Senate Confirms Jovita Carranza as Deputy Administrator at SBA

WASHINGTON, DC: Jovita Carranza, an experienced Latina business executive nominated by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. Small Business Administration’s deputy administrator, was confirmed Dec. 9, 2006 by the U.S. Senate.  She had been unanimously endorsed Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Named Hispanic Woman of the Year by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2004, Carranza said she is enthusiastic about transferring her 30 years of experience at UPS to the SBA, drawing a direct parallel between the corporate operations she directed at UPS to the infrastructure and mission at the SBA.

Jovita Carranza

Both institutions, she said, have “a network whose employees are dedicated to meeting the service needs of small businesses and the communities they serve.  Like large corporations, small businesses expect timely assistance in the delivery of services.”

“I will bring to the Small Business Administration a goal-oriented management philosophy with a history of successes on two continents,” Carranza said. 

SBA Administrator Steven C. Preston welcomed Carranza’s confirmation.  “I look forward to working with Jovita,” he said.  “Her combination of drive, insight, personnel management and business process experience offers a tremendous value to the SBA as we work toward a higher degree of customer responsiveness and operational sophistication at the agency.”

Carranza drew praise from Sen. Olympia Snowe, chair of the Senate committee, and from Sen. John Kerry, ranking member.  “I truly believe that Jovita Carranza is yet another outstanding example of a dedicated American making a tremendous sacrifice to serve her country by accepting this nomination to help lead the SBA – an agency that is essential to the well-being of our nation's economic vitality,” Sen. Snowe said.

Sen. Kerry said he was anxious to get Carranza on the job at SBA so she can transfer her private sector experience to the SBA.  “You’ve got a terrific set of credentials and background,” he said.  “It’s impressive. It’s a great story.  It’s the way it should work in America.”

Carranza started at UPS in 1976 as a part-time, night-shift clerk in Los Angeles in 1976 and worked her way up to regional manager for international relations in Miami by 2000.  Most recently, she was vice president of air operations at the worldwide package shipping company at its facility in Louisville, Ky., and oversaw the cutting-edge automated package processing operation there.

While at UPS, Carranza also served as president of Latin American Operations and the Caribbean.  In addition to her professional career, Carranza has been actively involved in community service, both in leadership and advisory capacities.

Carranza, a native of Chicago, earned her MBA from the University of Miami (Fla).