Richard Velazquez is a nationally recognized leader in the

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

community and in business. Velazquez leads international marketing for

Amazon Alexa Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio a ...

for Latin America and Australia/New Zealand, and the Smart TV segment. Prior to this, Velazquez was the Global Head of

Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

at Sound United, an automotive designer, President of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) Seattle Chapter, Sr. Global Product Planner / Product Manager for

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

with the Interactive Entertainment Business at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

, and an executive at

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

leading Emerging Technologies and Innovations in Marketing and Global R&D. He was recognized in October 2000 as the 1st Puerto Rican automotive designer for

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...

in Germany.

Education

Velazquez graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, a high school designated as a school of excellence by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departme ...

. He graduated from high school at an accelerated pace, skipping his Junior year and completing the entire high school curriculum in only 3 years. Velazquez received a Bachelor of Engineering in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

in 1994 from the

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique i ...

, a prestigious specialty school that grants each successful applicant a full-tuition scholarship. Velazquez then received a Master's of Business Administration from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, Haas School of Business in 2003 on a full-fellowship through the

Consortium for Graduate Study in Management The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to ensuring the equal representation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans in management careers in the business ...

(CGSM).NSHMBA Seattle Executive Board Member Biographies
/ref>

Career

Velazquez began his career as an automotive designer for

Honda R&D Americas Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA) is an American division of Honda Motor Company that develops automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to e ...

, Inc. followed by

Porsche AG Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is ...

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Swa ...

.University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business Newswire
/ref> After receiving his MBA, he switched industries and careers, focusing on marketing and Product Planning beginning with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational Final good, consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter (industrialist), William Procter and James Gamble (industr ...

in Puerto Rico, followed by Microsoft and PepsiCo.

Automotive design

Velazquez's automotive design background began while still studying at Cooper Union. He designed utility truck bodies for the Brooklyn Union Gas fleet and competed in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Mini-Baja East competition. For the Mini-Baja, he designed and built an all-terrain, amphibious vehicle as part of the competition. After Cooper Union, he began work as a Body Design Engineer for Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in 1995 located in Raymond, Ohio. He worked on the designs of the 1997

Acura CL The Acura CL is a midsize grand tourer manufactured by Honda's Acura brand from 1996 until 2003. The CL is often thought to have been a replacement for the Acura Legend coupe. It was not directly related to the first gen TL either, a Japanese-b ...

(new model introduction), 1998

Honda Accord The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of automobile, cars manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars i ...

Coupe (complete redesign), 2001 Acura CL (complete redesign) and the 2001

Acura MDX The Acura MDX is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV with three-row seating produced by the Japanese automaker Honda under its luxury Acura division since 2000. The alphanumeric moniker stands for "Multi-Dimensional" luxury. It has ranked as the sec ...

(new model introduction).UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Alumni Bios
/ref> Velazquez left Honda in 1999 to work for Porsche AG at a newly designed facility in Weissach, Germany to work on Porsche's first SUV, the 2002

Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built ...

(new model introduction). Velazquez went on to work on the designs of the 2003

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origi ...

(major model change) and the 2004

Porsche Boxster The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are mid-engine two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by German automobile manufacturer Porsche across four generations—as a two-door, two-seater roadster (Boxster) and a three-door, two-seater fastback ...

(minor model redesign). In 2001, Velazquez left automotive design to pursue an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. During the program, he continued to work in the automotive industry, this time as a consultant for Ford de Mexico in the International Business Development (IBD) program evaluating the strategy for Ford's Supplier Park in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Marketing and Product Management

After Berkeley, Velazquez switched to a marketing role with the Procter and Gamble Commercial Company in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spre ...

in 2004.Hispanic MBA Magazine, Spring 2009: The Official Magazine of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs As an Assistant Brand Manager, he focused on marketing consumer packaged goods to the U.S. Hispanic and Puerto Rican markets. He was later recruited by Microsoft's Corporate Marketing Group and relocated to

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 census, up from 54,144 in 2010. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an a ...

. In the Corporate Marketing Group, he worked as a Senior Market Research Manager. He transferred to the Product Planning group at Xbox in July, 2006. He served as guest lecturer at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle ...

in the areas of

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

and

New Product Development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along w ...

and Design. In 2011, he relocated to New York City for an executive position at PepsiCo. In 2017, he relocated near San Diego to take on the newly formed role of Global Head of Brand for

at Sound United.

