Newark, NJ - On October 7th, entrepreneurs from throughout the state and the nation will join together in honoring business leaders Beatriz (Betty) Manetta, M.S.I.B. '98 and Sunny Bathla '00/M.B.A. '15 as they are inducted into the Seton Hall University Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Hall of Fame dinner, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies will also honor Earlene Cruz ’14, founder of Kitchen Connection, with the Emerging Entrepreneur Award. The Master of Ceremonies will be Ray Hoffman, host and producer of CEO Radio on WCBS 880 AM. The Hall of Fame dinner is just one of many events taking place this year as part of the Stillman School of Business’ 65th anniversary celebration.
“We want to celebrate the impressive achievements of our alumni entrepreneurs and inspire the next generation. Our alumni are incredible role models for our students. When our entrepreneurship students meet our Hall of Fame inductees, it plants the idea that they, too, can turn a dream for a startup business into a reality,” says Susan Scherreik, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, in making the announcement.
The funds donated enable the Center and the Stillman School of Business to create programs that allow students to experience many different aspects of entrepreneurship, explained Scherreik. These include the annual Pirates Pitch New Venture Fund Competition, which awards $10,000 in prizes to Seton Hall students with the best business ideas or startups, and a recently launched Pirates Pitch competition for high school students.
Manetta is founder, president and CEO of Argent Associates, Inc. and Asociar, LLC. She holds a master’s degree in international business from Seton Hall University, where she received the Beta Gama Sigma Award for contributing significantly to the vitality and strength of the economy, combining business achievement with service to humanity. Manetta worked in corporate America for 20 years. The knowledge, skills, training and assignments in human resources, sales, technical support, quality management, and focus on both national and international were great tools for an entrepreneur. She founded Argent Associates in 1998 and Asociar, LLC in 2012. Key personal networks and relationships had been woven and were a critical element in helping to launch both companies.
Believing in the importance of supporting and serving the community and advocating for minority, women and small businesses, Manetta shares her perspectives and expertise with many organizations, including serving on the Seton Hall University Board of Regents, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Supply Chain Management Advisory Board, the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Women's Business Council Southwest Board of Directors. She served on the President's Export Council (PEC), which advised President G.W. Bush on international trade matters and its impact on small, women and minority owned businesses. She currently serves on the board of the United States Hispanic Advocacy Association and QuEST Forum where she is an executive contributor focusing on small business and sustainability issues as it relates to quality. Manetta is an active participant with the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Sunny Bathla is the founder of OSB Consulting, a specialized consulting services firm that he sold to Virtusa Corporation in 2013. Virtusa is a global information technology (IT) services company providing IT consulting, technology and outsourcing services where Bathla currently serves as a vice president. He heads up the global business consulting and information technology firm's SAP (Systems, Applications and Processes) North America practice.
Bathla, who was raised in Millington, NJ, graduated from the Stillman School with a B.S. in finance in 2000. He then worked as a financial analyst for Deutsche Bank and later became a consultant at the Siegfried Group and Rothstein Kass & Company. In 2003, Bathla returned to the Stillman School, enrolling in the M.B.A. program for accounting. In 2007, while still a student, he launched OSB Consulting in his home basement in Basking Ridge. As his business rapidly grew, he hired fellow Stillman M.B.A. students to work for OSB Consulting, several of whom still work with him today.
In 2012, Inc. magazine, a leading publication specializing in entrepreneurship, ranked OSB Consulting the 240th fastest growing small business in the United States. The firm, based in Warren, employed a staff of 75 and clients were Fortune 500 companies in the financial services and insurance industries. Bathla sold OSB Consulting to Virtusa to ensure the future growth of his staff and the business by taking advantage of Virtusa's global footprint. His love for business began at the age of 13 while working alongside his father Om. He attributes his desire to become an entrepreneur to his father, an Indian immigrant who owns and operates restaurants in New Jersey. Bathla came up with the name for his company, OSB Consulting, by combining their initials. Bathla serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He enjoys mentoring entrepreneurship students and recent graduates who are launching ventures. Active in the Seton Hall community, he has made a commitment to give back to Seton Hall by creating scholarships for Stillman students.
