The Eller College of Management has selected a new director to take over the top-ranked McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.

Remy Arteaga, an entrepreneur himself, began his position in education after spending over 20 years working on startups, accelerators and corporate innovation initiatives, according to the Eller website.

He began his jump into the field of entrepreneurship after he got his first opportunity to launch his business in digital printing.

Afterward, Arteaga said he went back to school after having a degree in electrical engineering to earn his MBA in entrepreneurship and innovation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Before coming to Tucson, Arteaga was CEO of DualAlign LLC, served as director at the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship in the University of Colorado school of business and executive director of a non-profit in charge of Latino entrepreneurship programs at Stanford.

He also co-authored an innovation and entrepreneurship book titled “Pivot.”

“I decided to—instead of being focused on shareholder value, my wealth and myself—to look outward and look at the impact I can have in the world around me specifically in an entrepreneurship center,” Arteaga said.

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According to the Eller website, U.S. News & World Report ranked the McGuire center at No. 3 among undergraduate programs and No. 5 of graduate public entrepreneurship programs in the nation.

Arteaga said the focus for the McGuire center is set on preparing students with an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset through curricular and co-curricular courses in order for them to be able to transform businesses and society around them.

In his position as director, Arteaga will be in charge of managing the McGuire Center’s programs and the courses offered, including the innovation expo, community based programs and other co-curricular activities which support the students in becoming entrepreneurs.

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Paulo Goes, the Eller college dean, said he believes Arteaga will bring wealth of experience to the school. 

He added that because Arteaga ran a similar program at a different school, he knows how to work well with students, communities, businesses and the school.

“I am thrilled we were able to attract Remy—a person of his caliber,” Goes said. “We have great plans for the future.”

Arteaga said he is most excited to be part of the effort of entrepreneurship and positive growth in Tucson.

“I really see that Tucson is on the verge for really growing a very strong entrepreneurial community,” he said. “All of the elements are there, all the activity. Everything that I see tells me that there’s a movement to really make Tucson a solid entrepreneurial community, in addition to that there is a clear demand for entrepreneurship on campus.”

Tripp Twyman, a business junior interested in entrepreneurship, said so far he feels McGuire has done a great job of putting students in positions where they can innovate. 

“I hope he keeps fostering an environment where students can go out and innovate, explore and I think especially with innovation as a goal it’s important to let the students have free rein and let students come up with the best ideas,” Twyman said. “If they can come in and foster that idea more, the program can continue to grow.”

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