The Belk College of Business has more than 30,000 successful alumni, and many are making their impacts in Charlotte as entrepreneurs in various sectors: energy, engineering, global translation, branding and technology.
Manuel Zapata
Zapata®
Zapata was a member of the first class at the Belk College to earn an MBA in 1972. Zapata, a native of Chile, is president of Zapata Engineering, a firm he established to provide engineering and construction services to the Department of Defense and private sector clients worldwide. Zapata believes in strong civic engagement and through the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Charlotte Chamber and Sister Cities program, he has worked to strengthen Charlotte’s economic ties to the world.
Michelle Menard
Choice Translating
As an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte majoring in international business and French, Menard ’97 founded Choice Translating, a multimillion dollar borderless business, in 1995. In 2000, the U.S. Small Business Administration named her North Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year. She was recognized in 2004 as one of the Charlotte Business Journal's "40 Under 40" high achievers and was a finalist for Business North Carolina magazine's Small Business of the Year award in 2005. In 2007, Menard received the Charlotte Business Journal's "Women in Business" achievement award, and in 2011, she was recognized as one of the "50 Most Influential Women" by The Mecklenburg Times.
Christopher Moxley
704 Shop
Moxley is the co-owner of 704 Shop & V (Five) Lions Entertainment. A 2003 graduate of the Belk College of Business, Moxley has a background in financial services, where he specializes in data privacy and protection. He is an advisor and brand representative for 704 Shop, focusing on business strategy expanding business relationships and brand visibility. He is passionate about volunteering, serving on the UNC Charlotte Alumni Board of Directors and the Y Experience Committee of the Keith Family YMCA.
DeAndrea Salvador
RETI
In late 2013 after graduation from the Belk College, Salvador created her own nonprofit called RETI, the Renewable Energy Transition Initiative, with the mission to sustainably decrease the energy costs of low-income families and fight energy poverty. Shortly after, RETI became a member of SEED20’s Class of 2014. Her dream of educating low-income families about reducing their energy costs grew quickly, and soon, she was sharing her dream across the Charlotte community through programs with Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s libraries as well as other public events. In January 2018, she was selected as a TED 2018 Fellow. Salvador hosted her own TED Talk in Vancouver, Canada, within only five years of graduation.
image credit: Piper Warlick Photography
Kirk Beatty
Datatech Information Services Inc.
As principal of Datatech Information Services Inc., Beatty ’87, ’10 MBA brings more than 30 years of professional experience in roles from executive leadership to technical expertise. A solutions-oriented executive with a record of success in global business, Beatty has extensive executive leadership expertise in building results-driven global teams, business operations and strategic leadership. Beatty’s leadership has positioned Datatech to provide business technology consulting services that address technology as well as business needs.
See more Belk Alumni here.