Born and raised in Cuba, Luis Martinez was sent, legally, to the United States at the age of twelve by his parents to avoid being conscripted into Fidel Castro’s militia.  Luis learned to speak English in seventh grade, and after his parents arrived in the U.S., he attended six schools in five years while his father moved through three states in search of better jobs. 

 

Luis has been a Human Resources professional since 1983. Luis was employed in top level positions in multinational manufacturing, healthcare, and business consulting organizations.  Most recently at Xerox, Luis directed a global human resources team for Worldwide Manufacturing with facilities in four continents.  Prior to Xerox, Luis was Senior Vice President for Human Resources at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Northeast Pennsylvania.  Other business leadership assignments for Luis have included Vice President and General Manager of Exide Batteries in Puerto Rico, Manager of Data Analysts at The Hay Group, and Supervisory Statistician over five states at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Bilingual and bicultural in Spanish, Luis is a trusted advisor and strategic partner to senior business leaders.

 

A story of courage and survival, Luis observed his parents, Jose Luis and Zoila, as they managed through difficulties as immigrants. Luis credits their tutelage for his boundless faith and optimism. As a legal immigrant and naturalized US Citizen, he knows from personal experience that the best way to achieve The American Dream is to hold a job or create a business. Luis will work every day to support ways to reestablish safety for all citizens, improve working conditions at all enterprises, maintain a business climate favorable to entrepreneurship and support those foundational principles that have made the United States of America the exceptional and most desired nation in world history.

 

An avid sports car racer and motorsports journalist, Luis is an Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford, NY, where makes his home with his wife and three children.