Los Angeles, CA–(HISPANIC PR WIRE – BUSINESS WIRE)–August 24, 2007–Hector Barreto, former five year administrator of United States Small Business Administration, current Chairman of the Latino Coalition and a national business leader, has been elected Chairman of Business Matchmaking, the nation’s leading non-profit small business procurement program.
Business Matchmaking (BMM) brings together primarily women, minority and veteran owned small business owners with procurement representatives of federal and local government agencies and several hundred major corporations. The three year program has been responsible for over 51,000 face to face meetings and facilitated the granting of more than $800,000,000 in contracts for small firms. BMM also manages an active online training and procurement site:
http://www.businessmatchmaking.com.
All programs are free to small business participants, and the events are funded by corporate sponsors including the lead company, HP, along with American Airlines, Federal Express, Aflac, National Merchant Center, Triad Insurance, Sprint, Lockheed Martin and others.
SCORE, counselors to America’s small businesses, is the co-sponsor of the BMM program.
“Hector Barreto brings outstanding leadership and a track record of great achievement in promoting small business procurement opportunities,” Diane Kegley, Producer of Business Matchmaking, and Kenneth Yancey, CEO of SCORE, said in a joint statement.
Barreto, a frequent media guest and speaker on small business topics, is also the author of “The Engine of America” being published in September by Wiley and Associates. The book focuses on corporate success stories with lessons for entrepreneurs who are growing their companies.
Barreto has relocated to his home state of California, and was recently appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the state’s Economic Development Commission.
The next major BMM event is the Midwestern Business Matchmaking on August 28 in Chicago, followed by a regional event in Dallas on November 1 and one in Little Rock on December 10.
About Business Matchmaking
Business Matchmaking is a public-private initiative with live events and online meetings for small businesses to secure contract opportunities with government agencies and major corporations. The events are produced by Business Matchmaking Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
