Technology and Globalization Erase the 'Minority' Factor
Business leaders agree that as this trend makes the business landscape more multicultural, ethnic background is nearly a moot point. Shri Dodani, from India, in 2000 founded StrataLight Communications, which supplies and installs optical network systems and earned $76.3 million in revenue last year, with nearly 5,126 percent growth since 2004. Dodani has been in the United States since 1977, and he observes that technology has been an equalizer in the industry. "Especially in high technology, minority isn't a factor at all," he says. "It's all about what individuals can bring to the table as far as skills and talents." StrataLight ranked No. 24 on this year's Inc. 500 list.
Outside of technology, where the language is ones and zeroes and the majority color is steel, success forms its own demographic. Amir Amirfar, CEO of full-service construction design firm Amir Amirfar and Associates, was born in Iran but has lived in America since 1971, when he was 1-year old. Now with his own $17.7 million business that grew more than 8,353 percent in three years, he says that at the executive level, he sees his counterparts shedding the "minority" image through success. "Of course the rules and regulations that are in place were put there because at some point equality had to be mandated. But now, being a minority is being able to bring something new—new culture, new ideas—to the table, and that makes business that much more interesting," says Amirfar, brings to the table fluency in five languages, including Armenian, Assyrian and Farsi. Amir Amifar and Associates ranked No. 10 on the Inc. 500 list.
Mohan Tovorath, CEO of Walz Certified Mail Solutions, No. 45 on the Inc. 500, says that within his firm, diversity is so prevalent that he is caught off guard when he is referred to as a minority. "Actually, I was taken aback when I was told I was one of Inc.'s top minority CEOs," he says. "I don't think of myself as a minority. I guess I don't really see diversity until someone points it out to me."
Tovorath came to the Unites States from India in 1993, and he points out that his home country has 21 official languages and many more different ethnicities. At his mail management company, with $10.1 million in revenue and 3,231 percent growth in three years, 12 nationalities are represented among his 50 employees, and he says that happened naturally as the company sought out talented people. He predicts that over time, the definition of "minority" will evolve beyond identifying ethnicity and into denoting a type of skill that will prove advantageous in a global economy.
Business strategy is changing the look of "minority" as more entrepreneurs from countries experiencing economic booms—especially South America, China and India—are becoming legal permanent residents. SBA's Lowry says this is part of globalization, and the United States is leading the charge because American businesses are seeking strategic ways to operate in developing economies.
Ricardo Elias, CEO of Red Ventures, is from Puerto Rico and says his multicultural background helped him take advantage of business opportunities outside the United States. His online marketing company's revenue topped $103.7 million and grew almost 5,864 percent in three years through four U.S. offices, as well as one in Puerto Rico and one in Guatemala. He says without his background, he probably wouldn't have ventured outside the United States, and that in a globalized environment, a multicultural background gives executives a leg-up on their competition. His company ranks within the upper echelon of the Inc. 500, placing at No. 17 on the list.
Globalization is creating a dynamic situation in the United States, Lowry says. Minority business leaders who were born outside the country or whose backgrounds allow them to easily operate internationally are helping diversify the business landscape, as their skills are necessary to make American business global. Executives agree that the growing presence of minorities in business is a positive step, but one they took in the 1990s when operating internationally became a major strategy.
With a melting-pot scenario dominating U.S. population trends, the business world is anticipating more opportunities for global expansion, all while further nullifying the current meaning of "minority." "I think the United States will lead for the next 10 years in the proliferation of minority CEOs," Elias says. "The United States is great because here, it's not about the family you were born into or the social class you were born into, it's about what you can achieve. To me, that's a sign of capitalism at its best."
