Rudy Beserra Leveraging Latino Relationships

by Evelyn Hoover

As global vice president of Latin Affairs, Rudy Beserra uses his networking skills and business acumen to benefit the Coca-Cola Company

 

 

Rudy Beserra

If Rudy Beserra were stranded on a desert island, the one thing he’d want with him would be a Coke Zero. He’s a big fan not only of the soft drink giant’s products but also the company itself, which he credits with having leadership that recognizes the importance of the Latino community.

He speaks from experience. For the past 24 years, Beserra has headed Coca-Cola’s Latin Affairs division. “Everything Latino comes through our office and Coca-Cola is probably unique and special because there are very few companies that have a separate Latino operation reporting directly within the company,” he explains.

“I work with a lot of different brand groups. We have relationships with certain Latino organizations or chambers of commerce. We open up those doors. Basically it’s leveraging the relationships that I’ve established through the years and providing access and opportunity to our different brand groups,” the global vice president of Latin Affairs explains.

 

 

 

 

Nationwide Network

 

Beserra’s network is sizable. While working on his degree in education with a political science minor, he was involved in a student organization for the senatorial campaign of Pete Domenici. When Domenici won the election, Beserra also landed in Washington, D.C., where he took a position with the Republican National Convention.

Ultimately those experiences helped him get a job in the Public Liaison Office in the White House under President Ronald Reagan. Beserra was in charge of different constituency groups including small business, Arab, Asian, disabled and Latino. “We invited people to the White House to talk about the areas the president was promoting, whether it was foreign policy, education, the economy.

“I would work with different constituency groups and basically opened the doors to the White House to these various groups. We would invite them; they’d come in from all over the country. It was the best job ever because the networking that happens is phenomenal. That’s how I met so many people,” he explains.