Being the first Latina network president in the U.S., Nely Galan seeks to inspire other Hispanic women to start their own businesses.

Nely Galan always wanted to be a business leader, and she grew up to become one.

By the time she was 22 years old, Galan was a TV station manager in New Jersey, a job she had for three years until the station was sold, a defining moment in her career.

Galan started her own production company and consulted for networks for many years without earning much money, until, several years later, she was asked to run Telemundo, becoming the first Latina president for a U.S. TV network. This was the starting point for her to start her own media company and, a few years later, was asked by Fortune 500 to start giving talks as a motivational speaker.

Galan owns real state investments and has a touring schedule, which provide her a solid financial security. Since 2012 she has been leading the Adelante Movement, an association that aims to train and provide resources for women so they become financially independent.

Galan strongly believes that the women’s rights movement is an entrepreneurial one, as women who are financially free can control their destiny. She thinks women have the potential to be independent and that Latina women are “a secret weapon to the economy”. In 2013, Hispanics in the U.S. accounted for USD1.5 trillion in retail and shall become 19% of the total American population by 2020. In addition, women are gaining power as heads of households as they start their own businesses, employing people and spending money back in their communities.

The major issue is the cultural barriers women face, as, according to Galan, Latina women are raised strictly and closed minded about many things, do not want to be bigger or better than their husbands and fathers and are very devoted to their children.