San Juan , PR (April 22, 2009) – Puerto Rico's Sales & Marketing Executives Association (SME) today announced a regional partnership with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, an organization dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries.

The CMO Council's 4,500 members control more than $120 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide, announced Doris Chambers, SME Puerto Rico’s actual President. With this initiative, SME Puerto Rico consolidates as a vanguard professional organization among marketers in the Caribbean, proactively promoting continuous education, member interaction and knowledge transference, as well as robust research and innovation between peers locally and abroad.

"Today more than ever, this type of alliance is more relevant. We are facing a challenging scenario where growth appears to be limited. Nevertheless, if we open the doors for new horizons, we would find out a world full of opportunities. We are sure that this linkage will help us promote bilateral business exchanges and marketing partnerships among the best Puerto Rican brands around the world, achieving a real crossover between markets," expressed Chambers.

"There are many marketing innovations and cross-cultural nuances in the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America," noted Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. "We are excited about engaging with senior marketing decision makers in this geography to lean more about this dynamic and fascinating market, as well as to share best practices from around the world with this enthusiastic and highly participative membership group."

"Our generation is experiencing and living in a very exciting era, as we become diversified citizens of a global ecosystem that is continuously evolving in an ever changing world," noted Eva Frontera, an Advisory Board member of the CMO Council’s Latin America Chapter, and Marketing Director for COSVI in Puerto Rico. "By being more closely connected to the CMO Council’s global marketing community, Puerto Rican executives can contribute valuable market insights about the Caribbean, as well as make global connections with multi-national brands seeking growth abroad," she added.

More than launching this alliance between the CMO Council and the SME at the 2009 Annual Assembly, the Council officially announces the acceptance of new Puerto Rican members. This group will develop a Strategic Coalition for the development of the Puerto Rico’s chapter within CMO Council Latin America. The new accepted members are (in alphabetical order): Edouard Lafontant, VP of Popular Auto; Felipe Izquierdo, Marketing VP at El Nuevo Día; Jorge Martel, Marketing Director at T-Mobile; Juan Parra, General Manager at Coty of Puerto Rico; Kenneth Sewell, President, Database Marketing Services; Dr. Luis Rodriguez Báez, VP and General Manager of Estudios Técnicos; Mariel Arraiza, Senior VP Marketing Customer Knowledge at Banco Popular of Puerto Rico; Nydia Ramos, Marketing Director Goya of Puerto Rico; Olga Rivera, President of the ICPR Junior College and President Elect for the SME Puerto Rico (2009-10); Orlando Torres, Head of Facilities UBS Financial Services; Raymond Totti, VP UNO Radio Group; Waleska Olivencia, Executive VP at SME Puerto Rico; Wency Baerga, VP of Sales at T-Mobile and Zulma Delgado, VP of Marketing at Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples of Puerto Rico.

About the CMO Council
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 4,500 members control more than $125 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 16,000 global executives across nearly 100 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Customer Experience Board, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org .