Temple, TX – November 7, 2012 – Jennifer Graham, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Central Texas Entrepreneur Center, or CTEC, announced today the hiring of Vane Hugo as the Executive Director.
Vane brings a varied background to the Entrepreneur Center. He graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Business Management. He served, primarily as a pilot, in the US Air Force for 22 years and is a veteran of both Vietnam and Desert Storm. While in the service he broadened his experience serving in air logistics, training development, base supply and transportation. Also he obtained a dual major Master’s Degree in Business Management and Human Relations and a second Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. Following his Air Force career, he worked briefly for Hughes Training, Inc. in Arlington, Texas leading courseware developers, while adding to his training development and people skills. He then joined the Wal-Mart information systems division working as a systems analyst and for over ten years as an IT manager. He continued to seek out broadening opportunities, directing the transformation of the Wal-Mart Aviation department, moving them from a small regional operation to a global transportation service for Wal-Mart executives. He spent over three years serving Wal-Mart in Brazil, as they grew from 5 stores to almost 500 stores, through strategic acquisition. His time at Wal-Mart exposed him to some of the great business leaders. Following Wal-Mart he returned to his native Texas and worked for Hewlett-Packard in IT management.
Vane is married to Sandra and they have two children, Vanessa and Julie. He and Sandy live in Salado. Vane’s hobbies include woodworking and stock investing. Vane brings a broad experience base and a true desire to build a world class organization to help the Central Texas economy grow and prosper. Vane genuinely cares about people and excels at mentoring and team building.
The hiring committee sought applications through the National Business Incubator Association, Central Texas Workforce, and through other Entrepreneurial networks. The committee was impressed with the high caliber of applicants and found ourselves overwhelmed by the credentials, experiences and entrepreneurial knowledge that the applicants brought to the table.
Mr. Hugo set himself apart through his thorough understanding of the business and IT environment, his career in the military, his high level work with Wal-Mart and HP, and his passion for mentoring business start ups with the necessary services, training, and funding necessary for success. The team doesn’t expect it to take him long to engage in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Central Texas and was pleased that he already had begun a strategic plan to create an entrepreneurial hub in downtown Temple.
The Central Texas Entrepreneur Center, formerly the Temple Business Incubator, a non-profit business incubator located in downtown Temple, is currently undergoing a major re-chartering, in which, along with a name change, the new Executive Director has been hired. The general purpose of a business incubator is to assist individuals who may be interested in starting a business. In the past, the Temple Business Incubator served this purpose by providing nicely furnished office space in a friendly, supportive office environment. Under the re-chartering of CTEC, additional services will be provided to help entrepreneurs achieve high wealth goals with innovative ideas, technology and services. Individuals, who may be interested in starting a business, who are in the process of starting a business, or those who seek assistance with growing their existing business; can opt into different levels of membership, service packages and business counseling.
Primarily, the new Executive Director will be charged with overseeing the transformation of the Temple business incubator into the Entrepreneur Center, serving the entire Central Texas region. He will be responsible, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, for developing an appropriate strategy for CTEC. Additionally, the director will create and execute an operational plan that reflects the agreed strategy, while ensuring the prospective clients are presented with appropriate services or packages of services that are designed to meet their needs.