What

Steve Zanakis

can countries do to improve their competitiveness in global markets?

Two members of the Department of Decision Sciences and Information Systems in the College of Business Administration, Steve Zanakis, professor, and Irma Becerra-Fernandez, associate professor, examined 43 countries listed in the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) and derived some very interesting answers. Their data on 58 variables spanned economic, internationalization, governmental, financial, infrastructural, management, and science and technology variables as well as demographic and cultural characteristics.

In their comprehensive comparisons, Zanakis and Becerra-Fernandez used four techniques from multivariate statistics and data mining—also called knowledge discovery in databases or KDD—to predict a country’s competitiveness and identify the major drivers. And they made an important distinction between productivity and competitiveness—a distinction that people often overlook.

“Productivity

Irma Becerra-Fernandez

has to do with a company’s internal capability,” said Zanakis, who has done extensive research in multi-country comparisons and currently is analyzing the effect of 220 variables from 140 countries on e-commerce, e-government, and growth competitiveness. “Competitiveness relates to the position of one country with respect to others. It also enhances people’s quality of life, not just the prosperity of companies.”

As the researchers mined and analyzed the data, they determined that the primary driver for competitiveness is a lower country risk rating, that is, the ability of a country to meet its financial obligations.

“We also found that the extent to which a country invests in computer infrastructure and computer literacy provides a strong predictor of competitiveness,” Becerra-Fernandez said.

According to the authors, when higher computer use is combined with less male dominance in entrepreneurial societies, the result is a higher competitiveness ranking. Less male dominance means that women play a larger role in the government and in companies than in countries with higher male dominance.

Many of the factors are beyond a country’s capability to alter, but Zanakis and Becerra-Fernandez assert that policy makers and international agencies can tackle a number of them as they try to manage countries’ economic futures. In addition, companies within a country can make business decisions that contribute to their country’s competitiveness.

“It might be very difficult to change a country’s gross national product, for example,” Becerra-Fernandez said. “But the computer infrastructure can be addressed. If countries understand the most important areas that can improve their competitive rankings, they can set priorities, make prudent investments, and propose effective interventions.”

“Leaders can evaluate the possible effects of certain policies that can change a nation’s competitiveness rank in the WYC list,” Zanakis said. “Countries not included on the WYC list can enter their data into the model we developed and predict their rank while expanding their insights about potential changes.”

Among the other significant factors that jointly drive a nation’s competitiveness, according to the study:

• Entrepreneurial, urbanized societies with higher gross domestic investment, savings, and private consumption
• More imports of goods and services than exports
• Increased GDP purchase power parity
• Larger and more productive—but not necessarily less expensive—labor force
• Higher R&D expenditures

The results of this study were published in an article titled “Competitiveness of Nations: A Knowledge Discovery Examination.” It appeared in the October 2005 issue of European Journal of Operational Research, one of the leading journals in the decision sciences and information systems field.

FOCUS ON

.: Jamaica Business Alumni Chapter elects its new board of directors

Back row, left to right: Stephen Dawkins, president, 2003; Janelle Brown, class rep. 2005;Garfield Gibson, vice president, 2004; Heather Bulgin, historian, 2004;Winston Warren, communication director, 2004; front row, left to right: Sandra Prince, vice president, 2005;Dawn Smith, secretary, 2004; Latoya Flemming, class rep., 2001; and Karen Phillips, class rep., 2002.

  After welcoming nearly 300 alumni and friends at their “War of the Worlds” premiere event to benefit the Homestead Boys Club in Kingston, Jamaica, earlier this year, the Jamaica Business Alumni Chapter hosted another successful event—its annual membership meeting—in November to elect its 2005/06 Board of Directors.

The new board looks forward to an active year of membership development, including programs to benefit the Homestead Boys Club (their designated charity), regular networking events, and a variety of communication tools: a newsletter and a new web site (to be launched in January), which will be hosted on the College of Business Administration’s Alumni web site—http://cbalumni.fiu.edu.

.: College opens nominations for Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

   The call for nominations of alumni to be inducted into the 2006 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame opened December 9, 2005, and close January 13, 2006. This year, two categories of alumni will be inducted: a Founder and a Builder (see below).

   The 2006 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon will be held May 17, 2006, at Parrot Jungle in Miami, Watson Island, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. In addition to the induction of alumni into the Hall of Fame, the event will recognize winners of the Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge, a student business plan competition, and will present an award to the 2006 South Florida Entrepreneur of the Year.

