F4D’s Women’s Empowerment Award

Gina Diez Barroso

Gina Diez Barroso is president and CEO of Grupo Diarq. Under her leadership, Grupo Diarq has completed more than 650 residential and hospitality projects to date. In 2004, Diez Barroso founded CENTRO, the first university in Mexico City specialized in creative studies. CENTRO currently offers seven undergraduate degrees and one master’s program, as well as a broad range of continuing education courses in related disciplines. Since opening, the university has grown rapidly to its present student enrollment of 2,500 students and is recognized as Mexico’s best university for creative studies. In 1992, she founded Fundación Diarq, a nonprofit organization that works toward eradicating domestic violence and preventing bullying in schools. In 2004, she founded Pro-Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization granting merit-based scholarships to students pursuing degrees in creative studies. Diez Barroso sits on several international boards, is one of the two Mexicans belonging to C200 (200 Women Business Leaders of the World), and has represented Mexico at the W20 Summit.