18th Annual Conference & Career Expo
With an attendance that exceeded 8,000 MBA students
and professionals, more than 300 sponsors, 500 interview booths, and above 4,000 on-site interviews, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs achieved another outstanding success surpassing last year's record!NSHMBA's conference theme for 2007 was "Leading with Influence", and programs and events focused on how the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and its stakeholders continue to make a difference for Hispanic MBA students and professionals. Hewlett Packard and Rice University's Jesse H. Jones School of Management were the proud sponsors for this year's conference. This was the first time that NSHMBA's conference had also an academic sponsor, reflecting with this approach a focus on both business and education.
NSHMBA's conference offered a multitude of networking opportunities and featured eight cutting-edge professional development sessions presented by corporate executives, business consultants and renowned speakers and authors. Other highlights included career advancement opportunities through the nation's largest career expo for Hispanic MBAs, and an exclusive Executive Forum, a brand new event for participants with a position of Director level and above, or equivalent, or with 10+ years of management experience.
During the official Press Conference and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Friday, October 5, NSHMBA announced its University Partnership Program featuring 20 top universities. This program helped the organization this year to award over $1 million in financial aid to Hispanic students. NSHMBA also celebrated its new publication, the Business Journal of Hispanic Research (BJHR), and research featured in the premiere issue, published this past June, served as the cornerstone of the conference's new Executive Forum Sessions and Professional Development Day programs.
Dell and Microsoft continued their patronage, participation and scholastic support to NSHMBA by hosting once more the Marketing Case Competition. Six teams were chosen to participate in the final round on Wednesday, October 3, and the winners for this year were: Rob Bakalar, Justin Chafe, Carolina Hoyos and Petter Kuo from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
A Saturday evening gala, sponsored by the corporate lead sponsor, Hewlett Packard, concluded the three-day conference with a special tribute honoring this year's recipients of the Brillante Award for Excellence. The NSHMBA's highest honor is granted to individuals and corporations who have proven their leadership and have shown the necessary character and determination to defeat difficulties in an exceptional manner. The recognitions this year went to:
- Brillante Award for Corporate Excellence: The Procter and Gamble Company
- Brillante Award for Corporate Executive Excellence: David B. Garcia
- Brillante Award for Member Service Excellence: Jesus M. Maldonado Reyes
- Brillante Award for Educational Excellence: University of Texas-Pan American
- Brillante Award for Entrepreneur Excellence: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch
- Brillante Award for Not-for-Profit Excellence: The Hispanic Heritage Foundation
2007 Conference Basics
| Location: |
George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 Avenida de las Americas Houston, Texas 77010 |
| Dates: | October 4 - 6, 2007 |
2007 Conference Statistics
| Total Attendance: | over 8,000 |
| Corporate Sponsors: | 240 |
| Academic Sponsors: | 70 |
| Total Sponsors: | 310 |
| Interview Booths: | 500 |
| MBA Scholarships Awarded: | 187 |
| Total Financial Assistance Awarded: | $1M |
| Professionals: | 23% |
| Students: | 77% |
| Students From Top Universities*: | 62% |
| Job Postings Online (Conference): | 1,109 |
| Job Postings Online (Annual) - YTD Sept 2007: | 39,005 |