Dr. Rafael Marrero is the founder and CEO of Rafael Marrero & Company. With 35 years of experience in his industry and a graduate of Stanford and Cornell Universities, he is a leading national expert in government and private sector contracting and procurement, small business entrepreneurship, project/program and vendor management, contractor marketing, and strategic communications.

Successful CEO
Founded in 2008, his firm has been recognized twice by Inc. magazine as one of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States and as one of Inc. magazine’s best 50 workplaces in America. The firm is also a member of Inc. Masters, the magazine’s inner circle.

Supplier of the Year
In 2016, Dr. Marrero received the Supplier of the Year award, the highest honor given to minority businesses in the country by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. In 2019, the South Florida Hispanic Chamber recognized his company as Small Business of the Year during the Commerce’s Sunshine Awards.

Best-Selling Author
Dr. Marrero is the author of two Amazon international bestsellers “La salsa secreta del Tío Sam,” the first Spanish language book ever written on government contracting, and “América 2.0: La Guerra de Independencia de EE. UU. contra China” (America 2.0: The U.S. War of Independence from China), a book on US-China relations.

Industry Expert
Before creating Rafael Marrero & Company, he was a corporate vice president for MasTec (NYSE: MTZ), a Fortune 500 multinational telecommunications, energy, and construction company. He also served as LATAM program manager for By Light Professional IT Services, a leading project and program management contractor company with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

Serving A Wide Range of Industries
His subject matter expertise across a wide range of industries, from architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) to energy (oil, gas, LNG, renewable energy), systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA), and public safety/national security place him in a class above others.

Passionate Communicator
Through his talks, articles, seminars, webinars, and radio and television interviews, he intends to put his extensive theoretical and practical knowledge in the hands of the sector with the greatest growth and impact on the country’s economy: the American small businesses community.

Kentucky Colonel
In 2023, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear commissioned Dr. Marrero with the rank of Colonel and Aide-de-Camp for his extensive humanitarian work supporting American small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic and his concerted efforts to promote American manufacturing. The Kentucky Colonelcy is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky. It recognizes an individual’s noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to our community, state, and nation.