Latino Business Group’s Incoming Leader Aims for New Partnerships

Ruben Smith hopes to transform the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County into an engine of growth for local Latino companies, once he takes over as president in April.

“I want to expand the business opportunities for Hispanic businesses in Orange County,” said Smith, a partner in the Irvine law firm of Alvarado, Smith & Sanchez.

Smith said he plans to recruit new “corporate partners” and to encourage existing ones to subcontract more work to local Latino firms. Corporate partners such as Walt Disney Co. and Washington Mutual Bank, for instance, already underwrite some of the chamber’s activities and farm out work to several member companies.

Smith, a proponent of closer links between Orange County and Latin American political and business leaders, said he plans to create stronger ties between the chamber and the dozen or so Latin American consulates in Southern California.

The chamber also will sponsor trade missions to Mexico and other Latin countries to promote increased trade and investment in both directions. He said, for instance, that he hopes to encourage foreign firms to invest in local companies or expand operations here.