Nina Vaca founded Pinnacle in 1996 as an information technology services provider to the Fortune 500. Today, the company’s client base includes industry leaders such as Verizon, AT&T, Citigroup, IBM, EDS, AOL, Pepsico and Motorola and core competencies such as enterprise data warehousing, custom application development, system/network architecture, and call center technologies and operations. In addition, Pinnacle provides its clientele with IT-enabled solutions in the growing area of vendor management via a proprietary solution that captures all aspects of the client-vendor relationship. Under Ms. Vaca’s leadership, Pinnacle has grown over 13 times during the past two years and now has approximately 350 employees across 15 major cities in the United States and ranks among the fastest growing technology services firms in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. In recent years, Pinnacle was named the top minority-owned (2002 & 2003), the top Hispanic-owned (2003), and the top woman-owned (2003 and 2005) business enterprise in the DFW Metroplex by the respective chambers and councils, and was recently recognized as the Supplier of the Year – West Region by the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council. Pinnacle was recently selected for induction into the Dallas 100TM list of fastest growing Dallas-area enterprises, and in 2004 was also nominated for Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur-of-the-Year award. Outside of Pinnacle, Ms. Vaca serves as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She is the 6th woman to chair the board in its 65-year history. A passionate advocate of education, Ms. Vaca led the GDHCC’s scholarship fundraising efforts for three consecutive years. In 2004, her efforts generated a record $325,000 for over 150 local college-bound Hispanic students. She is a member of numerous boards and civic organizations, including the Board of Directors of the Women’s Business Council – Southwest, The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and the Dallas Assembly. Ms. Vaca has been recognized as the Hispanic Business Woman of the Year in 2003 and 2004 by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a feat never before accomplished in the history of this prestigious award. She is recognized as one of 14 outstanding women entrepreneurs by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Ms. Vaca’s additional 2005 awards/accomplishments include: the WPO’s “25 Women who are Changing the World” award, and a nomination as one of the 50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business by the Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology magazine. Ms. Vaca is a previous recipient of the Anna Maria Arias Award, presented annually by Latina Style magazine, and is among a group of high-profile recipients of the Distinguished Women award from Northwood University, an institution that prepares individuals for productive leadership careers in a global network of free markets and private enterprise. In 2004, Ms. Vaca was selected to represent the United States abroad as a German Marshall Memorial Fellow, a program founded by the World Affairs Council designed to introduce the next generation of Western European and U.S. leaders to one another and to reinforce the trans-Atlantic relationship. Pinnacle’s and Ms. Vaca’s stories have been featured locally by Dallas’ ABC affiliate WFAA Channel 8 News and NBC’s La Vida as well as by the Dallas Business Journal, La Estrella magazine, El Hispano News, Diversity Careers in Engineering and Information Technology magazine, the United Way Annual Report, Minority Business News USA and Women’s Enterprise Magazine USA. Ms. Vaca graduated from Texas State University with a B.A. in Speech Communications and Business Administration. She has also completed advanced management programs at Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg School of Management.

ROZ L. ALFORD received a Bachelor of Science from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Institute in Frankfurt, Germany and the University of Chicago. In 1989, Roz founded and is now co-principal of ASAP Solutions Group, LLC. Roz’s primary focus at ASAP is to work closely with Nancy Williams, co-principal, to execute marketing and sales strategies by providing operations leadership and process implementation. Working closely with the ASAP team, Roz ensures processes and procedures are executed above and beyond set goals. Her visionary approach and extensive industry experience have complimented and supported the ASAP team since inception. As part of her broad responsibilities at ASAP, Roz works closely with clients to guarantee superior contract fulfillment. These efforts have significantly contributed to ASAP’s 2010 sales revenue of $73,700,000. Roz’s industry insight and business savvy have enabled ASAP to grow in a volatile economy.

The Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) elected Roz Alford to the Executive Board as Secretary. Roz actively participates in mentoring and teaching programs for WBEs throughout the nation. Recently she completed a year-long program with Seton Hill University to provide support, education and mentoring to an assigned WBE in an effort to promote women in business. Roz is also an active member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Kennedy School of Government.

In addition to her multiple business memberships, Roz is very community minded and promotes philanthropic endeavors throughout ASAP. To date, Roz is active in the Alexis de Tocqueville Society, which is an affiliate of United Way. She was instrumental in setting up a program with the Partnership Against Domestic Violence to provide opportunities for battered women. Roz also supports the American Cancer Society and various local charities and fundraising efforts.

Memberships are as follows: Georgia National Partner - WIPP and WPO.