UBS Wealth Management Americas and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Office of Economic and Business Policy Launch Elevating Entrepreneurs in Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

UBS Wealth Management Americas (UBS WMA) and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Office of Economic and Business Policy (OEBP) will today launch Elevating Entrepreneurs: A UBS Small Business Advisory Program in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The six-month program follows the completion of a successful pilot in New York City last year.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. "We are thrilled to partner with UBS to support these vital job creators with management advice and mentoring.”

"Following the completion of our successful pilot program in New York City, I am pleased to announce that UBS Financial Advisors and our clients have again shown their dedication to supporting America’s innovators by offering to provide their knowledge and advice to high-growth small businesses in the Los Angeles area,” said Bob McCann, CEO of UBS Group Americas. "I am proud that, together with the city of Los Angeles and these participants, UBS can play its part in helping to support and revitalize small business in America."

Over the course of the program, select entrepreneurs from Los Angeles communities including Compton, Corona, Woodland Hills and City Terrace who currently run high-growth businesses with significant potential for job creation will receive pro bono strategic financial and business advice and access to UBS’s senior leadership and vast network resources. Each program participant is being matched with a UBS Financial Advisor and a dedicated client from a related industry. Together, these Financial Advisor and client teams will provide tailored advice to the participating entrepreneurs, enhancing their knowledge, skill sets and networks, with the goal of enabling them to take their companies to the next level. Typically, the small businesses enrolled to-date in the L.A. program had average annual revenue of $8.75 million in 2011 and together employed a total of 268 people at the end of last year.

Participating entrepreneurs and their companies include: Alicia Estrada, Stop Staring!; Maria Bastian-Thompson, Agile Sourcing Partners, Inc.; Roland Furtado, Roland International Freight, Inc.; Bola Ajere, AMC Consulting Group; Frank Perera, CeyCal, Inc.; Maurice Brewster, Mosaic Global Transport; Kevin Ramsey, Alameda Construction; Dr. Johnny Kim, California Dental Group; and Ingrid Merriwether, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services.

The UBS Financial Advisors and clients working with the small businesses are: Advisor Seth Radow and Anne Thomopoulos, Executive Producer, HBO – supporting Alicia Estrada; Advisor Melinda Carmichael and George Boyadjieff, Retired CEO of Varco International – supporting Maria Bastian-Thompson; Advisor Brad Howell and William James, Director, Business Operations, The Boeing Company – supporting Roland Furtado; Advisor Larry Smith and Steve Mayberry, Retired Insurance & Accounting Executive – supporting Bola Ajere; Advisors John Acker, John Buchanan and Lois Cox and Bob Leff, Information Technology Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, and Corporate Director – supporting Frank Perera; Advisor Margaret Lech-Loubet and Peter Jonas, Business Consultant and Private Investor – supporting Maurice Brewster; Advisor Harshal Doshi and Fahim Boulos, Co-Founder, Clean Energy Global, LLC – supporting Kevin Ramsey; Advisor Michael Hatch and Mark Gabay, Partner, The Charles Company – supporting Johnny Kim; Advisor Tammy Haygood and Christine Robert, Founder and President, The Robert Group – supporting Ingrid Merriwether; Advisor Robert Gach and Mark Baumohl, Managing Administrative Partner, RBZ, LLP; and Advisors Kirk Wendorf and Michael Wallace.

In addition, UBS is announcing a $10 million lending commitment to Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC) to be used exclusively for funding loans to qualified small businesses in the Los Angeles area.

"VEDC is extremely proud to work with UBS during a time when small business owners are facing disproportionate challenges in securing financing,” said Roberto Barragan, President and CEO of VEDC. "VEDC has been the lender of last resort for many good existing companies that have struggled during the economic downturn. We have experienced an overwhelming increase in demand for capital and are only limited by our available resources.”

Elevating Entrepreneurs represents a continuation of UBS WMA’s Revitalizing America initiative, which is aimed at forging common ground and discussing how, through partnership, business, government and the non-profit sector can develop actionable solutions that will help revitalize the U.S. economy. For more information on Elevating Entrepreneurs, please visit our website at ubs.com/smallbusiness.

About UBS Wealth Management Americas

UBS Wealth Management Americas provides advice-based relationships through financial advisors who deliver a fully integrated set of products and services specifically designed to address the needs of ultra high net worth, high net worth and core affluent individuals and families. It includes the Wealth Management US business, the domestic Canadian business and the international business booked in the United States.

About UBS Wealth Management Americas Revitalizing America Initiative

Launched in response to investors’ deep concerns about America’s long-term economic growth, UBS Wealth Management Americas Revitalizing America Initiative comprises a series of speaking engagements and programs that UBS will host over the course of the year, aimed at forging common ground and discussing how, together, we can revitalize the U.S. economy. In support of the initiative, UBS WMA has published "Revitalizing America: Forging a New Path toward Economic Prosperity,” a report on the challenges facing the nation’s economy. Additional information available at: http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/

About UBS

UBS draws on its 150-year heritage to serve private, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. The firm combines its wealth management, investment banking and asset management businesses with its Swiss operations to deliver superior financial solutions.