Trust is the most important currency and as the principal and founder of Mesa Strategies, Sebastian Ontiveros deals in it every day. For almost two decades, he has been the person companies send into the room when the relationship matters: county commission hearings, congressional outreach, city council meetings, chambers of commerce, EDC’s, sheriffs and fire chiefs, landowners, and communities that are skeptical.

Most recently, he led community and external affairs for hyperscale data center workforce campuses across Texas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Nevada and Ohio bringing a company's teams together around one local playbook.

Prior, Sebastian spent almost a decade at Toyota Motor North America, directing a $20M+ budget and relationships with more than 100 state and local officials across the United States. When the Takata airbag recall brought federal scrutiny, he worked directly with DOT and NHTSA while protecting the trust of the communities Toyota depended on. Earlier, he served at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as VP of Corporate Affairs and Chief Fundraising Officer and began his career on Capitol Hill through a congressional fellowship.

Mesa Strategies brings that experience to energy and infrastructure projects, from data centers to utilities, oil, and gas. The firm helps clients enter new communities, map the stakeholders that matter, prepare for hearings, and turn skeptics into supporters.

Sebastian holds an Executive MBA from University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, and a degree in Philosophy and Literary Journalism from UC Irvine. He is based in the DFW Metroplex and works nationally.