Adriana Cisneros is the third generation to lead Grupo Cisneros, one of the most powerful privately held companies in Latin America.
When she became CEO, Adriana took the business’ 28 fragmented units and consolidated them into 3 strategic pillars:
1) Cisneros Media
Runs Venezuela’s largest TV network (Venevision).
Producer of globally syndicated telenovelas.
And owner of the Miss Venezuela Organization.
Today, the company also runs Pay TV, digital platforms like Novelisima and MasTalk, and Mobius.Lab (short-form content and documentaries).
2) Cisneros Interactive
A digital ad empire Adriana built from scratch.
She turned it into the largest digital advertising network in Latin America, active in 15 countries and exclusive reseller for Meta (Facebook) in 9 of them.
In 2021, she sold the business to Entravision.
3) Cisneros Real Estate
Adriana launched Tropicalia, a sustainable ultra-luxury resort in Miches, Dominican Republic.
While Spanish-led all-inclusives dominated the market, she pitched a Four Seasons resort.
$2,000+ per night rates.
25 residences priced between $5M and $18M.
It’s fully self-funded. Zero outside capital in Phase 1.
When she approached banks with the idea, they dismissed her.
So instead of forcing the market to get it, she educated them.
She showed comps from Mexico and Puerto Rico.
She worked with government leaders.
She built alliances with landowners along the coast.
She helped zone the area for low-density, high-luxury development to avoid the overbuilt, high-rise trap that’s ruined other Caribbean destinations.
And while she built the resort, she was also building the infrastructure the region lacked.
Through a coalition called ProMiches, she helped establish water access, waste management systems, and sustainable planning tools for the entire region.
But before putting a shovel in the ground, she spent years meeting with the local Miches community.
She learned that girls weren’t finishing high school.
That abuse was common.
That confidence and self-agency were rare.
So she launched Fundación Tropicalia, starting with a summer camp called Soy Niña, Soy Importante.
It’s a program for girls ages 9 to 18 that focuses on education, self-confidence, sex education, and leadership development.
To date, over 3,300 girls have participated in the camp.
Because Adriana didn’t just want to build a resort.
She wanted to build a community that benefited from the resort.
She brought in world-class land planners and renowned Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, who understood how to design for the tropics, not just build for tourists.
Adriana is also President of Fundación Cisneros (nonprofit to improve education access in Latin America) and board member of Mattel, Ford Motor Company, and AST SpaceMobile.
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