David Gomez - is the Founder, CEO, and President of David Gomez & Associates, Inc. (DGA) one of the nation’s leading Hispanic-owned search firms, specializing in executive search, corporate board placement and diversity consulting. David has led the organization’s business development since 1977, building strategic relationships to help the nation’s leading companies meet their human capital needs. The firm’s clients include PepsiCo, Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay, General Mills, Sodexho, WellPoint Health Network, Nuveen Investments and RR Donnelley. A lifelong resident of Chicago, David has strong ties throughout the city’s business community. David is a visionary in the field of executive search and corporate board placement. He has used his executive search business as a platform to promote talented and qualified Hispanics for senior executive positions and for corporate board directorships with leading corporations. He is frequently featured in national magazines such as Latino Leaders and Dinero, where he was profiled in the December 2005 issue. An opinion piece, Hiring Hispanics, appeared in the Feb/March 2004 issue of Latino Leaders. He was a founding member of the New America Alliance (NAA), an organization of Latino business leaders united to promote the economic advancement of the American Latino Community. As co-chair of the NAA’s Corporate Board Initiative, he promoted Hispanics for corporate board service. Mr. Gomez recently led some of the nation’s top Hispanic executives to the first NAA-sponsored Board of Directors Certification Seminar at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, and he personally participated in the Directors’ College at The University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. David is a committed community leader, serving on the boards of Scholarship Chicago and Chicago United. He is a past board member of Children’s Memorial Hospital, where he continues to volunteer as a motivational speaker to young people, and he served on the State Board of Education during George Ryan’s tenure as Governor of Illinois. Mr. Gomez was a founding member of the United Community Bank of Lisle, which grew to a $200 million organization in under three years. He has received numerous awards for his efforts on behalf of Hispanic business and non-profit organizations, including Minorities in Business magazine’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award and Hispanic Business magazine’s Corporate Elite. In May 2004, his firm, David Gomez & Associates, received St. Augustine College’s El Puente Award for distinguished service to the community. He has carried his vision of leadership for the 21st century as keynote speaker to the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s and the National Black MBA Association.