   Nominating criteria for the 2006 inductees are outlined below.   

   Inductee: Founder

1. Individual must be an alumnus/ae of Florida International University’s College of Business Administration.
2. Business must haven been operational for a minimum of 5 years and have significant revenues and profit growth over the last five years.
3. Individual must have a history of significant entrepreneurial activity.
4. Individual must have been founder or key member of start up team.
5. Business must have at least 5 or more employees.

Inductee: Builder (or Intrapreneur)

1. Individual must be an alumnus/ae of Florida International University’s College of Business Administration.
2. Business must have been operational for a minimum 10 years and have significant revenues and profits over this period.
3. Individual must have been instrumental in either the turnaround or the growth of an established business.
4. Individual must be a part of the Executive Management Team, preferably “C” level.
5. Business must have at least 100 or more employees.

Those submitting nominations will be asked to answer questions about their nominees that cover the following topics:

• Personal Integrity and Influence
• Company History/Role of Nominee
• Management Philosophy
• Innovation and Creativity
• Degree of Difficulty

To submit a nomination, visit our web site or contact Monique Catoggio (EMBA ’03), director of alumni and partner relations, at 305-348-4227 or catoggio@fiu.edu.

.: Business Alumni host Traveling Happy Hour at Mendoza’s.

Florida International University’s College of Business Administration’s alumni and South Florida business professionals gathered on November 17th for a night of high level networking and socializing at the beautiful terrace of Mendoza Restaurant.

Ideally situated with a breathtaking view of Biscayne Bay, the venue enabled alumni and guests to enjoy another evening of the Business Alumni Chapter’s Traveling Happy Hour series—a sequence of networking receptions at upscale locations in the Brickell Avenue corridor and in the heart of Coral Gables.

Members of the Business Alumni Chapter who attend a Traveling Happy Hour, and/or individuals who sign up for membership at the event automatically are entered into a raffle to win great travel prizes, including two airline tickets to anywhere in the U.S. courtesy of TraveLeaders. Prizes will be raffled at the conclusion of the series.

If you are looking for a venue for networking with business professionals in a social setting, don’t miss the next Traveling Happy Hour on January 19th at Bahia in the Four Seasons Hotel (1435 Brickell Avenue). Not yet a member of the Business Alumni Chapter Membership forms are available at http://cbalumni.fiu.edu/.

.: REAAC announces its new Board of Directors.

The Real Estate Alumni Affinity Council (REAAC), began as an ad-hoc group five years ago that met bi-monthly to provide alumni in real estate with networking opportunities while supporting other real estate initiatives. At the beginning of 2005, the Council was brought under the College’s Business Alumni Chapter and was managed by a Steering Committee and the College's Office of Alumni and Partner Relations.

“The Steering Committee has paved the way for the Board of Directors,” said Maria Arguello, REACC liaison and College events planner. “They have done a wonderful job of branching out to key contacts in the real estate community and helped to strengthen REAAC’s resources.”

Beginning in January, 2006, governance of the organization will be transferred to REAAC’s first official Board of Directors: Bill Harter, president; Robert Meneses (BBA '02), president-elect; Craig Kirsner (MBA '04), vice president; and Andrew Demos (BBA '94), secretary/treasurer.

The Affinity Council will be working on various events this coming year to unite real estate professionals in the community as well as to support the initiatives of the Jerome Bain Real Estate Institute and the College's Real Estate Student Association (RESA). Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a corporate supporter of REAAC and its programs should contact Meneses at Robert@westvest.com.

REAAC’s next Happy Hour, exclusively for real estate professionals, will take place on January 12, 2006 at Chispa Restaurant in Coral Gables. For additional details, information on other upcoming Real Estate alumni events, or to join REAAC, visit our web site.

.: College welcomes new Alumni Circle member.

Jose Hernandez-Solaun, (BBA '98)

Joining the Alumni Circle recently is Jose Hernandez-Solaun (BBA '98), vice president and senior account executive for General Electric Company.

The Alumni Circle is a group of senior-level alumni who work closely with the College's administrators and deans to develop programs and initiatives to achieve the College's goals. For more information about the Alumni Circle, call Director of Alumni and Partner Relations Monique Catoggio (EMBA ’03) at 305-348-4227.

.: Student humanitarians reach out to Nicaraguan children.

