GGA Celebrates 10 Years

An Interview with GGA’s Founder & CEO, Luis Navas

Picture this. January 2009. In the midst of an unforgiving Canadian winter – the kind of winter that creates goosebumps just by reminiscing about it – Luis Navas, family man with a 5 and 3-year-old at home, decided to take a leap of faith and officially found Global Governance Advisors (GGA). He had spent 10 years consulting at Mercer and Korn Ferry/Hay Group, becoming the firm’s youngest Partner, and finally had enough. He refused to suppress his entrepreneurial spirit any longer. His family and friends weren’t surprised by his hunger to branch out, he was born with vision and a knack for business – after all, he was only 9 years old when he bought paper routes off of his peers and hired his friends to work for him.

After finalizing his decision, Luis mortgaged his home and swiftly generated enough capital to open GGA, on the 18thfloor of a brand new 1,000 square foot luxury condo tower in the heart of Toronto. 24 months flew by and GGA outgrew that luxury condo and tripled in size. By 2014, GGA had opened offices in Calgary, Toronto, New York and South Florida, with no intention of slowing down.  I had a quick exchange with Luis last week, to commemorate GGA’s 10-year anniversary and reflect on the firm’s continuous success.

LHM: You are both the CEO and founder of GGA. What motivated you to take the risk and start your own company? Was there any significant moment that triggered the decision?

LN: Growing up I was always entrepreneurial – I started my first business when I was 9 years old. I purchased paper routes from kids and hired several of them to deliver the papers for me, under a hybrid franchise model. I did this because McDonald’s wouldn’t hire me, since I was too young to work there. Early in my life and career I was motivated by trying to have a better life financially than my parents could provide to my sister and me. My parents were wonderful people and always made sure we had a roof and food, but we were well below middle class and it was tough. I wanted more for myself, my wife and kids, and for my parents. The first thing I bought when I made some good money was a new car for my mom who always had to use the city bus to get around.

LHM: How difficult was it to obtain the financial backing needed to start GGA?

LN: It wasn’t difficult at all. I took a mortgage out on my house. Some might find that risky, but I was extremely confident in my decision. I believed I could build something very special.

LHM: In the last ten years, what has been the most memorable GGA moment for you?

LN: Definitely the time I flew all of our staff to Las Vegas for an all-inclusive, all expenses paid vacation to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. We experienced phenomenal growth during our first 5 years and I wanted to reward their hard work. I surprised our senior team with Rolex watches, with a special message from me inscribed in each watch. Our clients know that key GGA staff all wear the same Rolex watch. It’s special.

LHM: 10 years in the industry is no small feat. In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic that a CEO needs to have in order to run a successful company, like GGA?

LN: I think it’s about never giving up. No matter what. Things rarely go smoothly in business or in life. There are always roadblocks – success in business is like solving a complex puzzle – not everyone is able to do it. But if you work hard, work smart, and have a little luck, things will work out. I have also learned that one person cannot build a great business alone – you need to surround yourself with a great team.

To learn more about Luis Navas click here.

The Importance of Giving Back

A Life Lesson

Global Governance Advisors (GGA) considers giving back to our community as a core value of our corporate culture. The GGA staff identifies meaningful programs and partnerships that empower individuals living with developmental disabilities and youth in under-served communities. Our corporate philanthropy focuses on three areas:

  1. Promoting education for individuals with developmental disabilities.
    • GGA has donated a 10,000 square foot fully-equipped kitchen at the Inverrary Golf Resort to Florida International University (FIU) and their Hospitality Program. FIU will establish a Culinary Institute to train neurotypical and Autistic students as specialty chefs and hospitality personnel. The culinary institute will provide room service and meals for conferences and events at the hotel and keep 100% of the proceeds. FIU has committed to promote job creation for autistic young adults. The hotel will also employ Autistic adults from the FIU Embrace program.
  2. Empowering children.
    • GGA personnel have acted in senior leadership roles within Future Possibilities for Kids (“FPK”), a community-based organization that operates in the Greater Toronto Area. FPK works with children in under-served communities and helps them become leaders through the creation of meaningful Goals of Contribution to help their local communities.
  3. Providing family vacations for families with autistic children. 
    • In early 2012, GGA purchased its first vacation home in Sandestin, Florida to serve the needs of families living with autism. The GGA team raised $2 million for this initial residential property on Florida’s Emerald Coast that offers no-cost vacation stays to children with autism and their families. GGA Senior Partner, Luis Navas, has firsthand experience with autism, as his son developed a regressive form of the condition at age 2.  Mr. Navas describes his motivation for purchasing the Emerald Coast vacation house, which comfortably sleeps 14, as stemming from a conversation he had with a corporate CEO who had quietly contributed most of his income to charitable endeavors.

Winds of Change – Office Depot names Lenovo executive Gerry Smith new CEO

GGA’s Insights

On February 27, 2017 Lenovo executive, Gerry Smith, will become the new CEO of Office Depot. This appointment comes in the wake of current CEO, Ronald Smith’s announcement of his intention to retire from the role, but continue as Chairman.

Luis Navas, Senior Partner, Global Governance Advisors, in a conversation with Sun Sentinel expressed that he sees this as being a good change, a good practice. Luis also believes that investors played a critical role in pushing for a non-executive Chairman.

In lieu of a 2016 bonus that Gerry will be giving up at Lenovo, he is scheduled to receive $1.2 million in cash five days following his start in this new role. While Luis agrees that it is usual practice to pay out bonuses owed from a previous role, he also pointed out that the SEC filing does not clarify how much Gerry is leaving on the table in Lenovo equity.

Full story here.