“In today’s business world, everyone must have entrepreneurial skills, whether you work for a large corporate, mid-sized company or a startup. Every professional must be innovative, flexible, creative and able to identify new business opportunities in a fast-changing, global environment,” said Scherreik.
For more information, please visit » Seton Hall Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
For more information please contact: Laurie Pine, (973) 378-2638, laurie.pine@shu.edu
The funds donated enable the Center and the Stillman School of Business to create programs that allow students to experience many different aspects of entrepreneurship, explained Scherreik. These include the annual Pirates Pitch New Venture Fund Competition, which awards $10,000 in prizes to Seton Hall students with the best business ideas or startups, and a recently launched Pirates Pitch competition for high school students.
Manetta is founder, president and CEO of Argent Associates, Inc. and Asociar, LLC. She holds a master’s degree in international business from Seton Hall University, where she received the Beta Gama Sigma Award for contributing significantly to the vitality and strength of the economy, combining business achievement with service to humanity. Manetta worked in corporate America for 20 years. The knowledge, skills, training and assignments in human resources, sales, technical support, quality management, and focus on both national and international were great tools for an entrepreneur. She founded Argent Associates in 1998 and Asociar, LLC in 2012. Key personal networks and relationships had been woven and were a critical element in helping to launch both companies.
Believing in the importance of supporting and serving the community and advocating for minority, women and small businesses, Manetta shares her perspectives and expertise with many organizations, including serving on the Seton Hall University Board of Regents, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Supply Chain Management Advisory Board, the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Women's Business Council Southwest Board of Directors. She served on the President's Export Council (PEC), which advised President G.W. Bush on international trade matters and its impact on small, women and minority owned businesses. She currently serves on the board of the United States Hispanic Advocacy Association and QuEST Forum where she is an executive contributor focusing on small business and sustainability issues as it relates to quality. Manetta is an active participant with the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Sunny Bathla is the founder of OSB Consulting, a specialized consulting services firm that he sold to Virtusa Corporation in 2013. Virtusa is a global information technology (IT) services company providing IT consulting, technology and outsourcing services where Bathla currently serves as a vice president. He heads up the global business consulting and information technology firm's SAP (Systems, Applications and Processes) North America practice.
Bathla, who was raised in Millington, NJ, graduated from the Stillman School with a B.S. in finance in 2000. He then worked as a financial analyst for Deutsche Bank and later became a consultant at the Siegfried Group and Rothstein Kass & Company. In 2003, Bathla returned to the Stillman School, enrolling in the M.B.A. program for accounting. In 2007, while still a student, he launched OSB Consulting in his home basement in Basking Ridge. As his business rapidly grew, he hired fellow Stillman M.B.A. students to work for OSB Consulting, several of whom still work with him today.
In 2012, Inc. magazine, a leading publication specializing in entrepreneurship, ranked OSB Consulting the 240th fastest growing small business in the United States. The firm, based in Warren, employed a staff of 75 and clients were Fortune 500 companies in the financial services and insurance industries. Bathla sold OSB Consulting to Virtusa to ensure the future growth of his staff and the business by taking advantage of Virtusa's global footprint. His love for business began at the age of 13 while working alongside his father Om. He attributes his desire to become an entrepreneur to his father, an Indian immigrant who owns and operates restaurants in New Jersey. Bathla came up with the name for his company, OSB Consulting, by combining their initials. Bathla serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He enjoys mentoring entrepreneurship students and recent graduates who are launching ventures. Active in the Seton Hall community, he has made a commitment to give back to Seton Hall by creating scholarships for Stillman students.
“In today’s business world, everyone must have entrepreneurial skills, whether you work for a large corporate, mid-sized company or a startup. Every professional must be innovative, flexible, creative and able to identify new business opportunities in a fast-changing, global environment,” said Scherreik.
For more information, please visit » Seton Hall Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
For more information please contact: Laurie Pine, (973) 378-2638, laurie.pine@shu.edu