Emilio Morales is the President & CEO of The Havana Consulting Group, a Miami-based consulting firm specializing in market intelligence and strategy for U.S. and non-U.S. persons doing business in Cuba.

Born and raised in Cuba, Emilio was formerly the Head of the Strategic Marketing Planning Department for the Marketing Division for Corporación CIMEX, which is Cuba’s largest state enterprise holding company, with more than 80 subsidiaries across Cuba engaged in 35 different retail and wholesale businesses and annual revenues of more than US$1.2 billion.

His work in Cuba included acting as a marketing consultant for companies such as Habanos S.A., Tecnoazucar, Palmares S.A., Servimed S.A., Cubanacán S.A., Shops Universo S.A., Bravo S.A., Cubacel, ETECSA, and CORACAN S.A., among others. Mr. Morales also worked for the Cuban government on a range of bilateral projects in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa.

Recognized for his unique insights into the dynamics of the Cuban market and economy, Emilio has produced dozens of related research papers and written over 50 articles on various sectors of the Cuban economy, including remittances, the market for mobile phones, real estate opportunities, tourism, energy, logistics, transportation, health care services, biotechnology, agriculture, food industry, retail opportunities, sugar industry, exports of rum and cigars, and Cuba’s growing opportunities for entrepreneurs (known in Cuba as cuentapropismo).

In addition to his several articles, Emilio Morales is the author of two books: “Cuba: A Silent Transition to Capitalism?” (2009) and “Marketing without Advertising: Brand Preference and Consumer Choice in Cuba,” Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies, 2011.

Emilio holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Instituto Superior Politécnico José Antonio Echevarría in Havana, Cuba, a Masters in Marketing from the University of Havana, and an MBA from the Escuela Superior de Marketing in Madrid, Spain.