Asset Management Advisors LLC CEO Maria Elena Lagomasino Honored as 2007 Hispanic Business Woman of the Year.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The April issue of Hispanic Business magazine features Maria Elena Lagomasino, CEO of Asset Management Advisors LLC, as the 2007 Hispanic Business Woman of the Year.

Each year, Hispanic Business magazine recognizes a select group of Hispanic women who have made a national impact by demonstrating the highest levels of achievement in their professions. This year's recipient of the top honor, Maria Elena Lagomasino, climbed corporate ladders at Citigroup and JP Morgan before taking the helm as CEO at Asset Management Advisors LLC, a company 70% owned by Sun Trust Banks, Inc. AMA oversees more than $10 billion in assets and 200 employees spread across 11 offices.

Both sides of Ms. Lagomasino's family fled Cuba when she was 11. They resettled in West Hartford, Connecticut, where her father, Hector, a civil engineer in Cuba, worked for air conditioner and refrigerator parts manufacturer Dunham-Bush Inc., while her mother raised six children and worked as a high school Spanish teacher to help make ends meet.

Ms. Lagomasino graduated from Manhattanville College in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in French literature and spent five years working in the United Nations' library while earning a master's degree in library science from Columbia University. After realizing she liked dealing with people more than handling documents, she interviewed in 1977 at Citigroup's private bank and earned a spot as a management trainee, beginning her 30-year journey in financial services.

The April issue also highlights 19 other Elite Women, including 4 finalists, to be honored alongside Maria Elena Lagomasino for their impact in the realms of business, government, and academia at the Fifth Annual Hispanic Business Woman of the Year Awards Gala and Daytime Symposium. The event will be held Thursday, April 26th, at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.

The Woman of the Year finalists include: Maria Azua, vice-president of technology and innovation at IBM; Grace Lieblein, a chief vehicle engineer for General Motors; Maria Martinez, vice-president for Microsoft's Worldwide Services; and Carmela Castellano-Garcia, CEO of California Primary Care Association.

For more information please visit: http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/events/woy/.

Other featured stories in the April issue of Hispanic Business magazine include:

OCCUPYING BABY BOOMER VACANCIES: Hispanic Business reports that Hispanic women are poised to fill vacancies in high-profile management jobs created by retiring baby boomers. The oldest baby boomers began turning 60 in 2006 and by 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will reach retirement age. According to BLS figures, workforce participation by Hispanic women will rise steadily, even as rates decline for white men over the next 15 years. Writer Derek Reveron reports that companies will have no choice - hire more minorities and women to fill slots vacated by baby boomers, or face a severe worker shortage.

THE FRANCHISING PIE: More franchisers are making a push to recruit Hispanic franchisees to keep in step with the companies' increasingly diverse customer base. But in some key franchising areas, such as lodging, Hispanics lag far behind other minority groups. Raul Fuentes, the director of emerging markets at Choice Hotels, told Hispanic Business, "Hispanics have become the largest minority group in the U.S., yet less than 1 percent own hotels in comparison to other minority groups." But Hispanics are showing strong numbers in restaurants and janitorial services. Alex Garza tells of his franchising love affair with the Pizza Patron chain.

About Hispanic Business(R)

For over a quarter of a century, Hispanic Business Media has been the source for the latest trends, research and reporting that drive growth for Hispanic-owned companies. Hispanic Business magazine, our award-winning publication, and HispanicBusiness.com, provide readers in the United States and around the world with the most relevant and data-driven news on the U.S. Hispanic marketplace. Hispanic Business Media properties include Hispanic Business magazine, HispanicBusiness.com, Hispanic Business Events - including Hispanic Business magazine EOY(R) Awards, CEO Capital Markets Roundtable, Woman of the Year (WOY) Awards - as well as HireDiversity.com(R). HispanTelligence(R) is the research division of the company.

Hispanic Business magazine and HispanTelligence are registered trademarks of Hispanic Business Inc. 2006 Hispanic Business Inc. All rights reserved.