Meet Our Staff

Summary:

Ernesto “Charro” Cruz

Professor Cruz teaches Business courses that include Strategic Planning, Marketing, Organizational Behavior, Consumer Behavior, Management Principles, and Professional Communication, and advises students on career programs, business consulting, and community development projects. He is a proponent of the shared value approach to business that works to achieve both economic and societal benefits. He has extensive experience in management, as professor, consultant, and practitioner. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, program development, marketing, advertising, and managerial finance. Prior to his teaching career, he held management positions in the consumer goods and financial service industries, most recently with Citibank where he developed and introduced new products and innovative business strategies. He ranked at the top of his management residency cohort and served as a delegate in an international business planning convention where he conducted presentations and discussed corporate challenges and opportunities for Citigroup. Professor Cruz is responsible for building several programs and initiatives at Heritage and is involved in projects and committees concerning institutional development. He served as Chair of the Business and Accounting Department where he streamlined and reorganized curricula, developed a faculty team, and strengthened the program ecosystem to improve student experiences, degree completion and deliver programs in two campuses. He also served as Chair of the Social Sciences Department where he launched the Criminal Justice program and cultivated relationships with partners in federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, courts and private corporations, to support a thriving degree program and develop career pathways for students. In addition, he served as Chair of the Professional Development Committee at Heritage as well as Advisory Board Member for the University of Washington and Yakima Valley Community Partnership. Professor Cruz earned his Master of Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management and his Bachelor of Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University (Loyola Schools). He is a member of the American Marketing Association and is an active volunteer for various community organizations around the valley and in the Puget Sound area.