At #69, The Plaza Group ranks higher than any other Houston company on Hispanic Business Magazine’s newly released directory of the 500 largest Hispanic-owned companies in the country. The company has held the distinction for several years, ranking #61 in 2002 and #47 in 2001. In 1999, Velarde was named Entrepreneur of the Year by both the Hispanic Business Magazine and the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
As a city, Houston fares well in the total number of companies included in the annual ranking, with 20 Houston companies among the 500 listed – twice as many as San Antonio, Los Angeles or Chicago. When looking at those that made it to the top of the list, however, the outlook is not so rosy for Houston, which is home to only four of the top 100 companies — #69, #79, #87 and #98. A complete copy of the list can be found at www.hispanicbusiness.com/research/500.
Why is it — with a Latino population that makes up 40 percent of the city and is rivaled only by Los Angeles and Miami — that Houston does not have more big money Hispanic businesses?
According to Houston Minority Business Council Executive Director Richard Huebner, the answer may lie not in the sheer number of Hispanics, but in the length of time they have been here. Comparing Houston’s Latino population to the San Antonio’s more established one, many of which descend from families who settled there hundreds of years ago, Huebner says, “The Hispanic businesses [in San Antonio] have been around for a long time. The Hispanic community there is much more mature than Houston, which is largely fueled by immigrants.”
Randy Velarde, who founded The Plaza Group after leaving Texaco ten years ago, is optimistic about the future of Hispanic businesses in Houston. “Hispanics are as ambitious as anyone, and I think we will see that ambition play out in increasingly significant business ventures over the next decade. I look forward to seeing several Houston companies, including ours, moving up to the top of that list in a few years.”