Executive Director

Francisco Gonzalez is the Executive Director of the Economic Club of Miami, where he convenes leaders at the intersection of business, policy, and innovation in one of the world’s fastest-rising global cities. He is also the co-founder of Fearless Journeys, a global community that connects people with innovators across the world through online coaching sessions, in-person meetups, and curated domestic and international group trips.

Francisco is the host of the long-running Agents of Innovation podcast, where he has interviewed more than 165 entrepreneurs, executives, and creative leaders. He is the author of two books, The American Dream Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: 100 Agents of Innovation Share Their Fearless Journeys in Today’s Economy and The Heart of the American Dream, which use human stories to reveal the shared characteristics, mindsets, and decisions that shape successful entrepreneurs.

He has been a visiting professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala City, where he has taught college students courses on entrepreneurship and innovation. In South Florida, he has taught economics and business courses to inmates at several correctional facilities. There are few places he will not go to give life to the entrepreneurial mind—helping instill the belief that the American Dream remains alive for all who are willing to pursue it.

Earlier in his career, Francisco served in philanthropic development roles at the National Review Institute, The James Madison Institute, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

A traveler to more than 38 countries, Francisco brings a global perspective to his work while remaining deeply rooted in Miami. Born at Baptist Hospital in Miami, he returned to South Florida just in time to witness the city’s rebirth as one of the world’s leading global economic centers—a transformation he now hears echoed everywhere he travels, as conversations increasingly turn to Miami’s growing influence on business, innovation, and culture.