Wharton School of Business' Young Entrepreneur Speaker Event Presents Emergisoft Chairman and CEO Ash R. Huzenlaub

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2004

PHILADELPHIA & DALLAS -- Huzenlaub to Share Entrepreneurial Experiences With Students and Pennsylvania Community

Ash R. Huzenlaub, Chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Emergisoft Corporation, will address the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business students at the "Young Entrepreneur Speaker Event" on Tuesday, Nov. 16., at Jon M. Huntsman Hall. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Huzenlaub, 28, will speak about his entrepreneurial experiences starting and running businesses from his childhood through graduation from Texas Christian University (TCU). Event organizers include the University of Pennsylvania's Alpha Kappa Psi national professional business fraternity pledge class, and the university's Career Services.

Huzenlaub was involved with the launch and operations of various businesses while studying finance and marketing at TCU including WHATSUP TCU!, a student newspaper. Huzenlaub was a catalyst in developing the TCU Neeley Entrepreneurship Program, which is ranked as a Top 20 undergraduate entrepreneurship program by U.S. News & World Report, and is within the top 2 percent of programs in the nation as ranked by Entrepreneur magazine.

In addition to Huzenlaub, two other speakers are scheduled to share their views of entrepreneurship with the audience: Cameron Johnson, a 19-year-old Virginia Tech student and a well-recognized young entrepreneur who will talk about what it's like to start and run a business while still in college; and, Eliot Jarrett, a Wharton senior who has distinguished himself through outstanding performance in Wharton business plan competitions.

"This Young Entrepreneur Speaker Event will highlight the many benefits of entrepreneurial pursuits before, during and after the collegiate experience," said Nat Turner, a Wharton freshman who helped organize the event. "Wharton's entrepreneurship curriculum is outstanding, and it's something that many of us believe is a worthwhile and rewarding pursuit for students at all phases of their Wharton career, whether you are a student with an undeclared major, or even an MBA-bound student who's interested in a different undergraduate path."

As the evening's keynote speaker, Huzenlaub will discuss how he made the transition from college life at TCU to the rough-and-tumble real world of business. After graduating from TCU, Huzenlaub built his professional experiences with Berlwood Five Ltd., a Texas-based equity group, where he was responsible for oversight of Emergisoft, the group's largest investment which has surpassed $20 million. He then became one of the youngest dual-role executives of a publicly held company with his appointment as Emergisoft Chairman and CEO in 2002. As CEO, Huzenlaub oversaw the development and roll out of the company's flagship product, EmergisoftED(TM), the emergency department information system utilized by some of the country's marquee emergency rooms including the Giuliani Trauma Center in lower Manhattan. In Huzenlaub's first year at Emergisoft's helm, the company reported a three-fold revenue increase. In 2004, Emergisoft doubled its customer base with new business in 10 states; earlier in 2004, Huzenlaub successfully led efforts to take the software company private so that more resources could be focused on growing the business.

In 1997, Huzenlaub traveled 6,000 miles through an educational grant from Apple Computer and Southwest Airlines to interview and learn firsthand from some of the world's most recognized contemporary entrepreneurs.

"While studying at TCU, my educational goal was to discover more about entrepreneurship than I was learning in the classroom, and I achieved my goal by interviewing entrepreneurial greats such as Howard Shultz of Starbucks, and John Mars of Mars Candy," said Huzenlaub. "By speaking to and encouraging young minds through events such as Wharton's Young Entrepreneur Speaker Event, I am giving back to students what entrepreneurial leaders gave to me, and I am learning about the future entrepreneurial leaders who are studying at one of the nation's leading business schools."

Huzenlaub has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing, with an emphasis in international entrepreneurship from TCU. In addition, he completed the Leadership Studies Program at Regents College in London and the Caruth Entrepreneurship Certification program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Huzenlaub has spoken to high school and college students across the nation, including Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and Florida International University in Miami. In 2003, Huzenlaub was the youngest recipient of the Business Press "40 Under 40 Award," an award recognizing the business achievements of Texas business leaders.