Flamin' Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man's Rise from Janitor to Top Executive

Read the story everyone is talking about: how a janitor struggling to put food on the table invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos in a secret test kitchen, breaking barriers and becoming the first Latino frontline worker promoted to executive at Frito-Lay.

Richard Montañez is a man who made a science out of walking through closed doors, and his success story is an empowerment manual for anyone stuck in a dead-end job or facing a system stacked against them.

Having taken a job mopping floors at Frito-Lay's California factory to support his family, Montañez took his future into his own hands and created the world's hottest snack food: Flamin' Hot Cheetos. This bold move not only disrupted the food industry with some much-needed spice, but also shook up a corporate culture in which everyone stayed in their lane. When a top food scientist at Frito-Lay sent out a memo telling sales and marketing to kill the new product before it made it to the store shelves--jealous that someone with no formal education beyond the sixth grade could do his job--Montañez was forced to go rogue once again to save his idea. Through creative thinking, community building, and a few powerful mindset shifts, he outsmarted the naysayers who tried to get in his way.

Flamin' Hot proves that you can break out of your career rut and that your present circumstances don't have to dictate your future.


Author: Richard Montanez
Publisher: Portfolio
Published: 06/15/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.70w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780593087466


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2021
Booklist 05/15/2021 pg. 8

About the Author
Richard Montañez is an inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and business executive whose inspirational journey has taken him from the barrio to the boardroom. A sought-after motivational speaker, he may be best known as the creator of Flamin' Hot Cheetos--the billion-dollar brand and worldwide phenomenon. Hailed as the Godfather of Hispanic Marketing, Montañez began his tenure as a janitor at Frito-Lay/PepsiCo before rising up through the ranks to head his own division. He serves on several nonprofit boards and is widely recognized as one of the most influential Latinos in corporate America. Richard Montañez and his family live in Southern California.