Many children in Nicaragua soon will receive their first shoes, school supplies, and toys thanks to the NICA Global Leadership and Service Project (GLSP) “Nicaragua December of Dreams Trip to Help Kids.” The GLSP’s dedicated student planners—members of the International Business Honor Society (IBHS) in the College of Business Administration—also hope to establish educational scholarships for the orphans. With the area damaged by Hurricane Beta, the need has grown more acute.

Twenty-four students— twelve each in Granada and Managua— have signed up for the trip, which will take place between December 26, 2005 and January 8, 2006. They will teach the children English, working with eight schools and orphanages. Christian Jarquin and Norman Uriarte are serving as site leaders and Grupo TACA is a major sponsor of the project, reducing the airfare for the good Samaritans and donating two tickets that the students can sell to raise money.

“We also are grateful to the media for the coverage we’ve received as well as to the companies that have come forward to sponsor a child at $20 a month, given donations to make repairs to the schools, and provided other forms of sponsorships,” Jarquin said.

As the trip approaches, participants have escalated their efforts to amass the quantity of items they want to distribute—through a local toy marathon; participation in a Nicaraguan festival; and a toy and supply competition among the University’s fraternities, sororities, and student organizations.

In addition to trying to make the trip an annual event, the students hope to to set up an international export business, which could make a long-lasting positive impact on the children’s lives.

“The children currently make hammocks, arts, and crafts,” Jarquin said. “We thought if we were able to sell the items in the United States, the schools and orphanages would receive more money for the goods than they do in Nicaragua. We need help to identify contacts, handle logistics, and create distribution channels in the United States.”

This is the second GLSP conducted by the IBHS—the first took place in Thailand in the spring of 2005—and is part of the College’s Civic Engagement Initiative, which shapes business students to play an active and positive role in their communities at the local and global level.

To donate clothing, toys, school supplies or money, or to provide expertise, contact Jarquin at Christian.Jarquin@yahoo.com or Uriarte at nuria001@fiu.edu.

.: Community service project sparks great interest.

Members of Group 19 in the BBA+ Weekend’s Business in Society class in the College of Business Administration have been working diligently on a special class project, “Spark for ARC” (Association for Retarded Citizens of South Florida). Their goal was to raise $20,000 to provide disabled children with specialized computer equipment to improve their educational and developmental chances. The culmination of the students’ efforts will take place in a ceremony on December 15, 2005, in the Miami Dade ARC Center, during which the equipment will be presented.

Through a series of fundraisers—raffles, lunches, flea markets, car washes, and more—as well as donations, the students have reached their goal—the largest ever for any BBA+ Weekend cohort involved in a community service project (which all of them have done/are required to do).

“We have collected all the money as of December 6” said Ana Lorenzo, who, with Melanie G. Barnick, has served as project leader.

Their achievement marks a milestone in the history of the Business and Society course.

“I didn’t tell them theirs was the most ambitious goal ever in the history of the program,” said Robert Hogner, management and international business professor and director of the College’s Civic Engagement Initiative, who teaches the Business and Society course. “Their achievement is historic and remarkable—setting a new standard for future BBA+ Weekend cohorts.

Platinum sponsors (donations of $2,000 or more) include Celebrity Cruise Line, Commerce Bank, Eurobank, Ocean Bank, and Regions Bank. Silver sponsors (contributions of $500 to $1,000) are LDM Industries and Mello Concrete Services. Bronze sponsors (contributions of $250 to $500) are ATM Services Net, Control Building Services, Inc., Lotus Garden, and The Company (Real Estate-Development-Management). There also is a gold category for donations of $1,000 to $2,000.

“We have seen repeatedly in this program what can be achieved when we join hands in a noble cause,” said Donald Roomes, director of the BBA+ Weekend program. “I congratulate cohort 19 for putting this together, and want to underscore their thanks to all the other cohorts who helped to make this happen.”

“Spark for ARC” is part of Project Thrive (Infant & Toddler Stimulation Program) of ARC. The Business in Society course, as well as the College's Civic Engagement Initiative, requires students to participate in community projects to ensure that they will be socially conscious and responsible business leaders.

Donning hard hats and bearing golden shovels at the Ground Breaking Ceremony on November 18, 2005, from left, Chapman Graduate School Dean José de la Torre, Regions Bank President Angel Medina, Jr., Board of Trustees member and donor R. Kirk Landon, Ocean Bank President José Concepción, Florida International University President Modesto Maidique, College of Business Administration Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam, Landon Undergraduate School Dean Clifford R. Perry, Faculty Senate Chair Bruce Hauptli, Florida International University Academic Provost Mark Rosenberg, College of Business Administration Assistant Dean Lynda Raheem, and School of Accounting faculty member John Wrieden.

