National Society of Hispanic MBAs Conference and Career Expo Attracts Thousands of Students and Professionals

DALLAS, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last month, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) hosted their 23^rd Annual Conference and Career Expo at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The theme of the event was Invest. Connect. Accelerate.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110831/DC60133LOGO)

Nearly 4,500 students and professionals attended looking for jobs, networking opportunities, career management and professional development training. They were not disappointed. More than 200 Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits and academic institutions took part, lending their support to the NSHMBA mission of increasing the number of Hispanics obtaining MBAs, having access to the nation's top jobs and world-class professional development.

"This year we had almost 20% of our MBA class attend NSHMBA.  The students had 10 pre-scheduled interviews and landed 24 on-site interviews at the Expo, and one student has received an internship offer on site!  The 2013 NSHMBA Career Expo will continue to be one of our key career development initiatives next year," said Paul C. Allaire, Associate Director, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia.

Pre-conference events began with the Power of the Hispanic Market, a panel discussion comprised of public officials, a national journalist, a representative from the Pew Hispanic Center, business leaders and NSHMBA CEO Manny Gonzalez. The Walt Disney Company sponsored the event, and the media host WFTV, ABC Channel 9 streamed the event live on its website. The panel examined the issues of most importance to Hispanics. Topics included the burgeoning Hispanic influence in the U.S. With buying power of $1.1 trillion and over 15% of eligible political voters, Hispanics are in the spotlight like never before.

Thursday saw the professional development day with seminars, workshops and networking events held by organizations including Target, Coca-Cola, Vanguard, Pitney Bowes, Northwestern Mutual, Dell, Dale Carnegie and McDonald's.

Notable speakers during the conference included:

• Eric Affeldt, CEO, ClubCorp – "The Deal" is Only the Start: Improving Successfully Stagnant Companies;
• Martin Alvarez, Executive Director, Multi-Country Latin America and General Manager, Dell – From Personal Journeys to Shaping Personal Success; and
• Fred Diaz, President and CEO, Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group, LLC – Latino Leadership Renaissance.

Conference and Career Expo highlights:

• Hispanics accounted for 51 percent of the attendees.
• 38 percent of attendees registered as MBA students, up 4 percent from last year. With 54 percent of the students from the country's top 50 universities*. 
• Professionals attending the event work within accounting/finance, marketing and strategic management/consulting disciplines.
• More than 1,800 interviews took place during the career expo.
• The career management center was a hive of activity with attendees taking full advantage of its services.
• The successful launch of NSHMBA's Ignite Undergraduate Program, with sessions designed to help undergraduate students find that first critical job.

"NSHMBA not only recognizes the importance of the Hispanic community but also the challenges to getting on the right career path," said Manny Gonzalez, NSHMBA CEO. "We are delighted that our sponsors and attendees continue to support NSHMBA. They understand our conference is THE place to be because we offer real job opportunities, world-class career and professional development and unrivalled networking opportunities that will help shape the Hispanic leaders of the future."

Events sponsors included Dell, UnitedHealth Group, Florida International University and NektPro.

NSHMBA's 24^th Annual Conference and Career Expo will be held in San Antonio, October 9-12, 2013.

Click here for more details about this year's conference.

About the National Society of Hispanic MBAs
The National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) was created in 1988 as a nonprofit organization. Widely known as the "Premier Hispanic Organization," NSHMBA serves 37 chapters and more than 17,000 members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. NSHMBA is dedicated to building and advancing Hispanic leadership, advocating the pursuit of higher education and providing its members with world-class career management programs. For more information, visit www.nshmba.org.

*based on U.S. News and World Report 2012 list of top 50 MBA programs.

SOURCE National Society of Hispanic MBAs - National Office