Taking IT to the top

It was 1996 when Nina Vaca set out to claim her stake in the bustling IT
industry. The third generation entrepreneur accomplished her goal
when she became the CEO of Pinnacle Technical Resources, Inc.
“I always wanted to be in business for myself,” she admitted. “My father
always guided me to be the very best in every endeavor I chose. In my
vision, ‘Pinnacle’ represented the highest echelon of what anyone could
accomplish and that was my goal for this fledgling company.”

THE BEGINNING OF THE DREAM

Relying on a rich and well-rounded high tech career,Vaca moved to Texas
in the mid 1990s. She began to realize the opportunities emerging in the
IT industry after the migration from mainframe to a UNIX client-server
environment, which resulted in an incredible need for systems administra-
tors in every business sector.
Beginning the new technology services provider company on her living
room floor,Vaca was determined to build her business into one of the best
in the area. However, it would be more than two months before she found
her first client.

The corporation’s early growth was slow but steady, confronted by the
usual challenges of access to capital and compilation of a highly qualified
and dedicated team.
As Pinnacle has grown, its core competencies have expanded to include
IT consulting and recruiting, IT solutions, vendor management solutions,
administrative/clerical staffing and payrolling. Most recently, Pinnacle has
developed a proprietary vendor management software, Progata™, that is
an integrated Web portal supporting recruiting, staffing, payrolling and ven-
dor management operations.
“While we have remained predominantly within the IT services sector,
our core business has changed dramatically in terms of how we actually
deliver our services,” Vaca said in a recent interview.

“What began as a
niche boutique consulting firm now provides IT support services to
Fortune 500 companies over a broad range of industries.”
Included among Pinnacle’s clients are industry leaders EDS, AT&T,
Wellpoint, PepsiCo,Verizon and BMW.

GROWING
,
GROWING
,
GROWING

Recently named the fourth fastest growing staffing firm in the United States,
Pinnacle now employs more than 3,000 and operates in 45 states.At the heart
of its growth is a leadership team dedicated to the founder’s vision and goals.
“I believe, among other things, the most important aspect of our success
is our credibility,”Vaca said.“I also have been fortunate enough to surround
myself with an amazing group of people. “We’re not a titular company,” she continued.

“We’re a flat organization
and we have incredible talent in every facet of the organization. Every
member of our team makes a tremendous contribution. Pinnacle would
not be the success it has become without every one of them, so we con-
tinue to focus on our service delivery and results.”
Yet, its award-winning leadership and astronomical growth over the past
several years does not indicate the roller coaster trends Pinnacle has
weathered.“The year 2001 could have been devastating,” the founder said.

“At that point, we had to decide between joining thousands of other IT
companies and closing our doors or rededicating ourselves to making
Pinnacle successful. That very difficult and painful year also became our
defining moment as an organization.”
Vaca continued,“We knew that we had to use technology as an enabler
to grow our business. That was the impetus behind the initial development
of Progata™.

Now it is the tool we use to support our growth.”
PLACES OF HONOR
Vaca’s name is well-known, both in corporate circles as well as through-
out the community. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an
organization dedicated to moving the needle forward for Hispanics in this
country, recently appointed her to the board of directors.
“I find incredible adrenaline in being involved in the community,” she
confessed, “and I am very giving of my time to community efforts. I don’t
think most people would know that.

My family and my business are my
first two priorities; but the time I spend giving back to the community is
something I treasure.”
As for Pinnacle’s vision of the future,Vaca hesitated with specifics.“If you
had talked to me three to five years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed we would
be where we are now,” she said. “We’ve grown 100 times our size in the
past six years and have achieved this growth and strength because we have
an incredible business model — particularly the vendor management capa-
bility — and our industry is moving toward this same model. The fact that
we’re poised and able to provide this value to our customers [shows] we
will continue to grow rapidly … and that’s a point I’m very proud of.”

Pinnacle is represented in the Inc. 500, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50,
the Staffing Industry Report, the Dallas 100 and the Hispanic 100 – all of
which recognize the fastest growing, privately held firms in their respec-
tive categories in the United States. In 2006, Pinnacle was also honored as
the most outstanding minority-owned firm in the nation by the National
Minority Supplier Development Council.
Vaca received the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
award for Technology and Communications in the Southwest in 2005. She is
a two-time winner of the U.S.

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s celebrated
Business Woman of the Year Award and has been named one of the Top 25
Women Business Builders by Fast Company Magazine.Vaca was selected as
one of the Top 50 Most Important Hispanics in Business and Technology by
Hispanic Engineering & Technolo-
gy magazine.
Vaca is a graduate of Texas State
University, and is the youngest
recipient ever of the university’s
Distinguished Alumna honor. She
holds a Doctor of Laws, Honoris
Causa from Northwood University.
She has represented the United
States in numerous leadership
forums, including the German
Marshall Memorial Fellowship Pro-
gram, as a member of the British-
American Project.