​Over a 25-year career at the highest levels of corporate America, government, and civil society, Carlos has built enterprises, shaped legislation, and driven influence that few executives can match.

 

He has held senior leadership roles at five global Fortune 500 companies — Anheuser-Busch, Carnival Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Tyson Foods, and Waste Management — consistently operating at the intersection of enterprise strategy, external affairs, government relations, and corporate reputation. His record speaks in outcomes, not activities.

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At Carnival Corporation, he was recruited by the CEO to build the company's Corporate Affairs function from scratch. He served as the company's Spanish-language spokesperson, defeated costly legislative threats at the state and local level, and helped secure diplomatic policy changes at the highest levels of the Cuban government and throughout the Caribbean.

 

Carlos was a key member of the comms team that generated over 1.4 billion media impressions from a single historic initiative — the first U.S.-based cruise ship return to Cuba in more than 50 years. 

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At Ford Motor Company, Carlos managed one of the most politically charged corporate challenges an executive can face — the four-year shutdown and closure of a major manufacturing plant — navigating intense community opposition, protecting the company's brand, and managing external affairs through every stage of a deeply emotional public process. He also managed the Firestone controversy and settlements in Arizona and Puerto Rico.

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Orta has also excelled in the nonprofit sector as a CEO, board member, and board chair.

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At HACR, he grew the budget from $1.1M to $2.5M during the worst economic downturn in a generation, nearly doubled corporate memberships by landing marquee partners including Chevron, GE, Target, Toyota, and Univision, and produced the award-winning documentary series Insider Game — which earned a CINE Golden Eagle and two Bronze Telly Awards, drove advocacy before the SEC for new corporate disclosure rules, and led directly to the founding of the Latino Corporate Directors Association.

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Carlos currently serves as President & CEO of The Latino Coalition, the leading advocacy and membership organization for U.S. Hispanic businesses. TLC is a pro-free-market, bipartisan, national Hispanic business association with the goal of ensuring every Hispanic American who wants to start and grow a business has the opportunity and the right economic environment to do so.

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He is a published author — From Havana to DC: The Rise of Cuban Americans in Florida Politics — a powerful exploration of identity, influence, and political ascension.

 

Carlos holds executive education credentials from Cornell, Harvard Business School, and UCLA. He is a graduate of Barry University and is pursuing a Master of Liberal Studies (MALS) at Georgetown University.​​​​​

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