Marc C. Fiore 2024 recipient of the Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award
Saunders Celebrates Local Entrepreneurship

One of Rochester's most prestigious awards, the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award, is given annually to the region’s foremost business minds and innovators. Civic leaders, business leaders, former awardees, and RIT faculty and staff select the community winner and student finalists.

The 40th anniversary of the award acknowledges Marc Fiore, president and founding owner of Mindex, and three RIT student-finalists at Saunders College of Business on Tuesday, June 25. Student placements will be announced at the event. The finalists are:

  • Edis Hadzija '24 (economics), from Kosovo, is the entrepreneurial force behind Balkan Exim. His company is actively helping to boost the economies of more than five countries.
  • Nathan Irving '24 (motion picture science), from Union Springs, N.Y., is advancing metrology equipment to create consumer-accessible measurement tools.
  • Valeria Marin-Montealegre '26 (Ph.D., mechanical and industrial engineering), from Rochester, N.Y., founded HUMANBX S.A.S, a biomedical design and additive manufacturing company in southwest Colombia.

Mindex is a Rochester, N.Y.-based software development company and Amazon Web Services (AWS) partner that has been recognized as a Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Company, No. 1 Software Developer, and A Great Place to Work.

This premiere event has honored influential Rochester entrepreneurs including Dwight “Kip” Palmer, a fifth-generation CEO of Palmer Food Services and the Palmer Family of Companies; Susan R. Holliday ‘85 (MBA), former president, publisher, and owner of the Rochester Business Journal; Mark Davitt, founding CEO of ConServe; E. Philip Saunders, Saunders Management Co. Inc.; Richard Sands of Constellation Brands; Robert Wegman of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.; and Ron Ricotta and Mike Nuccitteli of Century Mold.
Headshot of Dean Jacqueline Mozrall

“We are proud to honor Marc, who regularly demonstrates the ideals of successful entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and an inspiring commitment to the Rochester community.”

Jacqueline Mozrall

Saunders College of Business Dean

The Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an RIT university-wide hub for hands-on and experiential learning. Through various entrepreneurial business offerings and events, students gain a first-hand understanding of the importance of innovation. The Hebert W. Vanden Brul Student Entrepreneurial Award recognizes outstanding RIT undergraduate or graduate students who have demonstrated the potential to become successful entrepreneurs. 
EMBA Ranked in the Nation's Top 10 for Third Year in a Row
Experience Innovation Passions and Connections at Saunders

Experience our newly opened state-of-the-art building expansion and renovation!
Renovated Saunders building with text that says The Next Generation of Business
AACSB Logo

Saunders College of Business programs are fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), the premier accrediting organization for business schools.