Nina Vaca

hideThis article has multiple issues. Please help or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources. Please help by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. (August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject. It may need editing to conform to Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. There may be relevant discussion on the talk page. (July 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Nina Vaca
Born	Quito, Ecuador
Alma mater	Texas State University
Occupation	Chairman & CEO Pinnacle Group
Years active	1996 - Present
Board member of	Comerica Inc Kohl's Corporation Cinemark Holdings
Spouse(s)	Jim Humrichouse
Children	4

Nina Vaca is an American entrepreneur. She is the chairperson and CEO of Pinnacle Group, which was named the Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Business in the United States by the Women Presidents' Organisation in 2015 and 2018.^[1] She served as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) through the United States Department of Commerce.^[2] Vaca is part of the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows.^[3] The story of Nina Vaca and Pinnacle Group opens the Entrepreneur chapter of the McGraw-Hill textbook, "Understanding Business".^[4] Vaca was named one of the top 100 CEO’s in STEM publication by STEMconnector.^[5]

In 2017, Vaca was named a Woman of Distinction by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council^[6] and honored as a "Trailblazing Woman in Labor and Business" by the National Women's History Project.^[7]

Early life and education[]

Vaca was born in Quito, Ecuador and is the third child 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.^[8] The family moved to Texas in 1990 following Hernan Vaca's death. Vaca credits her mother's example as being a major influence on herself.^[9]

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,^[10] and Berkeley College.^[9]

Career[]

Early work[]

Vaca began working at a young age in her family's businesses. Following her father's death, she and her sister, Jessica, ran his travel agency. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Pinnacle Group[]

In 1996, Vaca founded Pinnacle Group.^[11] The staffing business became one of the fastest growing businesses owned by a woman with a gross revenue of around $1 billion in the 2010s.^[1]

Corporate boards[]

Vaca is a director of Comerica Inc. (2008–present), Kohl's Corporation (2010–present),^[12] and Cinemark Holdings (2014–present).^[13]

Civic leadership and philanthropy[]

Barack Obama appointed Vaca as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) in 2014.,^[2] an advisory group tasked with growing American entrepreneurship. In this capacity, Vaca traveled with Secretary of State Penny Pritzker to Ghana in May 2014 to promote entrepreneurship globally.^[14] Vaca served as chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce from 2010 to 2012.^[15]

Personal life[]

In July 2018, Vaca was sued in a lawsuit filed by Javier Palomarez, former president of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Palomarez claims Vaca orchestrated a campaign to destroy his reputation because he ended an alleged affair between the two. Vaca has denied the charges and filed a motion to have the case dismissed.^[16]

Appearances[]

As a PAGE Ambassador, Vaca spoke at the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit.^[17][18] She also participated as a panelist at the Women's Business Enterprise National Council's Conference and Business Fair, which Pinnacle co-chaired.^[19] Vaca was invited to speak at the Milken Institute's 2016 Global Conference, and at the Inc. Magazine 5000 Conference in 2016, 2017, 2018.^{[citation needed]}

References[]