50 Most Influential Latinos

Norberto Sanchez

CEO

Norsan Group

A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Norberto Sanchez is a Hispanic entrepreneur and community leader that has lived in the United States since 1982. Sanchez and his wife, Ira, moved to Atlanta, GA to attend Georgia Tech for his Masters in Engineering. After graduation, he began his career as an engineer and quickly realized that it was not his passion. In 1987, he took a career risk and opened his first restaurant, Frontera Mex-Mex Grill in Atlanta, GA. Norberto serves as CEO and Chairman of his company: Norsan Group, which currently owns and operates sixteen Frontera Mex-Mex Grills, two Luciano’s Ristorante Italiano restaurants, the award-winning Pampas Steakhouse, and recently Frankie’s The Steakhouse at Gwinnett’s 1818 Club in Duluth, GA. Prime Meats, Norsan Group’s meat packaging and distribution company, provides high quality meats to restaurants and grocery stores in the Southeast region of the US. In 2007, Sanchez broke into the media business with the addition of the Spanish language media group Norsan Media headquartered in Charlotte, NC. Norsan Media currently operates 23 local radio stations and 3 television stations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In Charlotte, Norsan Media owns and operates several FM stations including Latina 102.3, La Raza 106.1, and La Zeta 107.5 and 97.3 FM publishes a weekly Spanishlanguage newspaper HOLA NEWS, and hosts various large-scale festivals for the Hispanic Community throughout the year.

Sanchez’s mission for his media company has always been to serve the Hispanic community on a grass-roots level. He has served on various Charlotte-based boards as an advocate for the Hispanic community, including: Foundation for the Carolinas, Levine Museum of the New South, and the Latin American Coalition. Norsan Media partners with several organizations in Charlotte to ensure the safety, wellness, and quality of life for their listeners. One of the signature events, “Milagros Para Los Niños Radiothon” with Levine Children’s Hospital breaks records every year, most recently raising over $145,000 in one day from their Hispanic listeners during the July 2017 radiothon.