Nina G. Vaca

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Nina Vaca is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader. She is best known as the Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group, which was named the Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Business in the United States in 2015. Vaca is the Chairman Emeritus of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (following her service as Chair from 2010-2012), as well as Chairman of the USHCC Foundation. She currently serves as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) through the United States Department of Commerce and sits on the boards of three publicly-traded companies. Vaca is part of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows, from the Aspen Institute, a new generation of leaders to positively impact society. The story of Nina Vaca and Pinnacle Group opens the Entrepreneur chapter of the McGraw-Hill textbook, "Understanding Business". Vaca is part of the 100 CEO Leaders in STEM publication by STEMconnector, in an effort to identify, showcase, and honor STEM leadership.

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Early life and education

Vaca was born in Quito, Ecuador and is the third of parents Amanda and Hernan Vaca's five children. The family spent the majority of Vaca's childhood living in Los Angeles, California where her parents owned several small businesses and encouraged the entrepreneurial spirit in Vaca and her siblings. The family moved to Texas in 1990 following Hernan Vaca's death. Vaca credits her mother's example as being a major influence on Vaca, and a key reason for her strong civic involvement.

Vaca began college at Texas State University shortly after relocating to Texas and graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications and a minor in Business Administration. She later completed executive education programs at Harvard Business School - Corporate Governance Executive Program, Tuck School of Business, and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Vaca was named a Distinguished Alumna of Texas State University in 2012, and was the youngest alumna in university history to be honored with this award. Vaca also holds honorary doctorates from Northwood University, Mount Mary University, and Berkeley College

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Career

Early Work

Like all her siblings, Vaca began working at a young age in her family's businesses. Following their father's death, she and her sister, Jessica, ran his travel agency to prepare it for sale. After college graduation, Vaca moved to New York City to begin work in the IT Industry and then relocated to Dallas, Texas to work at Computer Development Services, Inc.

Pinnacle Group

In 1996, Vaca founded Pinnacle Group with $300. What started out as a one-woman IT staffing business grew to become the fastest-growing women-owned business in the United States in 2015 with a gross revenue of around $1 billion. Over the years, Vaca made strategic decisions to diversify Pinnacle's service offerings and geographic reach to make it stronger and more resilient, which allowed the company to continue growing even during times of recession. A new brand platform for Pinnacle Technical Resources, Inc. was launched in 2015 when it became Pinnacle Group. This change better reflects the company's status as a workforce solutions provider with several distinct brands and service lines, including: Pinnacle Talent Solutions (IT staffing and professional services), Pinnacle MSP (managed services), Pinnacle Canada (staffing and outsourced services), and Pinnacle Payrolling (payrolling and IC compliance). Pinnacle Group and its subsidiaries currently serve clients in 48 states and Canada.

Corporate Boards

Vaca is a director of Comerica Inc. (2008-present), Kohl's Corporation (2010-present), and Cinemark Holdings (2014-present).

Nina Vaca Shows Small Businesses Are Big Players

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Civic leadership and philanthropy

President Obama appointed Vaca as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) in 2014. The goal of the program is to develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad. In this capacity, Vaca traveled with Secretary of State Penny Pritzker to Ghana in May 2014 to promote entrepreneurship globally.

In 2014, the USHCC Foundation created a board of directors, and announced Vaca as its inaugural Chairman of the Board. In this role she serves to further develop the USHCC's charitable activities and educational programs. As part of her work for the USHCC foundation, Vaca helped found At the Table: Women in Business in Leadership, an initiative to ensure that women entrepreneurs and professionals are receiving resources and influence to propel them to higher levels of success.

Vaca served as Chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce from 2010-2012. She is credited with helping bring about the USHCC's renaissance by initiating and executing historic structural changes, creating a scholarship program for entrepreneurs, and overseeing three of the organizations most successful conventions.

In 2011, Vaca was named a founding board member for the Startup America Partnership. Vaca has been a German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and a member of the British American Project. Vaca has also served as a Mentor for the Peace Through Business program, a business training and mentorship program for women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda.

Vaca is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, the Women Presidents' Organization, and the Dallas Citizens Council. She is also active in the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) - Southwest, as well as the DFW National Minority Supplier Development Council.

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Appearances

Vaca has appeared in a variety of publications, including Hispanic Executive, CNNMoney, NBC Latino, the Dallas Business Journal, and D Magazine, and Latina Style.

As a PAGE Ambassador, Vaca was a panelist at the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley. She also participated as a panelist at the Women's Business Enterprise National Council's 2016 Conference and Business Fair, which Pinnacle co-chaired. Vaca was invited to speak at the Milken Institute's 2016 Global Conference in which she in the panel, "Marketplace Influence Empowers the New Latina," which discussed the Latina influence on economic growth in the U.S. In 2016, Vaca became part of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows, from the Aspen Institute.

Vaca has been on CNBC Squawk Box, FOX News, CBS Evening News, and Comcast Newsmakers.

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Awards

2017 - National Women's History Project National Women's History Month Award
2017 - 50 Most Powerful Latinas of 2017
2017 - Women Of Distinction from Women's Business Enterprise National Council
2017 - Women Of Impact Award from Off the Field Players - NFL
2016 - AT&T Supplier Award (Pinnacle Group)
2016 - Minority Business Hall of Fame and Museum (MBHF&M) Inductee
2016 - Second Fastest-Growing Women Owned/Led Company by the Women Presidents' Organization
2016 - Annual Enterprising Women of the Year Award
2016 - Lifetime Achievement Award from Dallas Business Journal's
2016 - The Staffing 100 by Staffing Industry Analysts
2015 - Fastest-Growing Women Owned/Led Company Worldwide by the Women Presidents' Organization
2015 - The Global Power 100 - Women in Staffing by Staffing Industry Analysts
2015 - Women of ALPFA Latina Excellence Award
2008 - Present - 101 Most Influential Latinos by Latino Leaders Magazine
2013 - 2014 - The Staffing 100, one of the 100 Most Influential People in Staffing by Staffing Industry Analysts
2013 - Most Intriguing Entrepreneur by Goldman Sachs
2013 - NBC Innovator
2005 - Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year/Hall of Fame Inductee