Chairman & CEO Sterling Financial Investment Group – Boca Raton, Florida
In 1997, at the age of 36, Charles Garcia founded Sterling Financial Investment Group of Companies with three people. Today the firm has more than sixty offices in seven countries. In 2002, Sterling Financial was named the number one fastest growing Latino owned business in the United States by Hispanic Business magazine and number eight on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing privately held companies in the nation. For his entrepreneurial success and personal commitment to education, Mr. Garcia has earned national and international recognition as one of this nation’s fastest rising Hispanic leaders. Mr. Garcia is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a highly decorated military officer a Columbia law school graduate and a former White House Fellow. He has worked in the administration of three United States Presidents and was identified by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.” He has received the Key to the City of Panama, and President Mireya Moscoco honored him during a private reception at the Presidential Palace for his success as a Panamanian-American in the United States. In January 2003, Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to a four-year term as the only Latino on Florida’s State Board of Education. In a rare publishing event, his first book, “A Message From Garcia: Yes, You Can Succeed” was published simultaneously in both English and Spanish, by John Wiley & Sons, and by Hay House, respectively. The book earned advance praise from three #1 New York Times bestselling authors, the foreword was written by famed educator Professor Jaime Escalante. Two days after the book was released, it hit the top 5 list of both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and a week after that, it earned the rank of #6 on the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller list.
