SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, a newly-formed non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and delivering educational support to ambitious entrepreneurs, today named Nicola Corzine as its Executive Director. As Executive Director, Ms. Corzine will be responsible for strategic and operational leadership and will work closely with the Entrepreneurial Center's President and board of directors to drive and implement program planning, fundraising, and business operations.

The Nasdaq Educational Foundation


Slated to open later this year, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, located at 505 Howard Street in San Francisco's South Financial District, will convene, connect and engage aspiring and current entrepreneurs, while also serving the community of the greater Bay Area through events, education and mentor programming. The Entrepreneurial Center is funded through a grant from the Nasdaq Educational Foundation.

Serving and supporting the broader ecosystem of Silicon Valley, the Entrepreneurial Center will provide unprecedented mentorship programs that leverage the support of its partner organization, Nasdaq, as home to the world's most innovative companies and business leaders.

"We are very excited to have Nicola join the Entrepreneurial Center team," said Bruce Aust, Vice Chairman at Nasdaq and President of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. "Nicola's experience brings together a unique combination of seed funding and entrepreneurial education, which is right at the focal point of what we need to foster entrepreneurial talent from the next generation of innovators."

Ms. Corzine brings over 15 years of strategic business development and entrepreneurial thought leadership programming experience to the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. Ms. Corzine was previously a Partner at Band of Angels, Silicon Valley's oldest seed funding organization, and was Executive Director at Financing Partners, where she was responsible for creating program curriculum for entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley including investor forums and workshops.

"I am honored and delighted to have the opportunity and support of Nasdaq's Educational Foundation to build a center of excellence in the Bay Area that will accelerate the ongoing development of current and future generations of great entrepreneurs," said Nicola Corzine, Executive Director, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.

Resources at the Entrepreneurial Center will be open to the public and will include classrooms – to be used for ongoing educational programming, workshops and hands-on mentoring – a public museum that documents the living path of entrepreneurship, a coffee shop for individuals to gather and exchange best-practices and ideas, and a studio space available for entrepreneurs as a means to produce high quality media programming.

About the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center:

The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization designed to educate, innovate and connect aspiring and current entrepreneurs. Established in 2014 with support from the Nasdaq Educational Foundation, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center serves the greater Bay Area community through differentiated events, meaningful entrepreneurial education and a prominent mentorship program.

About The Nasdaq Educational Foundation:

The Nasdaq Educational Foundation, Inc. was established in 1994 and is supported entirely by contributions from Nasdaq. The mission of The Nasdaq Educational Foundation, Inc. is to promote and provide opportunities through collaborations and initiatives that support and deliver innovative educational programs and charitable activities.

About Nasdaq:

Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is a leading provider of trading, exchange technology, information and public company services across six continents. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to more than 3,400 listed companies with a market value of over $8.5 trillion and more than 10,000 corporate clients. To learn more, visit business.nasdaq.com.

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