Ricky Martin among Awardees Set to Appear at 12th Annual Poder Business Awards

Global music superstar Ricky Martin will join 12 other honorees for the 12^th annual Poder Business Awards, announced Director Nicolas Ibarguen. “The Poder Business Awards have always focused on excellence and leadership, combining expertise in business with sustainability programs, social entrepreneurship and efforts to spread peace.“ Ibarguen continued, “Ricky Martin has made his mark not only in entertainment. He has become a beacon of hope and support for the worldwide fight against child exploitation.”

Accustomed to the spotlight from the five years he spent in Menudo, Ricky Martin set-off on his own musical path with the 1991 release of his self-titled debut solo album. With his first two albums, Martin was quickly established as a star throughout the Spanish-speaking world – while also making his first connections with English audiences through magnetic acting appearances in General Hospital and Les Miserables. With the escalating success of singles such as “Maria” and his widely embraced 1998 World Cup Anthem “La Copa de la Vida” (“The Cup of Life”), a landmark GRAMMY performance, and the subsequent release of his first English album and its explosive single “Livin La Vida Loca,” Martin quickly vaulted to the level of bona fide global superstar. Now, boasting a twenty-year solo career with over 60 million albums sold and continually sold-out stadium and arena concert around the world, Billboard hails Ricky Martin as “an international pop icon and Latin Music’s Global Ambassador”

An activist for many social causes, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation in 2000 – to advocate for the well-being of children around the globe in critical areas such as social justice, education and health. Martin’s many efforts in this area have included speaking engagements before Congress and other world policy gatherings on the horrors of child trafficking, acting as a global ambassador for UNICEF, personal visits to several international shelters for trafficked children, and the current construction of the Tau Center for Children in Puerto Rico.

“Ricky Martin’s work on behalf of children is making a difference and we are proud to recognize his work with this award,” said Emilio Azcárraga Jean President, CEO and Chairman of Grupo Televisa S.A.B., a founding sponsor of the Poder Business Awards.

The 2013 Poder Business Awards celebrate excellence and leadership in the Americas by recognizing those men and women who have demonstrated remarkable strategy, vision and execution in their respective businesses and organizations; those who are changing or can change the region’s development dynamics on several fronts. For the fourth time, this year Poder magazine will partner with the Americas Business Council to identify and award best practices in the region in social entrepreneurship, sustainability and philanthropy, producing systemic change in their own communities. Those being honored include:

• Ricky Martin, President and Founder, Ricky Martin Foundation, Poder Social Leadership Award;
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 34^th President of Brazil, sociologist, professor and author, Poder Hemispheric Leader Award
• Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-Founder, Teach For All, Poder Outstanding Citizenship Award;
• Monica Lozano, CEO, Impremedia LLC, Poder Lifetime Achievement Award;
• Richard Muller, Berkeley Physics Professor, Poder Courage Award;
• Lorena Garcia, Chef, Restaurateur, TV Host and Published Author, Poder Women in Leadership Award;
• Alejandro Marti, President and Founder of Mexico SOS, Poder Social Entrepreneurship Award;
• Salvador Paiz, President and CEO of Teculutan Investments and President of FunSepa, Poder Visionary Award;
• Jamie Cohen Szulc, President of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Poder Innovation Award;
• Bjarke Ingels, Founder BOG Bjarke Ingels Group, Poder Creativity Award;
• Jesus Aguais, Human Rights activist and Founder of AID for AIDS International, Poder Social Change Award;
• Catalina Escobar Restrepo, Community Crusader, Poder Social Empowerment Award;
• Ana Arrigunaga, President Fundacion Quiera, Poder Social Achievements Award.

The event is supported by a range of sponsors, including Greenberg Traurig, Goodyear, Televisa Publishing, WE Family Offices, Banamex and Cadillac.

The annual invitation-only event will be held on November 6 at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and will be telecast live from 7-10 pm on Poder 360^o at www.poder360.com or visit www.poderawards.com for information. (twitter #poderawards)

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131023005393/en/