Join UT Permian Basin's Shepperd Leadership Institute for the Distinguished Lecture Series featuring Richard Montañez, the inventor of Hot Cheetos!
The FREE lecture will be held at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, September 26 at 7:00 pm. The community is invited to attend.
Richard Montañez led Multicultural Sales & Marketing as Vice President across Pepsi North American divisions, and after 42 years with the company he is now retired. Montañez started his PepsiCo career at Frito-Lay in 1976 as a janitor and is recognized as the creator of the Flamin’ Hot line of products, which have become a billion dollar business and a cultural phenomenon. He is often recognized as one of the most influential Latinos in corporate America.
This is a free event thanks to our generous donors in the Shepperd Inner Circle.
About Richard Montañez:
Richard Montañez led Multicultural Sales & Marketing as Vice President across Pepsi North American
divisions, and after 42 years with the company he is now retired (March 1, 2020.) Throughout his career, Montañez has held various senior roles through Pepsi and Frito Lay divisions.
Montañez started his PepsiCo career at Frito-Lay in 1976 as a janitor and is recognized as the creator of the Flamin’ Hot line of products, which have become a billion dollar business and a cultural
phenomenon.
Recognized for his visionary leadership, ability to innovate and his commitment to diversity, he has
received several notable awards and is often named one of the most influential Latinos in corporate
America.
Mr. Montañez is the only four-time recipient of PepsiCo’s Chairman’s Award, the highest honor given to employees based on performance and work ethic. As a long-standing mentor and executive sponsor of PepsiCo's Latino and Hispanic employee group, Adelante, Montañez has supported and nurtured the careers of hundreds of PepsiCo employees. Montañez is also a committed philanthropist and founder of Onelite, a nonprofit that provides hundreds of high-need families within the United States with food and school supplies.
He serves on several boards or directors and advisory boards. He was also the first Latino board member to serve on the board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an African-American civil rights organization, whose first president was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Richard Montañez is a sought-after motivational speaker, speaking to corporate groups like Target,
Walmart, and Slalom, as well as universities such as USC and Harvard. Montañez has been featured in TV and print outlets, such as Good Morning America, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Fortune and Newsweek. His story is now the subject of a forthcoming biopic from Fox Searchlight Films.
