Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com 4 Junio 2022 BUSINESS MELISSA M. BALLATE President Blue Daring Melissa Ballate leads Blue Daring, a Chicago-based company that specializes in branding, design, ideas and strategy, and product development. Together with her team of strategists and creatives, she has helped the world's largest auto manufacturer helped the city of Chicago work on its first citywide plan in 60 years. Ballate began her career managing online advertising. A day before her 23rd birthday in 2003, she drained her 401(k) and launched Blue Daring. ROBERTO CARMONA President Carmona Strategic Solutions Roberto Carmona is President of Carmona Strategic Solutions and a consultant for the Capital Development Board. His corporate experience includes leading complex sales competitions in the education and healthcare markets. As an executive recruiter, Carmona has placed leaders for key roles in the private and public sectors. In government he oversaw federal economic development programs in Washington, D.C. Carmona completed a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government where his concentration was leadership, strategy and organizational development. ELIZABETH COLON President & Founder Metaphrasis Language and Cultural Solutions LLC Elizabeth Colón is president and founder of Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions LLC, an award-winning interpreting and translation services company. Her passion and dedication for providing access to quality language offerings and educational resources has won her and her firm numerous awards and recognitions During the pandemic, Metaphrasis was instrumental in assisting organizations in providing resources and information in multiple languages so that information reached the community in a language they understood and read. LISA DUARTE President & CEO Point of Difference Strategies Lisa Duarte has spent her career at the intersection of law and government and recently founded Point Of Difference Strategies, a public affairs firm dedicated to providing experienced and substantive lobbying and government affairs services to clients from numerous industries. Previously she served as the first assistant deputy governor for budget & economy in the JB Pritzker Administration where she oversaw 17 agencies involving budget, economy, economic development, and regulation and more than 170 boards and commissions. PACO FERNANDEZ Founder Paco's Custom Clothiers Paco Fernandez started Paco's Custom Clothiers in 1999 and to date has dressed over 4,500 people worldwide. Fernandez, legally Fernando Arturo Muñoz Fernandez, was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up very poor. He shined shoes and waited tables at the mercado. With only two years of schooling he arrived in Chicago in 1966. He was hired as a temporary worker at The Custom Shop, a national chain, and 28 years later ended as clothing director. JAVIER HARO Founder Cocina Rx Javier Haro is the founder of Cocina Rx, a health and wellness social enterprise in Little Village. He formed the company in 2020 because Latino communities suffered from many cases of COVID-19 and from food insecurity. Cocina Rx provides nutritional meals, bilingual nutrition education and virtual cooking classes. Since then, Cocina Rx has served over 30,000 nutritional meals in partnership with over 30 community-based organizations, and it has provided nutrition coaching and virtual cooking classes to over 200 families. GABRIEL IGNACIO DZIEKIEWICZ President DesignBridge Ltd. Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz is president of DesignBridge Ltd., an award-winning, collaborative practice of architects and designers working interdependently to seek inspired, sustainable, and transformative solutions for the built environment. In the past 10 years, his firm's work in multi-family and mixed- use projects has been particularly targeted to underserved populations with community-based, nonprofit, affordable and senior housing projects. These projects have included anchoring community institutions, cultural amenities and over 2,000 units of housing. LARITZA LOPEZ President & Founder Purple Group Laritza Lopez serves as the chief strategy and creative officer for Purple Group, an independent marketing communications and advertising agency with consulting roots. The agency focuses on marketing for a better world in healthcare, housing, education, financial services, transportation, corporations, public health, social justice, nonprofits and foundations. Lopez's career spans over 30 years. She worked domestically and internationally in a range of marketing communications, advertising, management and operations roles at Fortune 200 firms and as an entrepreneur. ENRIQUE MEDRANO Founder Reventon Promotions Born in Guerrero, Mexico, radio announcer Enrique Medrano and his wife Sandra moved to Chicago in 1996. In Chicago, Enrique created a radio program that aired on weekend nights called "Fin de Semana de Reventon" (Reventon Weekend), consisting of live DJ mixes and local artists. In 2010, he started his own entertainment company, Reventon Promotions. To make up for the lack of diversity, Reventon Promotions broke away from the regional music scene and produced rock, pop, ballad and comedic shows. JOSE MELENDEZ President Melendez Insurance Group Jose Melendez is president of Melendez Insurance Group. He has over 25 years of experience in insurance and finance, and has been helping businesses of all sizes with risk management. Prior to starting Melendez Insurance Group, he spent over 15 years in various leadership roles that consisted of strategic development, sales, service, and operations management in financial services. Melendez studied finance at Loyola University of Chicago and completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses entrepreneurship program in 2014. Algunos momentos importantes en los 15 años de historia de Negocios Now #1 2007 Negocios Now fue lanzado en agosto de 2007 durante la Expo de Negocios de la Cámara Hispana de Comercio de Illinois con el objetivo de servir a la comunidad latina del estado. En la foto Kelly Yelmene, Vicepresidente de Negocios Now, con el primer ejemplar de la publicación. #2 2010 Nicado Publishing lanza "La Paella de Negocios Now", el primer evento de networking de la compañía que a partir de entonces ha tenido en los eventos una manera efectiva de conectar a los empresarios entre sí y con los corporativos interesados en este segmento. #3 2011 En un paso importante en la transformación digital, Negocios Now publica su primera edición en formato digital con multimedia. La misma plataforma es usada en la estrategia de expansión nacional y en otras publicaciones de la empresa como El Chicago Hispano y El Viajero Latino.

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