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Issue: 1009 Date: 12/24/2009
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St. Louis Hispanic Chamber Names Jorge Riopedre Executive Director
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| Jorge Riopedre, Executive Director, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis |
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ST. LOUIS (Dec. 11, 2009) - The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis named Board President Jorge A. Riopedre Jr. as its new executive director.
Riopedre, 42, of University City serves as president of the chamber until Dec. 31. He assumes the chamber's new position of executive director on Jan. 1, 2010.
Riopedre is the co-owner of CarisMedia Inc., a University City firm that produces print, broadcast and Web communications in English and Spanish.
"As the executive director of the chamber, I'm delighted to continue serving the Hispanic business community. My goal is to help Hispanic companies thrive so that they can help grow the St. Louis-area economy."
Lupita Gomez, president-elect of the chamber, praised Riopedre's leadership as outgoing president.
"Jorge has been an outstanding board member and a vocal advocate of Hispanic businesses in the metro area. We look forward to his continued work building relationships with St. Louis' corporate community and bringing value to our growing membership."
She said his tremendous experience leading the organization would enable him to execute important initiatives quickly.
"Despite the recession, this is an exciting time to be a Hispanic business owner," Riopedre said. "I'm enthusiastic about the opportunities the chamber has to offer more services to its members, educate the public about the important contributions Hispanics make to the region, and forge new and deeper partnerships with large firms in the area."
While Riopedre served as the president of the chamber's board of directors over the past year, the organization has increased membership, opened a state-of-the-art technology center to educate minority entrepreneurs, and developed more alliances with large companies that want to do business with Latino-owned firms. Under Riopedre's leadership, the chamber launched its inaugural Hispanic Speaker Series with then-Missouri Economic Development Director Linda Martínez and a variety of programs at the new Technology & Resource Center.
Riopedre is a native of Tampa, Fla., earned his bachelor's degree in mass communications from Loyola University in New Orleans, studied for his master's at St. Louis University, and has worked in the field of radio/television production for 20 years. He is a graduate of the Leadership St. Louis program and he serves on the boards of the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals, Hispanic Capitol Day, and HisPAC. He was appointed by former Gov. Matt Blunt to the Hispanic Business Culture and Trade Commission and by Gov. Jay Nixon to the Complete Count Committee. He and his wife, Shera Dalin, have one daughter, Mereya Riopedre.
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis promotes and supports the economic development of Hispanic firms and increases business opportunities for all in the St. Louis region. For more information, visit www.hccstl.com, facebook.com/hccstl or twitter.com/hccstl or 314-516-4220.
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