WorldCity Business Magazine

(6) WorldCity People

by WC

HIGHER EDUCATION – FIU honors entrepreneurs

Two alumni of Florida International Universitys College of Business Administration have been inducted into the colleges Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

Margarita Gonzalez, president of AccuBANKER, and Antonio Argiz, managing partner of the Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra accounting firm, received the honors in a ceremony May 16.

AccuBANKER provides technology services to retailers and banks, which allows them to cut costs by reducing the time associated with processing cash. Gonzalez, who has a B.A. from FIU, is a co-founder of the company. The company operates in 42 countries.

Argiz, who graduated from FIU with a B.A. degree in 1974, has helped lead his firm from 50 to 250 employees as revenue rose to $44 million from $8 million.

FIU also honored Miriam Lopez, chairman of TransAtlantic Bank, as South Florida Entrepreneur of the Year. Although not an FIU alumna, Lopez has forged close ties to FIUs business school, noted Joyce Elam, the colleges executive dean. She is a former chairman of both the American
Bankers Association and served as president of the Florida Bankers Association.

LAW – Miamian gets new post at ABA

William D. Rohrer, a shareholder in the Carlton Fields law firm, has been named co-chair of the International Tax Committee for the international section of the American Bar Association. Rohrer had previously served as vice chair of the committee.

As more and more foreign businesses seek attractive locations for regional offices in the U.S. and vice versa taxation inevitably plays a large role in these complex decisions, says Rohrer, who works in the firms Miami office. Furthermore, as immigration into the U.S. increases exponentially, there are complex tax rules that are not understood very well and full of pitfalls for the uninitiated.

Rohrer is in a unique position to serve the tax law committee. Hes also a CPA. At Carlton Fields, is legal practice focuses on areas like international tax planning, tax litigation and estate planning. Rohrer is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Law and earned his masters in taxation from the New York University law school.

MEDIA – Salup changes firms

Marcelo Salup has joined the Miami office of Universal McCann. Universal McCann is among the top media specialist organizations in Latin America. Its client list includes luminary corporations such as LOreal, Coke, General Motors and MasterCard.

McCann formerly spent 14 years at Foote Cone & Belding advertising agency, first as regional and then international media director. He also spent one year at Grupouno as marketing director.

McCanns responsibilities will be managing director for the Miami, Caribbean and Central America regions. The Universal McCann local office is at 5820 Blue Lagoon Drive. Salup can be reached at marcelo@salup.com or 305-215-7229.

LAW/CONSTRUCTION – Akerman construction group builds

Fast-growing Akerman Senterfitt law firm has hired Jason L. Molder for its construction practice group in Fort Lauderdale. Molder will concentrate on contract drafting, construction litigation and disaster preparedness, among other subjects. A 2002 grad of the University of Miami Law School, he was previously with Ferencik, Libanoff, Brandt.

PHARMACEUTICALS – Merck Latin exec promoted

David Greeley is moving on from his long-position of handling public affairs for the Latin/Caribbean region of drug giant Merck & Co.

Greeley will be succeeded by Clemens Caicedo. He will be based at Mercks New Jersey headquarters. Clemens, a native of Colombia, has been with Merck more than 28 years.

Greeley will now be responsible for Mercks HIV/AIDS programs globally. Merck has long been a leader in making AIDS medicines affordable in developing countries, including a cutting-edge partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Botswana.