When you’re part of a family business with over 100 years of history, the questions often asked are: How do you stay relevant? What is the formula to successfully operate a business for that long? For us, the answer has always been about three things: resiliency, people, and leadership.

Be resilient: Something that all businesses have learned, especially post-COVID, is that we need to strengthen our capability to be resilient. Investing in tools, training and communication are all critical to be ready to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to changes and disruption while safeguarding our people, assets, relationships, and brand equity.

Get closer to new generations: It is crucial to stay close to and know your employees. It is even more critical to understand the new generations. In the past few years, the labor landscape and ways of working have dramatically evolved. The new generations work and collaborate differently. They get inspired differently. And, they have different expectations of their leaders and the company. You already know your team is the heart of your company – it’s a matter of listening carefully and understanding its beat.

Lead change don’t just manage it: Since our great grandfather started our family business, we have always been clear that our purpose is to contribute to Puerto Rico’s social and economic development and to enrich the lives of Puerto Ricans everywhere. We believe strongly in being part of the solution, which means we seek to drive change and not wait for it to happen.

We strive to be agile so we can deeply understand the issues and opportunities, connect with leaders inside and outside of Puerto Rico, and adapt our business to be relevant to future generations of our family and future generations of employees.

As CEO, Maria Luisa leads the company’s development and diversification strategies with relentless visionary force, boldly approaching new ventures and challenges, and focused on growth and sustainable entrepreneurship. She oversees a family holding company with operations in media, real estate, and customer engagement in Puerto Rico, the United States and Latin America. She also serves as Publisher of GFR Media, the leading media business in Puerto Rico.