Nine entrepreneurs graduate from CEL Advanced Core program

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nine business leaders are ready to drive their companies forward after completing the Advanced Core program in the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL).

Offered for graduates of the CEL Core program, the mentor-based Advanced Core program guides participants as they execute the plans they previously developed at the CEL. Partially funded by First Niagara Bank, the program provides an intimate and challenging environment in which classmates act as a personal advisory board for their fellow entrepreneurs, helping each other’s businesses succeed.

This year’s Advanced Core class was honored at a joint graduation for five CEL programs on June 3 at UB’s Center for the Arts.

The nine graduates were:

• Russell Cirino, Bison City Truck Parts Inc.
• Michael Fontaine, Fontrick Inc.
• Daniel Hawrylczak, State Farm
• Todd Miller, DataSol Inc.
• Michael Mulé, Designated Drivers of Buffalo
• Brian Ritter, Zenner & Ritter Inc.
• Tami Treutlein, SLC Therapy of WNY
• Frank Vacanti Jr., Weatherpanel Inc.
• Robert Vezina Jr., Life Safety

Established in 1987, the CEL provides participants with individualized and interactive education in entrepreneurship. More than 1,300 CEL alumni employ more than 22,000 Western New Yorkers, and their businesses are worth more than $2 billion to the local economy. For more information, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/cel.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.