Huntsville, Ala. (April 3, 2012) - What is the outlook for the U.S. economy? What about the outlook for Huntsville, given its dependency on federal dollars? Since economic and job growth are usually driven by entrepreneurial firms – what is the entrepreneurial climate like in Huntsville?
These topics will be part of a two-night conversation on the economy and entrepreneurs hosted by the College of Business Administration at UAHuntsville on April 16-17. Both events are free and open to the public.
The two-day event will feature a roundtable discussion highlighting successful North Alabama business owners, and a seminar featuring nationally recognized economist Mark Vitner and Koch Distinguished SpeakerBruce Yandle.
On April 16, “The Entrepreneurs Roundtable,” will be presented in the Chan Auditorium on the UAHuntsville campus beginning at 5:30 p.m. Immediately following the roundtable presentation, guests are invited to remain for a reception.
A group of successful Huntsville entrepreneurs will talk about their experience launching and growing successful businesses in North Alabama. The panelists include:
- Natalie Hasley is president and co-owner of Bama Jammer, Inc., which specializes in promotion products. She led her company through significant growth during the last three years and was recently recognized as the Young Professional of the Year at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards program.
- David Karabinos is a serial entrepreneur and the resident and CEO of PointClear Solutions. He was the managing partner and CEO of Harvest Business Advisors, a growth strategy management-consulting firm, and was co-founder of EquaTerra, the largest outsourcing advisory firm in the world. He also founded eHealthClaim, a healthcare technology provider.
- David Kingsbury is vice-president for business development with PointClear Solutions and a mentor to technology entrepreneurs throughout North Alabama. He spent the majority of his career with innovative Fortune 500 companies including Autodesk, Boeing and Intergraph.
- Tasia Malakasis is owner and president of Belle Chevre, an award-winning artisan cheese producer located in Elkmont, Ala. She started her career in high tech marketing – then chose to follow her true passion and became a food entrepreneur.
- Mark Spencer is the founder and current chairman and chief technology officer at Digium, an open-source telecommunications supplier noted for its development and sponsorship of Asterisk, a Linux-based open-sourced PBX in software.
On April 17, the UAHuntsville College of Business will present the National and Regional Economic Outlook Forum at 6:30 p.m. at the Huntsville Marriott. Immediately before the forum at 5:30 p.m., a reception will be held. Featured guest speakers for the forum include Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo, and Dr. Bruce Yandle, Koch Distinguished Speaker.
The national media regularly interviews Vitner about the health and outlook of the national economy. He is the managing director responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends for the bank. Mark serves as the chief economist of the North Carolina CCIM Institute, chairs the economic advisory committee for the Bond Dealers of America, and is a member of the Joint Economic Advisory Board for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Vitner will join UAHuntsville's Koch Distinguished Speaker, Dr. Bruce Yandle for a presentation and panel discussion about the national and local economies. Yandle is an adjunct professor of Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and Dean Emeritus at Clemson University’s College of Business and Behavioral Science. He is visiting UAHuntsville as a 2012 Koch Foundation Distinguished Speaker.
Please RSVP to BusinessDean@uah.edu or call 256-824-6736 for reservations.
For more information
Joyce Anderson Maples 256.824.2101
maplesj@uah.edu
