Business Professor Teaches Students to See Themselves in Successful Leaders
For Carlos B. González, leadership doesn’t just look one way — it’s a mosaic of many faces.
The idea that leaders and successful entrepreneurs can come from diverse backgrounds and cultures is a message the management and human resources (MHR) professor strives to relay to his students.
“I try to be very mindful of the examples I provide in class. If I’m going to share examples of successful managers and CEOs, I make sure that I present a balanced representation of successful managers and entrepreneurs, making sure students see themselves in the examples I provide,” González said. “We need to provide examples for students that say, ‘Hey, you can also be the next Latino, Orlando Bravo, who is a Latino multibillionaire.’”
González knows the importance of feeling seen and valued.
Originally from Puerto Rico, González moved to New England to attend the University of Massachusetts for his Ph.D. There, he was in a new environment as a minority, but at the same time, he also got to express himself more freely as a gay man.
During his first visit to California in 1998 for a conference, he relished the diversity he saw, which was unlike any place he had been before. From there on, he knew California was the place for him, and in 2003, right after earning his Ph.D. in 2003, he joined the Bronco family.
He served as the MHR department chair in the College of Business Administration from 2014 to 2022. As chair, he helped with redesigning the curriculum from the quarter system to semester.
González has also worked with the Latino Business Students’ Association (LBSA), and along with student leaders, founded Queers in Business at Cal Poly Pomona. Although these organizations were created to serve specific student populations, they are open to all students, in alignment with CSU policies and CPP programming.
“My focus is on providing a voice for these two groups in business that perhaps have not had a voice in the past,” González said. “At the national level, business schools are usually not as diverse as Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business, here, a high percentage of our students tend to be Latinos. So given that this is our population, we must provide students opportunities for professional development that are culturally sensitive.”
Looking back, González credits his teaching philosophy and way of life to the quiet strength of his grandfather. He remembers how people constantly came by the house, seeking help or advice, and his grandfather welcomed them all. That steady presence, grounded in compassion and a deep sense of responsibility, left a lasting impression.
González’s legacy extends beyond campus. He teamed up with Professor Patricia G. Martínez (’91, management and human resources) from Loyola Marymount University and Professor Monica Gavino from San Jose State University to establish La Familia in 2019. La Familia is an organization dedicated to advancing the representation and success of Latinos in business schools, a group that has been historically underrepresented in both leadership positions and among the student body at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Recently, González led a group of La Familia members and edited a special issue of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal about Latinos in the workplace and in organizations, addressing the challenges the community faces in achieving workplace and organizational advancement. One of the articles in the special issue focuses on the diversity within the Latino community, exploring the idea of Latinidad, an emerging sense of shared identity among U.S. Latinos of diverse origins grounded in their American experience, and its implications for Latino advancement in the workplace as well as for organizational research.
La Familia plans to host an inaugural conference at Cal Poly Pomona and titled La Familia Business Conference in July 2026, with the goal of creating Latinx visibility at business schools in California and the USA. We aim to create an inclusive space to discuss issues of Latinx student success, professional development for the advancement of this community. Students, faculty, and staff will have the opportunity to offer their insights on issues of concern and attend panel discussions.
“For our first inaugural conference, we hope to create a space where administrators and those in positions of leadership can engage in conversation about the needs of our students,” González said. “We also want to hear from the students. What are their life stories? What challenges are Latino students facing, and how can we provide them with opportunities for success? After our inaugural, conference we expect to expand the conference to other campuses and have a larger scope.”
As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Cal Poly Pomona proudly celebrates Latinx Heritage Month and the experiences, leadership, and impact of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. Read more stories about our community on CPP News. Show your Bronco pride by using our new Zoom background this month.