting to see that a lot of our careers
are still somewhat focused in the arts.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : You say you struggled
to find a sense of community when you moved
to Los Angeles, but weren’t you born in LA?
Suzanna: Yes, I was born in Los Angeles, but
as a child my family moved to Orange County.
It was a completely different world. I always
knew that I’d go back to Los Angeles, after
graduating from college most of my career was
spent working in Los Angeles and on the East
Coast. I spent some time in San Francisco, and
it was at that point that I was able to experience
the International business arena, finally all of the
pieces were falling into place, but Los Angeles
still remained my home away from home.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : You’re a member of
the Trojan family…can you speak about some of
your experiences here at USC?
Suzanna: USC’s Marshall School of Business
was instrumental in helping to put all of my
experiences and future aspirations on the right
track in more ways that just scholastically. The
Alumni support is genuine and I find that when
ever I need assistance or an objective point
of view, I can call on any one of my fellow
students for help. Dr. Laree Kiely, Professor
Bill Crookston, and Dr. Sam Hariharan were
excellent role models. The curricula was geared
towards the integration of knowledge with
holistic and analytical concepts highlighting the
importance of the social, political and economic
considerations that play an important role in the
decision making process. SC prepared me to
step into the competitive business world. When
ever I meet another Trojan, not much else needs
to be said to connect.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : Did you ever feel any
kind of discrimination or cultural insensitivity?
Suzanna: No, but now that you mention that,
maybe that’s why I felt I needed to prepare
myself academically by attending top notch
academic institutions, it was always my motto
to work for only the very best Fortune 500
companies, I wanted to learn from the best and
to be in the company of excellence, they had to
be number one in their industry. I didn’t want
anyone to ever say to me that I was not right for
the position because of my gender or ethnic
background, so education was my insurance.
My self imposed high standards were perhaps a
way of protecting myself from anyone who might
want to discriminate against me in the future.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : On occasions when
you do face discrimination, do you have a
strategy for dealing with it?
Suzanna: I don’t have a set strategy.
Unfortunately it does exists and I choose
not give it any power when I do see it.
Discrimination and lack of respect can happen
in very subtle and indirect ways, and sometimes
it comes from the people that you least expect
it from. When I do experience it, I just feel sorry
for that person, I watch them dig their own hole,
and they end up embarrassing themselves
without me having to say anything. I don’t
feel the need to prove anything to anyone.
Intentions, actions and results speak for
themselves.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : Let’s cut to the future
– where do you see for yourself down the line?
Suzanna: I’m very happy with the career
choices that I’ve made thus far. I’ve traveled an
awful lot; I’ve met wonderful people throughout
California and the US. There isn’t a place that
I don’t feel I can go to and not fit in, and that’s
because I am willing to feel uncomfortable and
vulnerable, I have learned to embrace and to
confront the changes that naturally come while
experiencing life. I think as far as what I see
in the future for myself is to continue to be
involved in a career that genuinely gives back
to the community, whether it’s in broadcast
or corporate America. But I will never, ever
let go of the advocacy that I feel in my heart
and soul for Latinos, having been so deeply
affected by the struggles that my father and my
mother went through when they first came to the
United States from Guanajuato, Guanajuato,
Mexico has made me a stronger woman, I
feel that we all have a certain sense of social
responsibility, to not just our immediate family,
but to other people as well. I think that with all
of the national and global tragedies that are
currently happening in Louisiana, in Pakistan,
Latin America, and in so many other parts of
the world, we need to re-shift our priorities.
Having experienced the loss of co-workers
in New York’s 9/11 was horrible, and we are
no different from anybody else. I think that
people are people and it’s important to focus
on our individual contributions to move forward
in a positive way. I am confident in myself that
I have the tools that it takes to succeed and to
move forward in what ever venture I decide to
take on next.
Dr. Hidalgo de la Riva : As someone who
works in television and advertising, what do you
see as the media’s role in society?
Suzanna: I think that television, and the
advertising industry is a very powerful
communication medium that has the ability to
shape our perceptions about many things that
will forever change our lives. It is a medium
that shouldn’t be taken for granted or exploited.
Television can be used to educate communities
through the integration of social content carefully
woven into the story lines. This can help set
I was inspired by the landing of the shuttle that
happened about two months ago, I loved that
it was a woman pilot that landed the shuttle. I
thought, my God, you know, I remember as a
child wanting to be an astronaut second to an
artist, and I thought, you know what, I think kids
and their parents need to see more positive
images of women in “unconventional roles”. I
presented the idea to our producers and they
gave me the go ahead to arrange an interview
with someone in that position, it didn’t mater if
she was an astronaut or an engineer, I made my
contacts with several aerospace facilities. For
the most part the idea was well received. I then
thought to myself, had I seen something like
that on television when I was a little girl I think I
might have been inspired to think, wow!, Maybe
one day I too can do that. I did not want to let
this historical moment fade away, let’s not let
this momentum die, science is an important part
of our educational cycle, not only that, but can
you imagine, it’s the images like the landing of
a shuttle piloted by a woman and then televised
throughout the world, well, that can have a
lasting impression on almost anyone.
It’s important to put positive images on television
in order to create that spark of light or dream
in someone’s life at a very young age. I can’t
think of any other communication medium that
can have a cultural impact on our society while
covering a wide audience base. It’s easy to
measure ratings, but how do you measure and
analyze the intrinsic value that goes well beyond
a television series or a newscast, why not take
advantage of it in a positive way.
The Spectator
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