FEATURED CONTENT:
Watch or Listen to our interview with JC Liscano on the role of American Airlines + Beacon Council in shaping Miami’s economic future.
Over the past two years, Juan Carlos (JC) Liscano has served as Chair of The Miami-Dade Beacon Council and the first co-chair of Opportunity Miami. During this time, the Vice President of American Airlines’ Miami hub has shown us what vision and service can achieve.
“Economic development touches many parts of our community, but the success of Miami is predicated on having a really strong economic development agency. The Beacon Council is exactly that,” he told me in our latest Opportunity Miami interview.
Together, we’ve reached new heights: over $2 billion in record investment in Miami’s economy, 300+ local companies supported annually through growth projects, and 57% increase in member investment revenue, with back-to-back $1M+ years.
JC also became Beacon’s first two-year chair, giving us the time to modernize our bylaws, relaunch the Beacon Awards, and strengthen the Beacon Council’s foundation for the future. These changes are the architecture for a stronger, more resilient organization.
Listen to or watch our conversation with JC here.
American Airlines is the largest private employer in Miami-Dade County, employing over 15,000 people with a payroll impact of nearly $2 billion.
“We’ve been a hub at Miami for more than three and a half decades, and we’ve always functioned on the premise that what’s good for Miami is good for American — and not the other way around,” he said. “American Airlines is inextricably linked to this market. I love that we’re Miami’s hometown airline.”
As JC’s tenure comes to a close, we celebrate not just the results, but the way he led steady, humble, collaborative, and deeply committed to this community.
JC, thank you for your partnership and your belief in Miami. You’ve left a lasting mark on the Beacon Council and on our city’s trajectory.
I invite you to listen to my conversation, where JC shares why he believes “Miami, right now, is the center of the universe.” His reflections are a powerful reminder that this is our moment, and it’s up to all of us to keep building.
Onward,
Rod
PITCH US
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