Stay Informed!

Be the first to know with our newsletter! By subscribing, you’ll receive exclusive community updates, news and events straight to your inbox.

Venture Capitalist Enzo Torresi To be Honored at West Coast Awards Gala

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org


font size=2 face=”Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif” align=”left”>

**Nicolas Cage to be inducted into Italian American Hall of Fame**
* Academy Award Winning Director Ron Howard Presents Award to Marshall*
(WASHINGTON, DC – April 10, 2002), Enzo Torresi, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and managing partner of the venture capital company myQube USA, will receive the National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) Special Achievement Award in Technology, at an awards gala dinner, Thursday evening May 2 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The fundraising event will begin with a reception and silent auction at 6 PM followed by dinner.

Actor Nicolas Cage will be the first inductee into the NIAF new “Italian American Hall of Fame. ” Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association, will present Nicolas Cage with the award. Academy Award Winning Director Ron Howard will present NIAF Career Achievement Award to TV Producer/Director and Movie Writer Garry Marshall. Dodger great Tommy Lasorda is the master of ceremonies.

A pioneer in the computer industry for the past 28 years, Enzo Torresi has founded five companies, and specializes in fast growth, high technology ventures. Most recently, he cofounded Kerbango, the Internet radio company that was acquired by 3Com Corporation. From 1997 to 1998 he was CEO of ICAST Corporation, a software company specializing in broadcasting solutions for the Internet.

During 1995 and 1996, he was Entrepreneur In Residence at Accel Partners. In 1993 he cofounded and also served as vice chairman of Power Computing Corporation, a PC manufacturer that produced the first Macintosh clones and was then acquired by Apple Computer in 1997. From 1989 to October 1994, he served as president and CEO of NetFRAME Systems, Inc., a computer manufacturer that he cofounded in 1987 which is now part of Micron Electronics, Inc. In 1982 he co-founded Businessland (now owned by Siemens) and serves as vice chairman of the Board and senior vice president of sales and marketing. Previously he held management positions at Olivetti, as President of the Advanced Technology Center, in Cupertino, California, the R&D facility he founded in 1976.

Torresi is currently a member of the board of various private and public companies including MyCasa Networks , Telverse Communications, noHold, and Socket Communications. He is also member of the myQube advisory committee chaired by Marco Tronchetti Provera, Chairman of Pirelli and Telecom Italia. Enzo Torresi holds a doctorate in Electronics Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute in Turin, Italy.

Dinner tickets are $250 to $1,000 based on table location. Proceeds from the event will benefit the NIAF scholarship and education programs. For tickets, contact Michael Sanzi at 202/387-0600 or michael@niaf.org

MyQube, international Venture Capital Company, manages the EuroQube Fund promoted by Pirelli and shared by the European Investment Fund, Benetton, Caltagirone, Merrill Lynch, IntesaBci, Mediobanca and Camfin. MyQube’s Advisory Committee is chaired by Marco Tronchetti Provera, Chairman of Pirelli and Telecom Italia. MyQube finances and develops high-technology start-ups mainly focused on innovative software applications, high-tech hardware solutions, wireless, infrastructures and enabling technologies. MyQube has offices in Brussels, Geneva, Helsinki, Milan, Munich and Palo Alto. Further information can be found on the website at: www.myqube.com