Entrepreneurs’ Organization Announces New Orange County Leadership
Local chapter of global organization welcomes new president and board of directors.
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Orange County chapter announced its 2019–2020 leadership team, led by incoming president Keith Fiscus, owner of Innovative Career Resources. Fiscus follows in the footsteps of previous president, Jennie Rello, who served the 2018–2019 term. Fiscus was chosen to lead EO Orange County, alongside a handpicked board of directors as the chapter begins its 24th year and Global EO beings its 32nd. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s mission is to build the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs, which is accomplished by providing peer-to-peer learning and support, along with what are known as “OIL” (Once In a Lifetime) events, which are special events and speakers the organization is able to gain access to that most organizations do not have.
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization is a global business network of like-minded entrepreneurs focused on business growth, personal development, and community engagement. “The Orange County chapter will be concentrating on three main priorities this year,” said Fiscus. “We want to increase community engagement and brand awareness of EO Orange County, grow and improve the diversity of our membership—specifically women business owners, as well as business owners under 30 years of age—and increase our member value.”
EO enables entrepreneurs to learn from one another, which in turn leads to greater business success and an enriched personal life. “We provide business owners with a safe environment that promotes confidential peer-to-peer sharing and learning, along with regional and global learning and social events,” said Fiscus, “Aside from that, we offer executive education through our partnerships with the Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, MIT, and the London Business School.” Longtime member Alan Peterson agrees that this is a fundamental benefit of EO membership. “EO gave me exposure to the people, the experts, the once in a lifetime learning experiences, and the skill sets to transform who I am and my capabilities. It unleashed my potential.”
By focusing on the entrepreneur as a whole, EO takes a 360 degree approach to helping its members become better business owners, spouses/partners, parents, and overall global citizens. “The monthly learning events, with subjects ranging from HR to Sales, Marketing to Finance, Operations to better managing relationships at home and with my children, have been critical to gaining new insights in my business and in my life,” states Marketing & Communications Chair Scott Empringham from Empringham Media Group.
EO Orange County Membership Chair Georgette “Jett” Cutler, owner of Cal Elite Kids, is passionate about increasing the chapter’s membership diversity by focusing on adding local female entrepreneurs, as well as the next generation of entrepreneurs below the age of 30. Georgette is confident that the value EO has brought her personally and professionally can also bring value to new members looking to grow their organizations. “EO has made a tremendous impact on my personal and business growth. My Forum has become my trusted inner circle. They have shared their experiences of their entrepreneur journey which has pushed me to look at my business from a different perspective, hold my staff and myself to a greater level of accountability, which has resulted in the greater bottom line on my financial statements,” Georgette added.
President-elect and past Membership Chair Amit Kothari of Kothari Leadership & Business Advisory is ardent about the ROI EO Orange County provides their members, “If you heard, ‘I can join a group of peers that understands the shoes I walk in, you’d say that is interesting. If you heard that you can join a group of CEO peers and can experience local and global learning events together, you would say that is educational. If you then heard that you can join an authentic group of peers, an organization that provides local and global learning events, as well as a network of experts, you’d say sign me up!”
Some of the key roles on this year’s board are the Learning Chair Rosemary Czopek from Gorilla Stationers, who is responsible for planning and executing all social and learning events for the year; the Membership Chair (Georgette Cutler), who is responsible for recruiting new members; and the GSEA (Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards) Chair Tony Wong, owner of AirKinetics, Inc., who builds relationships with local universities and puts on a competition for students who have started their own businesses. The student entrepreneurs compete and pitch their business ideas to a panel of professionals, venture capitalists, and successful business owners. The winner goes on to the Regional completion, and then the Global Competition, which will be held at the EO Global Leadership Conference in South Africa next April. The winning student will receive $100,000 to help grow their business. This dovetails well with Fiscus’ stated goal of “how can we as local business owners give back to the community and provide leadership that will make it better for those who come after us.”
Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s 2019–2020 Leadership Team brings a breadth of executive experience from their own companies to the organization:
Keith Fiscus, President (Innovative Career Resources)
Amit Kothari, President-elect (Kothari Leadership & Business Advisory, LLC)
Jason Weaver, Finance Chair (Weaver Consulting Group)
Rosemary Czopek, Learning Chair (Gorilla Stationers, LLC)
Georgette Cutler, Membership Chair (Cal Elite Kids)
Steve Wilkes, Forum Chair (QPC Fiber Optic, LLC)
Josh Dunham, Integration Chair (Reveel Group)
Serge Sachdeva, Strategic Alliance Partners Chair (Arch Telecom)
Scott Empringham, Communications Chair (Empringham Media Group)
Amir Kahana, Accelerator Chair (Kahana & Feld, LLP)
Tony Wong, Past EOOC President & GSEA Chair (AirKinetics, Inc.)
About Entrepreneurs’ Organization
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization is a global business network of 14,000+ leading entrepreneurs in 188 chapters and 58 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is a collection of like-minded business owners focused on business growth, personal development and community engagement. It offers invaluable resources in the form of global events, leadership-development programs, an online entrepreneur forum, and executive education opportunities, among other offerings designed for personal and professional growth.
For questions about the Entrepreneurs’ Organization of Orange County please contact the Membership at membership@eooc.org