The Hollywood icon joins The Venture jury and is part of the panel responsible for dividing the Chivas one-million-dollar fund.
Chivas has added Eva Longoria to its panel of expert judges for The Venture, a global search for social entrepreneurs who prioritise success while positively impacting lives. The jury is responsible for dividing a portion of the alcohol giant’s one-million-dollar fund.
Alongside her continued prowess with The Eva Longoria Foundation, which helps Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship, the Hollywood icon brings with her invaluable expertise and useful advice for the finalists.
Currently in its second year, The Venture has received more than 2,500 applications from scalable and sustainable start-ups across six continents focused on tackling a range of social and environmental issues. One finalist will represent each of the 27 participating countries in New York.
Following a series of quarter and semi-final pitches, the grand finalists will have just five minutes to impress Longoria and the other judges with their pitch in front of a live audience at The Venture finals scheduled for 14 July 2016. Watch the video for more information on The Venture movement.
In addition to television star’s support, the panel includes also Joe Huff, Founder of LSTN Sound; Sonal Shah, founding Executive Director of Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation; as well as Alexandre Ricard, CEO and Chairman of Pernod Ricard, which carries the Chivas Regal portfolio.
Placing the power in the hands of netizens, Chivas is inviting the public to vote for their favourite participant to determine how the first quarter ($250,000) of said fund is split. Between now and 13 June 2016, followers of the programme can in lock in their choices via a dedicated official website.
The line-up includes Germany’s Julia Römer, Founder of Coolar, who has developed innovative refrigerators powered by warm water to enable doctors to preserve lifesaving vaccines in off-grid regions; and South Africa’s CrashDetech Founder, Jaco Gerrits, who has created a smartphone app to automatically detect car crashes, pinpoint locations, and dispatch the nearest ambulance, supplying paramedics with real-time information.
“We feel we have the perfect balance of expert judges to evaluate the finalists of this year’s competition. We look forward to seeing how people vote online over the next few weeks and which enterprises capture the imagination of the public,” said Richard Black, Global Brand Director at Chivas Regal.
