SDSU recently announced that Carmen Bianchi, director of the EMC Business Forum, has been chosen as president-elect of the Family Firm Institute (FFI). The Family Firm Institute is the premier organization in the U.S. for professionals specializing in family business.

Carmen Bianchi

Ms. Bianchi has been a family business consultant since 1991. Her expertise lies in family systems and the relationship between family, business ownership and the professional roles within a family firm. She teaches in the SDSU graduate business program on Family Business Management and is also the principal of Carmal & Associates, a consulting firm. Ms. Bianchi is a fellow of the Family Firm Institute and has been a member for 17 years. Throughout her time with the organization, she has held many positions including chairman of the International Committee and the Awards Committee. Earlier this month, Bianchi and SDSU College of Business Dean Gail Naughton traveled to Hong Kong to conduct a Family Business Forum in partnership between SDSU and Chinese University of Hong Kong. Both were recently honored as “Women Who Mean Business” by the San Diego Business Journal.

   The EMC Emerging Growth Workshop has been specifically designed to address key issues faced by alumni-founded and San Diego-based firms. It features quarterly members-only sessions moderated by expert facilitators, roundtable discussion groups, access to premier SDSU-hosted professional development and networking events, and more. Topics include strategic business planning, corporate governance, financial planning/cash flow management, transition/succession planning, exit strategies, and estate planning. Considerable sponsor resources and an efficient member networking system will further help companies to successfully address the significant challenges and capitalize on the numerous opportunities associated with entrepreneurial companies. For further questions, or to join the Emerging Growth Workshop, please contact Keely Bamberg at kbamberg@project.sdsu.edu.

Robert Schulte (MS ’05) launched vAudit while earning his degree in Entrepreneurship at SDSU. The company develops software for corporate tax departments to reduce the time-consuming and costly effort required for reporting sales and use taxes across multiple jurisdictions. vAudit was a hit with judges back in the spring of 2004, when Schulte and co-founder Marc Staheli (MS ’05) competed in the prestigious Moot Corp. competition and the Rice Business Plan Competition.

Since that time the venture has grown considerably, attracting investors and building up an impressive client base. In November, the company hired Larry Wolfe to serve as vAudit CEO. Wolfe served at Intuit Inc. from 1987 until his retirement in 2001 as senior vice president in the tax division, where he was in charge of the TurboTax line of products and was responsible for launching TurboTax on the web. vAudit co-founder and CTO Staheli was named Oracle's 2006 SMB Architect of the Year, and vAudit will be featured in Oracle advertising campaigns in the coming months. vAudit is also in the process of hiring 10 new employees and predicts another successful year for 2007.

Launched by SDSU alum Gonzalo Vidano (MS '05), Qnexo helps companies in finding efficient service providers to which they can outsource different business processes that consume time and valuable resources.

Qnexo has formed alliances with leading offshore vendors in the Call Center Management and Translations Services fields to provide businesses in the United States with convenient access to world class services at very competitive costs. As a partner to these vendors, Qnexo’s goal is to ensure the delivery of effective results by actively participating with the client in every phase of outsourcing their business processes.

During his two years at SDSU, Gonzalo had five internships through the EMC at entrepreneurial organizations, which helped contribute to his vision of creating a value-driven business model to assist companies in increasing efficiency and helping them to grow.

Freedom Grill, "The Official Grill of Tailgating," was recently announced as an addition to the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The No. 15 truck carried Freedom Grill as its primary sponsor for the September 16th running of the New Hampshire 200.

Freedom Grill, founded by SDSU alumni Scott Salter, manufactures cooking grills made especially for the tailgate enthusiast. The company has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Reader's Digest. Its most recent product offering, the FG-50, was picked by CNN as one of their ten featured products at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show. Motor Trend recently listed the FG-50 as one of the best gifts for Father’s Day.