By NSBA
Photos: NSBA
CHICAGO (June 19, 2024) – Walter Hughes, Managing Director of Quant16 in Chicago and a member of the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council, has been named CEO of TESC.Love (Entrepreneurship Savings Cities) today, the organization announced. Officially launched here in February, TESC.Love is a thriving movement of people of good will dedicated to one laudable premise: proving that the free enterprise system works for all Americans, and can bring success to anyone who wants to excel in a field with world-class potential, If she had the chance.
Hughes is a distinguished executive leader whose career has been characterized by a visionary approach to leadership and innovation across technology and business sectors. As Managing Director and Chief Strategy Officer of Quant16, his experience coordinating high-impact strategies and fostering dynamic corporate environments has led to significant advancements in technology startups, financial services, and global corporate initiatives.
He is also CEO of CyberAI, a partner at Transform VC and has held senior positions at Meta, Elevance Health, and in state and local government. It is his high-level business acumen and the foundation of success that he intends to leverage at TESC.Love. Hughes will step down from his role with Quant16.
The national TESC.Love initiative is the brainchild of founder Robert Blackwell, Jr., who has led Quant16 (formerly EKI-Digital) for more than 25 years, a leading and innovative digital transformation provider specializing in cutting-edge digital solutions tailored to meet needs. From public and private sector institutions. The initiative’s mission is to promote direct participation in entrepreneurship by black businesses in modern sectors of the economy, totaling $40 billion by 2028, and its strategy entails convincing both major government agencies and Fortune 1000 companies to actively participate in business transactions through a key partner. A program that encourages everyone to “just do business” with Black businesses and entrepreneurs who can provide value.
TESC.Love’s outreach to date has been directed to Black and non-Black business communities locally and nationally, as well as suppliers and state and local governments. The ambitious initiative also leverages strategic partnerships with higher education institutions and impact-focused community organizations, working to mobilize alignment with technical and non-technical professional services, small developers and housing advocates.
“I am proud and humbled to be tasked with leading the national TESC.Love movement,” says Hughes. “As our founder Robert Blackwell, Jr. emphatically stated, we are issuing a challenge and a call to action that anyone who desires can and should step forward to: ‘Simply do business, and sincerely partner with Black and Brown business. Once you’re allied with us, make it a point to reach out and pull other people and businesses from their communities forward.
Blackwell himself echoes this sentiment. “Appointing Walter Hughes as CEO of TESC.Love is the right move, at the right time. I am thrilled to take on this mission, and together, our brain trust will work hard to create modern versions of thriving black economic centers similar to the historic ‘Black Wall Streets’ of the past.” “Our nation has no one better suited to lead this ship.”
To learn more about Walter Hughes and TESC.Love, click here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walthughes/, and www.tesc.love.com.
About quantity16
For over 25 years, EKI-Digital has been a leading digital transformation provider headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. With a commitment to innovation and customer success, the newly rebranded Quant16 specializes in delivering cutting-edge digital solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of organizations in the public and private sectors. To learn more, visit www.quant16.com. For more information about TESC.Love, contact us at the link provided.
