On March 23, 2007, South Florida executives and business alumni attended the second annual Business Alumni Conference held at the college’s Downtown Center.  The half-day event included panel sessions on real estate, corporate governance, healthcare, insurance, and family business.

Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam addresses attendees at Alumni Conference.

Robert Garcia (EMBA ’97), college director of Executive and Professional Education (EPE), said that, “The panel discussions were wonderful — very seasoned professionals with a wealth of knowledge to share.”  He added that, “It was a great opportunity to network and reconnect with fellow alumni,” and that it “was one of the most informative conferences I have attended this year.”

Lourdes Herrero-Matus (BBA ’98), program manager for the Downtown MBA and MBA for Public Managers programs, said, “It was a great honor for the Downtown Center to host such a notable event for the college; the impressive panels of speakers and distinguished alumni in attendance made for a wonderful experience.”

The college’s business alumni chapter expressed its appreciation to the panelists, who included the following people:

• The real estate session was moderated by William Hardin, Knight Ridder associate professor and director of the college’s real estate programs. Panelists were Paul Jones (BBA ’78), Pyramid Realty Group, Inc.; Guy Trusty, CCIM, president, Lodging & Hospitality Realty, Inc., and Adam Lotterman, senior analyst, Goodkin Consulting.

• The corporate governance panel, was moderated by José de la Torre, dean of the Chapman Graduate School.   Panelists included Mario de Armas (BBA ’85), office managing partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Ben Wells, CFO and treasurer, Burger King Corporation, and Alvaro de Molina, former CFO, Bank of America.

• The family business session was moderated by James R. Bussey (EMBA ’97) chief of staff, College of Business Administration.  Panelists included: Derek Capó (BBA ’03), analyst, Everest Capital; Jesus Capó, COO, El Dorado; and Roberto Capó (BBA ’93), CMO, El Dorado.

• The health care session was moderated by Executive Dean Joyce J. Elam.  Panelists included Joseph Caruncho (BBA ’81), CEO of Preferred Care Partners Holding Corporation; John Rock, Dean, College of Medicine, Florida International University, and George Foyo, president, Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Florida.

• The insurance session was moderated by Ian McCluskey, publisher of World City Business. Panelists included: Raul Rivero, president and CEO of Insurance and Construction Consultants, Inc., and Tom Cornish (BBA ’85), president and CEO, Seitlin Insurance.