From SBA to CUNY, It’s About Small Businesses Success

That’s when his business experience really began. He was accepted at the University of Texas at Austin, where he pursued an MBA. While studying for his MBA he also did an exchange program at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, which gave him the opportunity to take several international management courses. After obtaining his MBA he was recruited by the Procter & Gamble Company in brand management. He spent nine years at the manufacturer, part in the Cincinnati, Ohio, headquarters and part back home in San Juan, where he managed U.S. Hispanic markets and later the Caribbean market. This experience was followed by a brief stint with Citigroup. Silva-Puras was then tapped by Puerto Rican Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá to serve as his Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce. He was subsequently named Executive Director of the PR Industrial Development Company and President of the Economic Development for Puerto Rico. Given his track record, he was promoted to be the governor’s Chief of Staff from 2006 until January 2009. Afterwards, the Obama Administration appointed him to head Region II of the SBA, a role he held until January 2013 when he left to take on the CUNY position and initiate his management consulting practice.          

Mentee to Mentor

The old adage about teachers making a difference is true in Silva-Puras’ case. Growing up on the island, he attended Catholic schools until he went to college. While he says he has had several mentors in his life, he credits a middle school teacher as being a major influence.         “For whatever reason, Marist Brother David Mediavilla saw in me the potential to excel academically and he mentored me. I would say in a big part thanks to his efforts and thanks to his mentoring I became the professional that I became. I truly owe him,” he recalls. It’s a favor he has returned many times during his career including when he was in college, later when he served in the Puerto Rican government, and more recently during his tenure at the SBA where he was also entrusted with the task of conducting Hispanic outreach nationwide. “I was doing outreach beyond my region, going to California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, wherever there was a significant Hispanic population I would do outreach. And of course, I continued to mentor Hispanic entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs here in the New York City area,” he says. “I’ve been doing that since I arrived here and plan to continue helping both my students and Hispanic businesses that might need a helping hand.”