Isabel Rafferty Zavala is the Founder and CEO of Canela Media, a leading digital media tech company that effectively connects brands with multicultural audiences through various touchpoints including its newly launched free-to-stream platform, Canela.TV, influencer marketing, branded content, and more than 180 exclusive Spanish-language sites. In its first year of operation, 2019-2020, the majority-female and majority-Hispanic/Latinx Canela team went from launch to #4 in Hispanic audience reach according to Comscore. The company further validated its distinctive value proposition by growing and gaining traction during a turbulent industry interval marked by intense competition for shifting, shrinking, or frozen advertising budgets.
Isabel is recognized in the industry for her avant-garde approach and success launching digital marketing companies and is regarded as one of the most accomplished Hispanic business leaders in advertising. Isabel previously founded Mobvious Media in 2016, to reach U.S. Hispanic and African American audiences through mobile advertising. Under her leadership, Mobvious became the second largest Hispanic-focused ad network according to Comscore and was acquired by PRISA Group in 2017. From 2012-2016, she was Vice President at Adsmovil, leading the company’s expansion in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, driving annual sales from zero to ten million dollars. Isabel was Culture Marketing Council’s 2019 Rising Star Award recipient.
Reinventure led the company’s first institutional capital round, with co-lead BBG Ventures and a closely aligned syndicate: Angeles Investors, Portfolia Rising America Fund, Mighty Capital, and Alumni Ventures Group.