Colorado State University’s Alumni Association Presents Business Honor to Visionary Entrepreneur

A visionary entrepreneur and president of a successful information technology services firm has been awarded the College of Business Alumna Award by Colorado State University’s Alumni Association. She will be recognized at the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Program on April 26.

The honor goes to Victoria Quintana, co-owner of Excel Professional Services, the third-largest minority-owned business in the Denver area. Quintana’s company has been acknowledged as a leader in the information technology services industry and has received numerous national awards for excellence, including "Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1998 and "Entrepreneur and Service Firm of the Year" from the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1995. In addition to the national awards, Excel Professional Services was ranked in the top 400 women-owned businesses by Working Woman Magazine and top 200 largest Hispanic-owned companies in the country by Hispanic Business Magazine.

Quintana earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the College of Business at Colorado State in 1983. After completing her degree, she worked for MCI in various management positions. In 1990, she started Excel Professional Services with her sister. The company has grown into three separate subsidiaries handling distinct services within the information technology sector. Combining the separate companies in June 2000, the company changed its name to TeamExcel. In 10 years of business, the company has grown to over $35 million in sales and revenue and employs over 250 people in four states.

Quintana has received numerous awards from the Denver business community for her professional achievements such as the "Minority Owned Business of the Year" in 1999 from the Denver Post and a sixth-place ranking in the top 100 of minority-owned businesses in Colorado by Colorado Biz magazine in 2000.

In addition to running her business, Quintana is deeply involved in community activities. She is president of the Rocky Mountain Indian chamber of commerce, which works closely with North High School in Denver to develop curriculum. She is an ambassador for Escuela De Guadalupe, a private bilingual school in northwest Denver. Quintana also serves as an ongoing resource and speaker for Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver.

Quintana has made it a priority to share her business savvy with students at the College of Business at Colorado State through the 2001 Great Entrepreneur Speaker Series.

"Victoria was an inspiration to the students in the College of Business interested in becoming entrepreneurs. By sharing her knowledge and experience that she’s gained since graduating from Colorado State, she’s provided real-world business experience for our students," said Anne McCarthy, director for the Center for Entrepreneurial and Family Enterprises.