​For 25+ years, Juan Cortés has been building and shepherding inclusive cultures for world-class brands in various industries, including advertising, digital marketing, hospitality, media, entertainment, retail and publishing. As Co-founder of MatterOfCulture, he helps organizations become exceptional places to work by designing employee-centric strategies and programs that foster intentional culture and inspire employee engagement.

 

In his most recent corporate role leading Learning & Engagement at Wunderman Thompson, Juan founded the agency’s first employee resource group, solidifying the framework for other affinity groups he also championed. As a member of a cross-agency executive council, he helped define the DEI mission and objectives for the agency’s holding company’s 130,000+ global workforce.  Prior to that, Juan built the L&D function for POSSIBLE, a WPP digital agency. He created learning platforms for subject matter experts and industry leaders to swiftly share knowledge and build capabilities across the globe, and designed and facilitated leadership and interpersonal skills workshops grounded in EQ.

 

His focus on development and coaching—combined with transparent communication, leadership counseling, and manager training—contributed to very low attrition for two consecutive years (hovering around 13%, where the industry standard was close to 40%).

While working at Starwood Hotels, Juan led the service culture transformation of some of the organization’s brands. After training 700+ leaders of two dozen hotels across North America, and certifying property leaders as trainers and in-house advocates, properties saw significant increases in guest satisfaction, as well as employee engagement.

 

Juan is an innovative change agent with a growth mindset. He holds professional certifications in training, facilitation, executive coaching, and qualified in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).