Overcast skies, cool temperatures, and rain did not dampen the spirits of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, College of Business Administration leaders, friends, architects, and donors who signed concrete blocks for the foundation and joined in breaking ground for the College’s new business building complex on November 18, 2005.

The event marked the first tangible manifestation of a dream long in the making and a milestone in the College’s evolution towards becoming one of the top public, urban business schools in the country.

“When I became Executive Dean eight years ago, the College developed a vision to become one of the best public business schools in any urban area in America and a mission to prepare our students to be the business, civic, and political leaders in this community,” Joyce J. Elam said. “And we’ve been blessed by having terrific support both from within and outside the University in our quest to achieve both.

Elam cited the recognition the College has received from U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, Hispanic Business, América Economía, among others, for its innovative international business programs.

“We have a world-class faculty comparable to that of any highly-regarded business school in the world, and Fortune 500 companies now routinely visit our campus to recruit our business students,” she said.

But the College has faced a major obstacle in realizing its vision: it has had no place to call home.

“For years, our students have had to take classes across our campuses; our administrative offices are scattered in several buildings around the University, and our business students have no place to gather, interact, and claim as their own,” Elam said. “Today, we are celebrating the beginning of the construction of that home—which we expect to be completed in 2007.”

“It’s clear to me that this College is one of the country’s leading business schools, and I’m delighted to be supporting the future business leaders of South Florida, the Americas, and the world who are earning their degrees here,” said Board of Trustees member and donor R. Kirk Landon at the historic occasion.

“What this community most needs and wants is a world-class business school,” President Modesto Maidique told the audience. “This message has been reiterated to me countless times by civic and business leaders who know that a premier business school is vital to the economic prosperity of our region. The majority of the College’s graduates live and work here, and many of them start new businesses that provide employment opportunities for others and stimulate economic innovation.”

He added that the College, in many ways, “is the flagship of our University’s reputation and of our contribution to South Florida’s future.”

To date, $9.5M of the $15M needed for the building complex has been raised. Numerous naming opportunities continue to exist to recognize additional donations. To learn more about how you can support the College, contact Annabelle Rojas, director of external relations and resource development, at 305-348-3339 or visit our web site at http://cba.fiu.edu.

.: Ocean Bank supports diversity through a generous scholarship fund for accounting and finance students.

Standing, from left: Annabelle Rojas, director, external relations and resource development, Jimmie Beard, Laetitia Blanchard, Marc Phanord, Silrita Anderson, Anne Marie Colimon, Susan Duncan, Abdonlaye Dabo, and Bill Levin, assistant director, External Relations and Resource Development; sitting, from left: Yuni Navarro, vice president and human resources manager, Ocean Bank; Benigno F. Aguirre, senior vice president and human resources director, Ocean Bank; Joyce J. Elam, executive dean, College of Business Administration, and Luis Consuegra, chief legal officer and director, Ocean Bank.

Ocean Bank has demonstrated its commitment to diversity in the form of the Ocean Bank Scholarship Fund, a three-year, $60,000 allocation, to the FIU Foundation Inc. at Florida International University. Each year, $20,000 will be awarded to eight outstanding black or African-American accounting or finance students in the College of Business Administration. The group, which will be known as the Ocean Bank Scholars, will include four students from the Landon Undergraduate School of Business and four students in the Chapman Graduate School of Business.

“Our reputation is as a Hispanic bank, but we are committed to diversity,” said Yuni Navarro, vice president and human resources manager at Ocean Bank. “We want our employees and our customers to know that diversity is our number one goal for employment and for business today.”

The first Ocean Bank Scholars are Silrita Anderson, Jimmie Beard, Laetitia Blanchard, Anne Maire Colimon, Abdonlaye Dabo, Susan Duncan, Danelle Martin, and Marc Phanord.

“Scholarships provide us the opportunity to impact the lives of students who dream of continuing their education and making a positive difference in the world,” said Benigno F. Aguirre, Ocean Bank’s senior vice president and human resources director. “Everyone has a stake in supporting education. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Students hear the message behind the money, the message that others see the promise of their potential and believe in their dreams.”

Ocean Bank decided to make the donation to the University for several reasons.

