Leadership

Sebastian Puente - President & CEO

Sebastian is a founding partner of Cultural Strategies Inc. His expertise lies in advising public and private sector clients on strategic communications that include branding, advertising campaign development, public engagement, constituency relations, public affairs and custom content and media development.

Sebastian is a Mexican national who immigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven with his family. His 22-year career in Spanish-language media communications started while attending college in Santa Fe, NM. Early successes provided him an opportunity to move to Washington, DC and lead the operational management of Hispanic Communications Network (HCN), a media company partially owned by Univision that produced and syndicated daily and weekly cause-oriented radio and print campaigns, reaching millions of Spanish-speakers across the Western Hemisphere on over 160 radio stations, 60 newspapers, and four satellite radio channels on Sirius XM. Among the enterprise’s clients were the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Army, and the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation among others. Sebastian’s leadership at HCN included negotiating programming partnerships with broadcast and digital media companies including Bloomberg Radio, Radio Unica, StarMedia, and Radio Campesina, a Cesar Chavez Foundation enterprise.

Upon his return to Texas, Sebastian helped launch and led the development of a leading print and online media company that served hundreds of thousands of Spanish-speaking homes with local search services in Texas and Georgia. As the creative lead, he oversaw the art direction, content development, and design production of five annual yellow page directories. Sebastian also served as the Creative Director and publisher of Club Deportes, a weekly Spanish-language sports newspaper recognized nationally in 2008 with two José Martí Publishing Awards.

In 2009, Sebastian co-founded Cultural Strategies. As President, he manages the business functions of the firm and oversees the development of communication strategies for many of the agency’s clients, including ad campaigns for the University of Texas System, Sendero Health Plans, Central Health, Harris County Health Alliance, and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers. He has designed and implemented public outreach and engagement programs for a multitude of City of Austin Departments and initiatives including Go Smart Austin, Guadalupe Street Transportation Corridor Project, CodeNEXT, Street Impact Fee Study, Get There ATX, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Master Plan Update, Corridor Mobility Plans for MLK Jr. Blvd. and Menchaca among many others. His volunteer positions include serving as the Austin Council Chair and Member of the National Council for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).