Alonso Ancira
Since April 2004 Mr. Alonso Ancira has served as Chairman of the Board of Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) and Subsidiaries, one of Mexico’s most prestigious industrial Mexican consortiums. From 1991 to 2004, Mr. Ancira was Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AHMSA and Subsidiaries.
He is currently president of Mexico’s Chamber of Iron and Steel, a position he had from 1993 to 1995, and again from 2003 to 2004. Recently Mr. Ancira was elected for a new term, from 2006 to 2007. He also is a member of Who’s Who Among International Business Professionals.
Mr. Ancira is a board member of the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and a member of the Latin American Steel and Iron Institute.
As a key supporter of the environmental initiative in Mexico, Mr. Ancira served as President of CESPEDES, a prestigious organization comprised of members from the private sector deeply involved in sustainable development.
Among many honors and because of his leadership in the Mexican industry, Mr. Ancira was recognized as Business Man of the Year in 1996 by the Association of Industrialists and received the International Entrepreneur Award in 1992 by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio, Texas. He is also quite active in the academia field and serves as a board member of several universities being honored with a PHD Honoris Causa in mining from the University of Guanajuato.
In addition to receiving his law degree from the University of Anáhuac in Mexico City in 1975, Mr. Ancira has completed and facilitated many professional seminars, including the Academy of International Commerce Arbitration.
Born in Mexico City, Mr. Ancira and his wife, Susana, have a daughter Sofía.
Lars Fuhrken-Batista
Mr. Batista was introduced to Quepasa via publicly-traded Ideiasnet (BOVESPA: IDNT3.SA, www.ideiasnet.com), Brazil’s largest venture fund focused on technology, media, and telecom, where he is a member of its board of advisors.
Batista currently serves as the director of information and computer technology (ICT) at the EBX Group (www.ebx.com.br), Brazil’s largest private infrastructure and natural resources investment holding company, with investments in oil and gas, mining, energy, ports and logistics, shipyards, and real estate. As head of EBX’s technology initiatives, Batista oversees EBX’s ICT infrastructure and new technology investments.
Batista has over 15 years of experiene working in publishing, management, design, production and licensing of video game titles, having begun his professional career at Los Angeles-based Activision as a production coordinator in 1995. In 2000, Batista re-launched legendary videogame brand, Cinemaware, and re-released new versions of its famous game franchises, including Defender of the Crown.
Lionel Sosa
Mr. Sosa is Chief Executive Officer of MATT.org and founder of Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates, now Bromley Communications, the largest Hispanic advertising agency in the United States.
From 1991 to 1995, he was Chairman of DMB&B/Americas, a network of 23 advertising agencies in the US and Latin America representing multi-national clients such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Sprint.
Time Magazine named Mr. Sosa as “One of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America.” He has provided influential media counsel to more than 100 political campaigns, including both Presidential campaigns of George W. Bush. He is a member of the Board of Directors of American College Testing (ACT) and United Way’s Masters Leadership Program.
Mr. Sosa authored the highly acclaimed books, “The American Dream: How Latinos Can Achieve Success in Business and in Life” (Dutton, 1998) and “Think and Grow Rich” (Random House, 2006). In 2001, he was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University and regularly lectures at The University of Texas.
Malcolm Jozoff
Mr. Jozoff retired from Dial Corporation in 2000 after four years as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Jozoff led the creation of Dial Corporation as a $2 billion independent company, and established the strategic foundations, which have resulted in its principal brands enjoying either the number one or two position in each of the categories in which they compete. In 2004, Dial Corporation was sold to Henkel KGaA, a multi-national consumer products company headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany.
From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Jozoff was Chief Executive Officer of Lenox, Inc., a division of Brown-Forman, Incorporated. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Lenox achieved its highest historical growth rates behind an invigorated new products program, development of self-owned retail outlets, and selective international expansions.
Over the course of his 25 years with Procter & Gamble (1967-1992), Mr. Jozoff managed major areas of this $40 billion, multi-national consumer goods corporation in the U.S. and Europe. Most notably, as a senior corporate executive, he was responsible for the development of P&G’s global cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drug businesses. He ultimately achieved the position of Global Sector President and was a member of the company’s executive committee.
Presently, Mr. Jozoff serves as a corporate advisor to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), a global leader in pharmaceuticals, infusions, and consumer health products.
Mr. Jozoff is a graduate of Columbia University, and is a veteran of five years in the U.S. Air Force where he attained the rank of Captain. In addition to chairing Dial Corporation’s board, he has been a director of Columbia Energy Group, Inc., Chemtrack, Inc., and several industry associations, The Grocery Manufacturers of America Association, The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, and the greater Phoenix Leadership Organization, among others.