Community and professional organizations

Velazquez's involvement in professional and community organizations began at the Cooper Union, as one of the founders and the Treasurer for the

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1974 by a group of engineers employed by the city of Los Angeles. Their objective was to form a national organization of professional engineers to serv ...

(SHPE) Cooper Union Student Chapter. While at Honda, he served as the Vice Chair for Region VI of the SHPE National Student Affairs Committee, Vice Chairman for Columbus of the

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...

Dayton Section, and Chairman of SAE Midwest Mini-Baja Competition. He also founded the Columbus Chapter of the SHPE and served as president until leaving for Germany. At Berkeley, he founded the Hispanic MBA Student Association. In

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, he was elected President of the local chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. After arriving at Microsoft, he co-founded th
Seattle Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs
He served as Executive Vice President of NSHMBA Seattle Chapter in 2005-2006 and has served as President of the Chapter from 2008 until his relocation to New York in 2011. Velazquez was inducted into the Latino Leaders Magazine Club Leaders of the Future for New York in 2012. He was also inducted into the Diversity MBA Magazine Top 100 Under 50 Executive and Emerging Leaders in 2011. Velazquez was recognized as a Rising Star for the NSHMBA national organization in 2009 and received both a Brillante award and Distinguished Lifetime Leader award from the same organization. Also in 2009, Velazquez was selected as a Puget Sound Business Journal 40 under 40 Honoree. "Puget Sound Business Journal's 40 Under 40 program is the region's premier award program that spotlights the top business leaders under the age of 40 who excel in their industry and show dynamic leadership." Velazquez was a regular contributor to the business and economy section of tú Decides Newspaper, a bi-lingual English/Spanish newspaper in Washington state. He was also featured in the February/March 2010 issue of Latino Leaders magazine.

Career timeline

1990 - 1994 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, B.E.

1994 - 1995 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, M.E.

1995 - 1999 Honda R&D Americas, Inc. – Body Design Engineer
1995–1999 SHPE Region VI Vice Chair – National Student Affairs Committee (NSAC)
1996–1997

Midwest Mini-Baja Chairman
1997 - 1999 President and Founder,

(SHPE) Columbus Chapter
1997–1999

(SAE) Dayton Section - Vice Chairman Columbus
1999 - 2001

, Weissach, Germany – Automotive Design Engineer
2001–2003

The University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, Haas School of Business, MBA
2001–2003 Founder and President, Hispanic MBA Student Association, UC Berkeley, Haas
2004 The

Commercial Company, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – Assistant Brand Manager
2004 - 2006

(Corporate Marketing Group) – Senior Market Research Manager
2005 Co-founder, National Society of Hispanic MBAs Seattle Chapter
2006 – 2011

, Interactive Entertainment Business, Sr. Product Planning Manager / Sr. Global Product Manager, Xbox
2009 - 2011 University of Washington Bothell Business Advisory Council Member
2008 – 2011 President, NSHMBA Seattle Chapter
2011 - 2017

, R&D Division, Sr. Global Director of Strategic Innovations, Sr. Global Director - Emerging Tech and Innovations
2017– 2018 Sound United, Global Head of Brand -

2018–Present Founder and Director, Sound Start: A Sound United Foundation

Awards

* 1997 Young Engineer of the Year Award –

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via " continuing ...

Central Ohio Section * 1999

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

International Old Guard Young Engineer of the Year Nominee * 2006

Corporate Marketing Group MVP * 2008 Peter E. Haas Public Service Award Nominee,

* 2008 Microsoft Gold Star Award * 2009 National Society of Hispanic MBAs ( NSHMBA) Rising Star * 2009 Puget Sound Business Journal 40 under 40 Honoree * 2009 National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) Brillante Award for Excellence * 2010 National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) Distinguished Leadership Award * 2010 Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever Award (YHCA)HACR 2010 YHCA Winners
/ref> * 2011 Diversity MBA Magazine Top 100 under 50 Executives and Emerging Leaders Award * 2012 Latino Leaders Magazine Club Leaders of the Future Honoree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Richard Living people 21st-century American businesspeople People from Brooklyn American automobile designers Haas School of Business alumni People from Redmond, Washington Cooper Union alumni 1973 births American people of Puerto Rican descent Edward R. Murrow High School alumni