• Rod Castillo, Executive Director

Rod Castillo first joined the Pete Suazo Business Center as a volunteer teacher, then as Development Director, and now as the Center’s Executive Director. He is an accomplished entrepreneur, having successfully started businesses in diverse industries, with presence throughout the Western US and Latin America. He also serves in the Board of Trustees of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (edcUTAH). Rod holds BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Brigham Young University and a MBA from the University of Utah.

• Jorge Mazal, Director of Education

Jorge Mazal first got involved at The Pete Suazo Business Center as a volunteer class developer, teacher, and mentor. Throughout those months, his passion for helping minority-owned businesses grew deep; so, when asked to run our education program, he felt he couldn’t say no. Jorge joined the Center with a strong background in strategic marketing consulting with local technology and medical startups and with nationwide, US Hispanic-market accounts. Jorge holds a BS Magna cum Laude in Business Management from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, and he has completed graduate courses on poverty, inequality, and economics at the University of Utah.

• Jorge Armenta, Teacher & Mentor

During the day, Jorge Armenta works in operations management at L3 Communications; but at night, he is a hero of minority, small-business owners at the Pete Suazo Business Center. He is one of our clients’ favorite teachers and mentors.  Jorge also has extensive experience in the financial industry, having worked for Houlihan Valuation Advisors and the McKelvey Group in Washington, DC. He earned a BS with honors in Economics from the University of Maryland and a MBA with honors from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.

• Gabriel Heyn, Teacher & Mentor (Provo Office)

Gabriel Heyn is an experienced teacher and mentor at the Pete Suazo Business Center. Currently, he is a partner in and the general manager of a Wingers restaurant. Prior to that, he worked more than twenty years in a variety of finance positions for companies in the USA, Spain, and Colombia. Gabriel holds a BS in Business Management from the Escuela de Administración de Negocios in Bogotá, Colombia and a graduate degree in Economics from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain.

• Ciro Abril, Office Coordinator

Ciro Abril is the Office Coordinator at the Pete Suazo Business Center’s Salt Lake City office and teaches our computer basics class. Ciro has vast experience in adult education for Hispanic adults in a variety of areas. He holds Associate’s degrees in Business Management and Accounting.

• Ivan