Parranda Global Summit to be held May 30th
Manuel Morales, senior vice president and processing product manager for Evertec.
Parranda.org, a new nonprofit dedicated to the development of a “Greater Puerto Rico,” announced it has selected its keynote speakers for its first annual Parranda Summit in San Juan, on May 30th at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.
Headlining the event — which aims to bring together leaders throughout the global Puerto Rican diaspora community for a full-day interactive session — are José Massó and Manny Morales, two “thought leaders and pioneers in the 21st century Puerto Rican community,” the entity said.
“José was and is one of the most active and visionary leaders in the Puerto Rican diaspora, and Manny is a path breaking pioneer in the technology community,” said Giovanni Rodríguez, co-founder of Parranda.org. “We’re honored to have them at this first gathering of the global Parranda community and look forward to the contributions they will make in the coming year.”
Massó — known to many in the U.S. for his role in broadcast media — has enjoyed a multi-layered career, including prominent positions in education, communications, media, politics, government, entertainment, sports and philanthropy.
A Puerto Rican who has lived in Boston for more than four decades, Massó recently joined the Massachusetts Port Authority’s senior leadership team as the director of community relations.
Massó directs the five-member community relations and charitable giving staff that serves as the first point of contact for the Authority with community groups and is critical to the success of Massport in fostering community collaboration and its responsibility to be a good neighbor.
On June 22nd his weekly radio show “¡Con Salsa!” on WBUR 90.9fm (National Public Radio in Boston) will celebrate 38 years on the air. He is also the first and only Latino in the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Morales, a prominent Internet veteran, started his first interactive firm in 1997, and sold it to Puerto Rico’s leading bank in 2003. He conceived and led the development of Ticketpop, the leading electronic ticketing processor in Puerto Rico, owned by Evertec Group, LLC, that services venues and promoters with a combined client base of more than 130,000 consumers.
Morales is now senior vice president and processing product manager at Evertec, the the first Puerto Rican technology company to ever go public. Morales is also founder of Grasslark, a product company based on patented technology he developed to eliminate plastic usage in the consumables category. He holds a B.S. in Telecommunications from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón.
Driving discussion
The Parranda Summit will provide many other leaders the opportunity to drive discussions on topics of interest to the global Puerto Rican community. Styled as an “unconference” — an event format that allows for greater engagement — the Summit aims to get leaders to work with one another, and take positive and measurable action across a broad range of areas: economic development, entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, crime prevention, the environment, and voter empowerment.
“It’s an opportunity to mix and engage with people who are not only thought leaders but action leaders as well,” said Marcos Polanco, co-founder of Parranda.org. “José and Manny are both great examples of this new kind of leader, and we’re hoping to attract many more.”
For information on registrations and sponsorships visit: http://bit.ly/10TCLpm.
