Esther Aguilera
Esther Aguilera is a 2X CEO and 2X executive director. She is known for charting new paths as an enterprise builder, executing strategic business plans and leading high performing teams. For over 30 years, Esther has forged hundreds of strategic partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, institutional investors, search firms and private equity to positively impact DEI, ESG, and the leadership landscape.
Esther has had the honor of working in leadership roles with the nation’s most powerful leaders, including Members of Congress, Cabinet Members, Corporate Directors and CEOs, and non-profit and association leaders. She brings deep experience and understanding of the intersection of the nonprofit, business, and government sectors.
As former President & CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), Esther led LCDA’s growth and rapid expansion, changing the game and conversation of inclusion on corporate boards. She launched the BoardReady Institute and was executive producer of the annual LCDA Board Leaders Convening. Under her leadership membership increased 10X, funding increased 10X, and she grew the high performing team from two to 16 staff members.
Today, Esther is advancing equitable wealth creation and promotes leadership development. She is senior advisor for Altura Capital, a private equity and private debt social impact firm, and on the Advisory Board of Angeles Investors. She is also a senior advisor for ALPFA, the Association of Latino Professional for America, developing programming for ALPFA’s senior-most members. Founded in 1972, ALPFA is the largest Latino professional organization in the United States, with 115,000+ members, 167 student chapters, and 38 professional chapters nationwide. Esther serves as Vice Chair
of the Thirty Percent Coalition Board of Directors, a Board Member of the Women Business Collaborative (WBC), and faculty for Competent Boards — based in Canada.
Other past roles include President & CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a leadership development organization where she changed the life trajectory of thousands of young people; Executive Director (SES level) of the Department of Energy office of supplier diversity; and Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) LinkedIn profile.
Esther contributes thought leadership on ESG and corporate governance. She was recognized by Diligent as a 2022 Modern Governance 100 Honoree and served on the inaugural advisory council of NACD’s Center for Inclusive Governance. Esther has appeared as speaker at leading business forums, including the Bloomberg Equity Summit, The Financial Times ODX conference, NACD Global Summit, CNBC‘s Equity & Opportunity Forum, and the SIM Executive Leadership Retreat, among others. Plus, her work has been featured in Bloomberg, LA Times, WSJ, the Sacramento Bee, USA Today, and Reuters, among others.