Presented to: Fernando Niebla
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception 7:00 p.m. Dinner
Place: The Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center
2 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869
J Fernando Niebla
Niebla was born in Nogales, Mexico and emigrated with his family to Nogales, Arizona at age 12. He graduated from Nogales High School and was awarded scholarships to study at the University of Arizona. Initially unsure about the career he wanted to pursue his mind was made up when during his first month at the University of Arizona in October of 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. At that point it became a national priority for the U.S. to accelerate its space activities and
he decided to become a space engineer and work on the U.S. Space Program.
He graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona and immediately went to work for North American Aviation, at the time the leading aerospace company working on the project to put a man on the moon. In 1965 he transferred to the Kennedy Space Center where he worked on the preparation of the launch control center for the Apollo/Saturn launch pads and eventually led a group of 120 engineers involved in the preparation and launching of the Apollo/
Saturn rockets, including the rocket that carried Armstrong to a moon landing in July of 1969.
In the 1970′s, back in California, Niebla worked on various space programs and eventually was in charge of over 100 engineers and technicians running the laboratory where the first GPS satellites were processed prior to launch. By 1979 Niebla’s work included marketing, proposal writing and running of significant projects. That year he visited several countries in South America exploring the possibility of developing communications satellites for the various countries. While on that trip he realized that he had all the credentials to form a company to design, build and operate mission control centers for space satellites. Within 6 months after his return he had left his job at Rockwell and formed his first company, Infotec Development Inc.. This was a highly successful enterprise that at one time was the largest Hispanic owned high tech firm in the U.S. with a staff of over 850 engineers and technicians. In 1996 he merged Infotec with a publicly listed company of similar size and after two more mergers he sold his interest in that company. With new partners he subsequently formed two other companies, Infotec Commercial Systems was a technology training company and Compuserve Mexico the first large scale internet services in Mexico.
Since 1995 Niebla has been serving as a Board member in various companies, he currently serves on the Boards several well established companies, Union Bank, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Granite Construction Co. and IHHI. He is Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America
J Fernando Niebla also an advisor and investor in startup high technology companies and is currently a board member of Life Modeler Inc. based in Orange County.
Niebla continues to be active in community and professional organizations. Organizations where he has participated include the Bowers Museum, the South Coast Repertory, the Museum of Latin American Art and, most recently, as the President of the California Advisory Group to the Mexican Governments equivalent of the U.S. SBA and as the president of TECMA, an association of founded by Mexican born professionals working in Orange County founded to promote business development in Orange County and Mexico with funding from both California and Mexican investment funds.
Current Corporate Board Memberships
Union Bank Corp.
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Granite Construction Corp.
Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc, Santa Ana, CA
LifeModeler Inc. , San Clemente, CA
Current Non-Profit Affiliations
Orange County Health Foundation
Nacional Financiera California Business Advisory Group (Mexican Governments equivalent of the
U. S. SBA)
TECMA – Founded by Mexican born professionals Members are professionals and business people
interested in developing business relationships in Mexico.
Past Non-Profit Affiliations
California Commission on Science and Technology 1989-95 Appointed by Gov. Wilson
Trustee, Claremont Graduate School, 1992-95
Trustee Museum of Latin American Art, 2000-2005 Long Beach, CA
United Way of Orange County, 1982-84
Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA, 1982-94
South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA, 1984-96
National Commission on Vocational Education: 1986-1992 Appointed by President Regan
National Commission on Employment Policy: 1980-1982 Appointed by President Bush
Defense Policy Advisory Commission on Trade: 1992-1999 Appointed by President Clinton
For more information of Sponsorship opportunities please contact
Ana Lily Yuen, Scouttreach Director
(714) 546-4990 ext. 129
LilyY@ocbsa.org
Previous Honorees:
Marie Moreno, Frank Quevedo, Wally Davis & Pacific Bell, Soccorro Vasquez, Ruben Smith, Teresa Saldivar, Michael Corona, Gaddi Vasquez, Dr. Helen Stainer, Dr. Juan Lara, Richard Porras, Todd Spitzer, Nadia Davies, Marcos Nava.