“We wanted to support the University because of its diversity, its size, and the fact that it’s local,” Navarro said. “We recruit from the University all the time and we want to sponsor those people who stay in our community, whether with us or with others.”

Aguirre, Navarro, and Luis Consuegra, chief legal officer and director of Ocean Bank, and seven of the eight recipients got to know each other at a luncheon held in the Faculty Club Gold Room on November 22, 2005. Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam, Annabelle Rojas, director, external relations and resource development, and William Levin, assistant director, represented the College.

“The event was wonderful,” Navarro said. “We got the chance to meet this talented group of individuals who are committed to our community and our profession. It gave us the opportunity to learn about their backgrounds. We also got to let them know who we are—a bank that’s just 23 years old but is one of the largest independent commercial banks headquartered in Florida, and local in the sense that our branches are only in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.”

Not only was the shared information useful, but also the experience underscored both the College’s and the bank’s commitment to diversity.

“We hear that Miami is a melting pot,” Navarro said. “Walking into the Faculty Club Gold Room and seeing such diversity was great.”

.: First Herbert A. Wertheim lecture of the season draws nearly one hundred.

When Glenn J. Rufrano (MS Real Estate ’74), CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust, Inc., gave the first Herbert A. Wertheim lecture of 2005-2006 on November 10, 2005 at Florida International University, he had an impressive audience: ninety-seven individuals, many of them finance and real estate students in the College, and Herbert A. Wertheim himself.

Wertheim, a long-time supporter of the University and the College and member of the Florida International University Board of Trustees, endowed the lecture series in 1993 to bring distinguished speakers and experts in business leadership and entrepreneurship to campus to address the College’s students.

The title of this season’s first lecture by alumnus Glenn J. Rufrano was “Public versus Private Pricing of Real Estate Investment Trusts.” In addition to the lecture, guests were treated to lunch.

Under Rufrano’s leadership, New Plan, which he joined in 2000, has been transformed into one of the nation’s largest public real estate companies, focusing on the ownership and management of more than 440 community and neighborhood shopping centers encompassing more than 63 million square feet of retail space.

“His presentation was from the standpoint of modern real estate finance at an institutional level,” said Paul Jones (BA Real Estate ’78), president, Pyramid Realty Group and founder of the University’s Real Estate Alumni Council—now an Affinity Group of the Business Alumni Chapter.

“I was interested to hear about how he was diversifying his portfolio and reducing risk with a joint venture in Australia,” said Craig Kirsner (MBA ’04), senior financial analyst at Commercial Capital Resources, LLC, and vice president of the Real Estate Alumni Affinity Group.

Jones agreed.

“Rufrano’s work with an Australian firm demonstrated the wave of the future for real estate investors because the lowest cost of capital may not be domestic,” he said. “The subject matter was a perfect introduction to the University’s Master of Science in International Real Estate.”

From left, Florida International University Board of Trustees member and donor Herbert A. Wertheim, College Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam, and CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust Glenn J. Rufrano (MS Real Estate, ’74).

This new program offering will begin in January, 2006, at the College’s Downtown Center, located in Macy*s Florida’s corporate offices at 22 East Flagler Street.

“The talk was amazing,” said Bill Wilson (BA ’04), who is working on his MBA with a concentration in finance. “I felt as though I had walked into a working lunch with a professor who literally taught us. It was ideal because you realized that you don’t have to be in a formal classroom to learn.”

Wilson’s assessment of Rufrano’s teaching skill is accurate. Among his many accomplishments, he is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Real Estate Institute, where he also serves on a number of boards.

“In addition to being very knowledgeable and approachable, he’s one of our own,” Jones said, “a sterling alumnus with a phenomenal background.”

“Rufrano is a great example of how our graduates succeed,” said Wilson, who serves as liaison for the Council of 100, working within the Office of Corporate Relations in the Division of University Advancement. “As a student and employee, I was really happy to see that students get what they pay for when they choose our business school for their education.”

.: Master of Accounting program graduates twenty-eight students in October.

Members of the sixth cohort of the College’s Master of Accounting (MACC) program graduated on October 21, 2005. The approach of Hurricane Wilma did not damage the good spirits of the 28 graduates and guests—totaling seventy people—who attended the event at the Rusty Pelican Restaurant.

Students made awards to fellow cohort members and to faculty. They voted Gloria Xu most dedicated student, and Eduardo Alvarez, most knowledgeable. The students named Dasaratha Rama, professor of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, as most helpful professor, and designated Lewis F. Davidson, professor of accounting and faculty director of the MACC program, as most challenging professor.

