May 11, 2016 – NEW YORK – Nina Vaca, Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group, a leading workforce solutions company, was inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame & Museum in collaboration with the University of Washington Foster School of Business yesterday’s evening.
Vaca is among six minority business pioneers and advocates who was inducted during the Minority Business Hall of Fame and Museum’s 12th annual inaugural induction ceremony and awards dinner at BNY Mellon in New York City.
“Nina Vaca is a true example of the kind of minority business pioneer and advocate we seek to honor and we are delighted to recognize her this evening,” Said John F. Robinson, president & CEO of the MBHF&M. “Nina’s personal business successes, while impressive, are only half of her story. The other half is her commitment to civic leadership and her relentless advocacy on behalf of minority entrepreneurs and business owners.”
Vaca, one of the most influential Latinos in the United States, founded Pinnacle Group in 1996 with $300. Now in its 20th year of business, Pinnacle Group started as a niche IT solutions provider to the Fortune 500, and has grown into one of the premier providers of workforce solutions in North America. With several thousand resources serving clients across the U.S. and Canada, Pinnacle Group has become a powerhouse in its industry, providing comprehensive talent acquisition and workforce solutions include staffing, managed services, payrolling and IC compliance, and Provade VMS vendor management software. In 2015, Pinnacle was named the Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Business in the country by the Women Presidents’ Organization, and in 2016 it had the rare honor reaching second place at this prestigious list.
Civic leadership and community engagement have always been priorities for Vaca. Even while serving as Pinnacle Group’s Chairman and CEO during periods of explosive growth, Vaca has made significant contributions as a leader and advocate within the minority and general business community. She began working with local chambers of commerce early in her career, and from 2010-2012 served as Chairman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she worked on behalf of over 4.1 million Hispanic-owned businesses. She currently serves as Chairman Emeritus of the USHCC and as Chairman of the USHCC Foundation. In 2014, Vaca was selected as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship by the Obama Administration and works to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs both in the U.S. and abroad.
“It is an honor to be included in the hall of fame of an organization so committed to preserving and recognizing pioneers in the development and growth of minority businesses” said Vaca. “The other honorees are truly impressive and I am especially humbled to be inducted along with the Billion Dollar Roundtable, because I’ve seen firsthand the amazing progress this organization has made in increasing the participation of minority businesses in the supply chains of some of the country’s greatest companies.”
Earlier this year, Vaca was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dallas Business Journal’s 2016 Minority Business Leader Awards, and Enterprising Women Magazine named her one of its 2016 Enterprising Women of the Year. She has previously been named a Most Intriguing Entrepreneur by Ernst & Young and has been named one of the 101 Most Influential Latinos by Latino Leaders magazine for the past 9 consecutive years.