Jersey City, N.J. – August 21, 2019 – Saint Peter’s University today announced that Carlos Miguel Gutierrez, founder and CEO of the strategic advisory firm Highline Point Group, LLC., has been appointed to the position of director of the Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University, a Center of Excellence. The Ignite Institute was designed to spark the spirit of entrepreneurship through education, business planning, community-partnered programs and research both on campus and regionally.
Gutierrez is a dedicated investor and advocate for entrepreneurship. His company, Highline Point Group, LLC., is committed to helping early stage companies and innovators achieve business goals and overcome challenges. In addition to his role at Highline Point Group, LLC., Gutierrez also serves as managing director of Golden Seeds, one of the nation’s most active early stage investment firms focused on investing in women-led businesses. He has also advised, mentored, or invested in companies across various sectors including Ed-Tech, Cybersecurity, Venture Capital, and Financial Services.
“The University could not have been more fortunate to tap Carlos to lead the Ignite Institute,” said Mary Kate Naatus, Ph.D., KPMG dean of the School of Business at Saint Peter’s University. “As an advisor, mentor and investor for entrepreneurs, he has the optimal mix of experience and dedication that is necessary to lead the Institute.”
The Ignite Institute currently serves as a hub for entrepreneurial empowerment in Jersey City and beyond. The Institute offers a variety of programming that partners Saint Peter’s students with local entrepreneurs, small businesses, microbusiness owners, advocacy groups, non-profits and more. The Institute hosts and sponsors annual events such as the Local Living Economy Summit and Women Entrepreneurship Day.
“Entrepreneurship is an important tool to spur economic development and empowerment. I am incredibly excited to continue building on the Ignite Institute’s impactful work to foster entrepreneurship on campus, regionally, and nationally,” said Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar, a selective leadership development initiative that draws upon the resources of the presidential centers of Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton and George W. Bush. A former resident of Washington DC, Gutierrez perennially appeared on Washington Life Magazine’s annual The Young and The Guest List, which names Washington DC’s most influential leaders under 40. In 2014, he was named one of Washington DC’s “Leaders of the Future” by Latino Leaders magazine.
An avid writer, Gutierrez is a contributor to The Huffington Post, The Jerusalem Post, Asia Times and the Times of Israel. His writing has also been featured in CNBC, Univision and El Pais. Gutierrez also serves as a Board Member of American Friends of Soroka Medical Center and Cuba Skate. He is a mentor in the LBAN-Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, which focuses on helping Latino entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Gutierrez holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
To learn more about the Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University, please visit saintpeters.edu/centers-institutes/ignite-institute/.
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Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment.
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