Andres Suarez (BA ’99) received an award as the student with the highest grade point average (GPA).

“I always liked accounting,” said Suarez, who majored in finance in the College as an undergraduate and in 1997 began working at Regions Bank, where he currently is a senior credit analyst in its international division. “Getting this degree was always at the back of my mind.”

He needed to complete a number of pre-requisites to get into the program and many friends tried to talk him out of the effort. But he has no regrets.

“I am very glad I did it,” he said while acknowledging that it was very challenging. “Because of the group orientation of the program, we had lots of meetings, so it was quite time consuming.”

Not only was he already working, but also he is married and he and his wife were preparing to welcome their first child, who arrived less than a month after the graduation ceremony.

He has no regrets about selecting the College’s School of Accounting for the advanced degree work.

“I looked at other schools, but I had heard so many good things about the School of Accounting,” he said. “And besides, the University already had my heart.”

“All the students in the cohort—with the exception of the two international ones—have jobs,” said Michael Pischner, program manager of the Master of Accounting, a Friday evening/all-day Saturday offering that enables participants to complete the degree in ten months.

.: Speaker paints clear picture of family-owned business challenges.

From left, Jack Moore, corporate director, Benjamin Moore & Company; Alan Carsrud, director, Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, and Jon I. Kislak, principal, Antares Capital Corporation and chairman of the Pino Center’s Board of Advisors.

Jack Moore, a fourth-generation family member of Benjamin Moore Paints—a company founded in 1883 that turned a profit in its first year—was the keynote speaker at the first Family Business Forum hosted by the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center. Moore’s address, titled “Corporate Governance in a Family-Owned Business” highlighted the Forum, which took place at Chispa Restaurant in Coral Gables.

More than fifty people, including University students involved in family businesses, accountants, attorneys, investors, and family business owners, were greeted with salsa music and Cuban pastries during a networking period and enjoyed breakfast during the discussion.

Moore spoke about compensation for family members, succession planning, and bringing in outside directors. The company remained under the Moore family through four generations, which took it from a small outfit to the fourth-largest paint manufacturer in the country. Berkshire Hathaway bought the company in 2000. Moore still serves as a corporate director of Benjamin Moore & Co.

“The same dynamics natural to family interactions often can cause problems for otherwise successful companies,” said Alan L. Carsrud, director of the Pino Center and also a speaker at the forum, which Jerry Haar, professor of management and international business and associate director of the Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management, moderated.

“A company that not only has survive that long, but that also has thrived as Benjamin Moore has, definitely is a great case study on what to do right in a family-owned business,” Haar said.

James T. Varnadoe, senior counsel at Holland and Knight, a law firm with offices throughout the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe, offered advice from the legal perspective.

Sponsors for the Forum were the Institute for Family Business, one of the Pino Center’s four institutes; Rachlin, Cohen & Holtz, and Holland & Knight. Partners were the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce and the College's Business Alumni Chapter. For details about upcoming Family Business Forums and other Pino Center events, visit the Center’s web site.

• Carlos Sabater (BBA ’81), a member of the College’s Dean’s Council as well as of the School of Accounting Advisory Board, was featured recently in South Florida Business Journal’s “Heavy Hitters” section. Sabater is managing partner for South Florida, Deloitte & Touche. He also serves on the boards of distinguished organizations, including the downtown Chapter of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Miami Business Forum, Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Center, Miami City Club, United Way, and YMCA of South Florida.

• Gregory Snyder (BACC ’82; MBA’90) was promoted to the position of vice president, finance of Harte-Hanks Shoppers.

• Diana Rodriguez (BA ’94) has joined Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant as senior tax accountant.

• Jaime Castaño (BS ’97, MBA ’03) has been appointed to the Junior Achievement of Greater Miami board of directors. He is vice president and branch sales manger for Colonial Bank’s Coral Gables office.

• Ernesto Larrea (MIB ’98) has joined International Bank of Miami as vice president of correspondent banking.

• Ivette Wheelock (BBA ’03) has joined HNTB Corporation as an assistant transportation planner.

• Monique R. Catoggio (EMBA ’03), the College’s director of alumni and partner relations, joined the Board of Directors of Youth Crime Watch of Florida, a non-profit organization that works with schools and communities across the state, developing programs to prevent youth-led crime and drug abuse

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