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Javier Oscar Jimenez (born June 8, 1962) is an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He is the owner and president of Latino Marketing Group which focuses on Hispanic marketing, the first of its kind in the Midwest. His company is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Early Life and Education Jimenez was born in the predominantly Mexican-American south-side neighborhood of Pilsen to Fernando Eduardo Jimenez and Laura Lopez Jimenez. Both were Mexican immigrants who emigrated to Chicago in 1945 due to the worker-friendly Bracero Program which granted thousands of braceros or “guest workers” temporary work visas due to wartime industrial demands during World War II. Jimenez is the third of five children. Jimenez graduated from Benito Juarez High School and decided to attend DePaul University after. He was one of only few Hispanic students at the university. Jimenez graduated magna cum laude with a baccalaureate in Business Administration in 1974. He then earned his master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1977 in Business as well.

Personal Life Jimenez married fellow DePaul alum, Jennifer Rodriguez, in 1975. They have three children with the oldest being Javier Oscar Jimenez, Jr. who was born on February 17, 1978. He graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2000. He followed his father’s footsteps and is now vice-president of Latino Marketing Group.

Business Life Jimenez began his career in the Chicago division of the nationwide advertising group Loran Marketing Group in 1977 immediately after graduating from University of Chicago. He had interned with them during his years at DePaul. During his internship he impressed them so much with his hard work and charismatic personality they wanted to hire him immediately after earning his bachelor’s but he deferred the offer to get his master’s. Jimenez quickly moved up in the company and by 1980 he was the vice-president of the product branding division with 30 employees under him. Jimenez noticed that a major market in Chicago was being ignored. The Mexican and Latino market in general were The major influx of Mexican immigration in the 1960’s and 1970’s had resulted in Chicago emerging as the third-largest Mexican city in the United States, ranking only behind Los Angeles and San Antonio in the number of Mexican-origin persons. This population was one that Jimenez had to tap into. In 1981 with the help of his former employers, Jimenez launched Latino Marketing Group whose focus was the Hispanic community in Chicago. Their focus was to provide professional marketing services, produce major events, and serve as a link between corporate America and the Hispanic Community to increase market share in the area of products and services. Corporations such as Coca-Cola and El Milagro quickly took notice. In 1985 after only four years in the business Latino Marketing group was valued at over ten million dollars. In 1987, the group decided to expand into other Midwestern cities including St. Louis and Detroit. In 1995, 1998, and 2002 Hispanic Business magazine named Jimenez as one of the most influential Hispanic businessmen in America. Latino Marketing Group continues to focus on customer intelligence and is celebrated for the unique insights and innovative ideas that help clients achieve significant growth from the rapidly growing U.S. Hispanic marketplace. It is now valued at over sixty milliion dollars.

Community Service and Influence

Jimenez has long worked to ensure that the needs of the Chicago’s Latino residents are met. As marketing director and volunteer of Casa Central, Jimenez’s involvement has cultured a strong growth period for the agency, whose programs and resources have nearly tripled during the past twenty years to further address the growing and changing needs of Chicago’s Hispanic community. Today, Casa Central is the largest Hispanic social service agency in the Midwest and reaches over 20,000 individuals a year. The agency has established programs for homeless families, the noteworthy expansion of services for children and elderly, and played a key role in establishing an association of ten agencies to develop a comprehensive youth program in various neighborhoods throughout Chicago. Jimenez is also a participant in Illinois Latino Agenda, a collaborative effort among Latino organizations committed to securing reasonable resources and investment for Latinos. Jimenez volunteers with Instituto del Progresso Latino as well whose mission is to contribute to the fullest development of Latino immigrants and their families through education, training and employment that fosters full participation in the changing United States society while preserving cultural identity and dignity.