John Leguizamo to Keynote Multicultural Retail 360 Summit

The Multicultural Retail 360 Summit brings back the star power this year with the announcement this week that multi-faceted performer and Emmy winner John Leguizamo will deliver a keynote speech at this year’s event, taking place Aug. 24-26 at Hilton Bayfront in San Diego, Calif.

In the past year, Leguizamo completed production on three back-to-back films: Universal Pictures’ "The Nest," opposite Tina Fey and Amy Poehler; the Lionsgate action comedy, "American Ultra," with Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart; and Atlas Independent’s "The Man on Carrion Road," opposite Patrick Wilson and Jim Belushi. He also starred alongside writer/director Jon Favreau in the Open Road feature, "Chef," and in Universal Pictures’ breakout comedy hit "Ride Along," opposite Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.

Leguizamo came to the United States with his family when he was four years old and lived in various neighborhoods of Queens in New York City. He later credited growing up as one of the first Latino children in his neighborhood as formative in his acting ability.

He earned his Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program, as well as a nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for a special HBO presentation of his one-man show, "Freak."

To add to his list of attributes, Leguizamo is also an accomplished author. His autobiography, "Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends," was released by Harper Collins in October 2006. The New York Times called the book "brutally funny," while USA Today coined Leguizamo as "one of the most exciting talents to come along in some time."

The theme for this year’s Multicultural Retail 360 Summit is “Optimizing the Omnichannel Experience for Multicultural Consumers,” and will feature speakers from Facebook, Zumba and Jewel-Osco, along with dozens of other retail, CPG, multicultural marketing and consulting firms. For more information or to register for the event, go to www.multiculturalretail360.com/summit.