Differences That Make a Difference

Premise: How inclusion has been proven to have direct, measurable effects on stability and success in businesses, both publicly traded and privately held, including but not limited to the technology industry. Differences That Make a Difference focuses on the power of diversity, innovation, and disruption, by narrating anecdotes and research from Fortune 500 CEOs, public service leaders, and academics. Pedro David Espinoza Jorge Titinger interviewed more than 100 leaders on 4 continents to share how companies and entrepreneurs can take tangible steps to create a culture of belonging, prepare for the future of work, and retain the world’s best talent.

Structure: Statistical research to support the premise, as well as relational information provided by interviews with business and public policy leaders known as contributors. 

Contributors: Reed Hastings, Nancy Brown, Liliana Gil Valletta, Eric Schmidt, Michelle K. Lee, Dan Schulman, Claudia Edelman, Gaby Natale, Steve Westly, James Lattin, Laszlo Bock, Steve Bennett, Tim Hwang, Ernestine Fu, Tina Seelig, Lindred Greer, David Hornik, Frank Baxter, Tim Draper, Carl Guardino, Mitch Barns, Jessica Mah, Silvina Moschini, Joe Simitian, Rebeca Hwang, Margaret Neale, Charles Holloway.

Foreword by Pat Gelsinger (VMware CEO). Introduction by Anita Sands (ServiceNow Board Member)

"As one of the few Latina directors of a publicly traded company, I know how important inclusion is. This book is a convincing argument that companies that make inclusion a priority, are more successful, innovative, and valuable." — Nina Vaca, Board Member of Cinemark

“Pedro Espinoza and Jorge Titinger have expertly compiled a rich and impressive collection of voices whose messages showcase the cultural temperature of diversity and inclusion today. Through these stories, Pedro and Jorge analyze the best practices from around the world to make it clear that, while we’ve come a long way, we still have much more work to do.” — Stacey Ferreira, CEO of Forge

"Great business books distill a wide range of brilliant experiences and insights into light bulb moments and actionable steps for the reader. For leaders who want their businesses to thrive, being able to actualize differences as a competitive advantage is imperative. This book, from Jorge Titinger, one of the most thoughtful CEOs I know, and his brilliant young entrepreneur co-author Pedro David Espinoza,  is a nightstand essential for any leader who wants to build a business to thrive in the 21st century." — Coco Brown, CEO of The Athena Alliance 

"It has long been recognized that inclusion and diversity are good for business, are good for the bottom line, and to empower a positive and rewarding culture for all.  In this book Pedro David Espinoza and Jorge Titinger have provided a compelling and actionable review of the issues, risks, opportunities and strategies to successfully address them.  They bring this to life with compelling insights and experiences from leaders who had successfully employed inclusion and diversity to innovate, empower and build leading organizations. A must read for the twenty-first century leader." — Bill Coleman, CEO of Veritas

"Differences That Make a Difference is a must read for anyone who wants invaluable examples from passionate leaders who realized that embracing diversity and inclusion can be a strategic advantage for successful organizations." — John Cleveland, CHRO of Seagate 

"Differences That Make A Difference by Pedro David Espinoza and Jorge Titinger gives readers a spectrum of near rapid-fire opinions and thoughts about inclusion and diversity from an eclectic range of corporate and nonprofit leaders. Interesting food for thought." — Jason L. Ma, CEO of ThreeEQ

JORGE TITINGER is a highly successful executive and director in the technology industry. Originally from Peru, he was educated at Stanford University where he obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Engineering and Management. He was also an accomplished athlete, was captain of the Stanford varsity soccer team and later captain of the USA Indoor soccer national team, and has attained a third degree black belt in karate. Jorge is multilingual, multicultural and has brought this background into his work, where he has formed and led top-notch executive teams and has driven two turnarounds as CEO [Verigy, Inc. and Silicon Graphics International (SGI)], with great results for all stakeholders. Jorge has been very active in philanthropic pursuits, mainly focused on education and health. He has been the chairman of the Board for the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, and a Board member for Innovate Public Schools and the Stanford Children's Hospital. Jorge has been widely recognized for his work and his contributions to the community. He was the recipient of the Top 100 Latinos in Technology seven years in a row, and in 2017 received the Star Award from the Hispanic IT Executive Council. He was voted CEO of the year in 2013 by the CEO World Awards. In 2017, he was recognized by the Women's Leadership Council as one of the "Guys Who Get It", for his work in promoting women in Boards and his executive teams. Today, Jorge runs Titinger Consulting, and provides strategy and leadership advice to several companies, focusing on the cultural dimension of executive teams and M&A integration. He is also a director with the Alliance of CEOs, a community of business leaders that focuses on deep strategic exchanges and the generation of new ideas for CEOs to bring to their businesses. Differences that Make a Difference is Jorge's first book. He co-wrote it with Pedro David Espinoza, a star entrepreneur and huge high-potential individual. They leveraged their large networks and spoke with about 100 of the most recognized names in industry. This vast source of insights, together with their own experiences, aim to show how inclusion and diversity have direct impact in the results and success of business. In addition to his work with Titinger Consulting, Jorge serves on the Board of Directors of several public, private and non-profit organizations. PEDRO DAVID ESPINOZA is a multilingual entrepreneur, angel investor, TED speaker, board member, and author. At the age of 19, Pedro became the founder & CEO of SmileyGo, a platform that helps companies give smarter. In 2018, Pedro became the CEO of Pan Peru USA (www.alpacapanperu.com), a venture that empowers women to become entrepreneurs. At the age of 24, Pedro co-wrote a book with Jorge Titinger, with contributions from Eric Schmidt, Reed Hastings, and Pat Gelsinger. Educated at Stanford and Berkeley, Pedro began his career as a Toyota mechanic. At the age of 17, Pedro composed and launched his music singles on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon. Pedro is a technology venture investor in companies such as Nadine West, Kiwi Campus, and Feed.FM. He's been a keynote speaker for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and others. Pedro has been profiled in Univision, Telemundo, Hispanic Shark Tank, Voice of America, and Forbes. In 2019, Pedro published a book Differences That Make a Difference: How Organizations Succeed by Focusing on Innovation Through Inclusion with Jorge Titinger (ex-CEO of SGI) by interviewing, researching, and working with 100 executives from Google, Netflix, Facebook, and more. He serves on the board of directors of Hertz Peru, Toyota Autoespar, and GESA. Pedro serves in the innovation council of FWD.us, leadership council of Children Now, and CEO airport task-force for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.