HispanicBusiness

A full-service advertising firm that specializes in human-resources recruitment advertising. G&G has offices in New York, Orlando, Miami, Dallas, and Los Angeles, with plans to open offices soon in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Founder and CEO Edward Gonzalez, a two-time HISPANIC BUSINESS Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, reports that revenues have grown 42 percent in the last year.

Alexandro Espinoza
California Capital Cos., Ontario, CA ● $66.5 million
California Capital Cos. is a mortgage bank that provides financing for the real estate needs of the Hispanic community. Realizing that a new approach was needed to reach that market, CEO Alexandro Espinoza and his company have developed California Capital Kiosks, full-service centers that can be placed inside any retail store.

Carlos Cardona and Oscar Coen
Yupi Internet, Miami Beach, FL ● $3.2 million
Mr. Cardona and Mr. Coen founded Yupi in 1997 with an eye toward bridging the digital divide by providing high-quality Spanish-language Internet solutions. Since its founding, the company has grown from a simple directory to the most trafficked Spanish-language destination on the Web. In May it launched amarillas.com, a B2B Web site that enables companies to conduct trade with Latin America and Spain.

Rafael Cuellar
ECO & Sons Inc., Passaic, NJ ● $13.5 million
Mr. Cuellar founded the President Supermarket in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1984 to serve the community and promote the ideals of corporate stewardship. Facing competition from two chain supermarkets and several small bodegas, the company has remodeled the store and has made a strong effort to become involved in community organizations. And the company recently launched an e-commerce site called www.LatinoNetShopper.com.

Victor Roman
Roman Realty, Stamford, CT ● $10.5 million
Mr. Roman describes his business mission as promoting home ownership for Hispanics. Last year, he sold $47 million worth of residential real estate in the Stamford, Connecticut, market. He has ranked as the top Century 21 agent in New England for the last two years, and he has worked with major banks to improve their minority home finance programs.

Louis Restrepo
Omicron Safety and Risk Technologies, Albuquerque, NM ● $1.4 million
Industrial and government clients turn to Omicron for evaluation and risk analysis on safety and environmental problems. Projects range from consulting assignments at nuclear reactors to writing safety handbooks for the Department of Energy. Omicron is certified under the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program.

Ismael Chavez
Casa de Cambio and Alpha Signs, Antioch, TN ● $450,000
A sign design, manufacturing, and installation company, Casa de Cambio and Alpha Signs is turning its focus toward emerging technologies. Setting aside a significant portion of its profit for product development, the company expects to find rewarding opportunities in color digital large-format signage.

Armando Chapelli Jr.
Washington Consulting Group and El Tiempo Latino, Arlington, VA ● $1 million
Armando Chapelli is publisher of El Tiempo Latino, the leading Spanish-language weekly newspaper serving the Washington D.C. metro market. The paper’s circulation is 27,500. El Tiempo Latino is an employee-owned operation, and it donates at least 10 percent of net profits to community minority youth.

Tino Ornelas
Ornelas Enterprises, Hillsboro, OR ● $1.9 million
Ornelas Enterprises Inc., an electronics assembly and manufacturing company, is located in the “Silicon Forest” area of Oregon – a location that provides OEI with lots of business opportunities as well as about 100 direct competitors. In February of this year the company received ISO 9002 certification, and since that time sales have tripled.

Sponsors

As sponsor of the 2000 HISPANIC BUSINESS Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Award ceremony, Goldman Sachs was a key participant in honoring this year’s winner, runner-up, and finalists at the event, held November 15 at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel.

Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking and securities firm, providing a full range of investing, advisory, and financing services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals.

Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is one of the nation’s oldest and largest investment banking firms. After more than a century as a private partnership, it became a public company in 1999. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is headquartered in New York and has more than 20,000 employees throughout its 41 offices in 23 countries around the globe.

Also sponsoring this year’s EOY award ceremony were Microsoft, Ford Motor Co., Fox Sports World Español, 7-Eleven, Dewar’s, Hewlett Packard, and Health Net. Ford’s Minority Supplier/Minority Dealer division addressed the issue of “Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship”; Fox Sports World Español recognized Hispanic entrepreneurial achievements; and Microsoft presented BCentral.com. All three were Platinum Sponsors.

Health Net announced a new cross-border health plan, Salud con Health Net, that will enable Hispanics to obtain healthcare services in the United States and Mexico; 7-Eleven discussed franchising opportunities; and Dewar’s presented its new 12-year-old scotch. All were Event Sponsors. Hewlett Packard showcased its latest digital photography technology.