John C. Abbott
CEO and Chairman of the Board, Quepasa Corporation
Mr. Abbott was appointed CEO and Chairman of the Board of Quepasa in October, 2007.
Between 2005 and 2007, Mr. Abbott served as strategic and financial advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Mexican industrial consortium Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. (AHMSA). AHMSA has held an ownership position in Quepasa Corp. since September, 2006.
In 2006, Mr. Abbott assisted in the formation of Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together (www.matt.org), a San Antonio-based non-profit group focused on improving Mexico-US relations. MATT maintains a strategic partnership with Quepasa, through which both entities collaborate on technological and community outreach initiatives.
From 1992 to 2005, Mr. Abbott held several senior positions within JP Morgan’s Latin America Mergers & Acquisitions team, focusing on advising many of the region’s leading industrial groups on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings.
Mr. Abbott has spent a significant part of his life in Latin America, having lived 13 years in Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Brazil.
Mr. Abbott earned his A.B. in History from Stanford University in 1992 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1997.
Dr. Jill A. Syverson-Stork
Dr. Syverson-Stork was raised in Santiago, Chile. She received her BA in Hispanic Studies from Smith College (1975) and her Masters and PhD in Romance Languages from Harvard University (1980). Since 1989, Professor Syverson-Stork has been a member of the Spanish Department at Wellesley College. At Wellesley, she is Coordinator of Intermediate Spanish, Director of the Spanish Language House and Cultural Center and teaches courses in Cervantes’ Don Quixote and the history and literature of the Spanish Golden Age. Professor Syverson-Stork is also certified in Elementary Education and has taught Spanish at all grade levels – from kindergarten through adult continuing education – in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Syverson-Stork is the author of “Theatrical Aspects of the Novel: A Study of Don Quixote” (Albatros-Hispanofila) and the author and translator of professional articles on Hispanic literature, history and film. She was a contributing writer for Reflejos (Houghton Mifflin), an intermediate level Spanish language program, and author of pedagogical web sites on cultural topics from Picasso to the art of the Moche people of Peru. Jill Syverson-Stork is the co-author of a bilingual collection of traditional songs and rhymes from Spanish speaking countries entitled “Los pollitos dicen/The Baby Chicks Sing” (Little, Brown). She is the translator of several other books for children including “Marc Brown’s Arthur’s Teacher Trouble/Arturo y sus problemas con el profesor” and “What’s the Matter with Timmy/Que le pasa a Timmy?” by Maria Shriver. Dr. Syverson-Stork is a member of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese and frequently addresses workshops on language pedagogy and the integration of art, music and literature in the language classroom.
Jim Ferris
Prior to his current position, Mr. Ferris was Product Manager at EA Sports, a division of Electronic Arts from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Ferris has also served as the Product Manager of Sports/ Racing for Hasbro Interactive and was Marketing Manager of Sears Craftsman Motorsports for Morris International. Mr. Ferris holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Boston College.
Ernesto Cruz Velázquez de León
Mr. Cruz is a Public Accountant and Auditor at the Universidad Tecnológica de México. He specializes in consolidations, business mergers and acquisitions, public company share placements both in Mexico, Canada, and the USA, financial statement audit under SEC, USGAAP, and SAROX (PCAOB) rules, Internal Audit, Processes Audit, COSO, SAROX 404 and 302 and Corporate Governance and Business Succession Advisory.
Mr. Cruz began his professional career at Arthur Andersen S.C. (Ruiz Urquiza y Cia. S.C.) in the audit area. He was subsequently transferred to the Monterrey office, where he was ultimately promoted to North Region Partner in 1998. With the disappearance of Arthur Andersen in the US and the merger of the Mexican firm with Deloitte & Touche, Mr. Cruz was named the Monterrey Office Managing Partner and also the Cluster Partner, operating the Monterrey, Monclova, Torreón and Reynosa offices. In 2006 he joined the Board of Directors of the Mexican firm.
Mr. Cruz has participated, both as examiner and advisor, on multiple boards, including Coca Cola FEMSA (KOF), Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (CCM), Grupo Acerero del Norte (GAN), and Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), among others. He is also an active member of numerous groups and associations, including the IMEF Corporate Governance Committee, ICPNL (Nuevo León Public Accountants Institute), IMCP (Mexican Institute of Public Accountants), and COPARMEX.