The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles has honored Cal State L.A. alumnus Marx L. Cazenave II with the 2015 Human Dignity Award.
Cazenave, the co-founder and former CEO of San Francisco-based Progress Investment Management Company, has devoted his career to creating business opportunities for minorities, women and startup companies.
He was presented the award during the YMCA’s 44th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Brotherhood Breakfast at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on January 16. The award honors an individual who has helped those who are disadvantaged and has demonstrated leadership and compassion.
Cazenave was the keynote speaker during the event, which pays tribute to Dr. King’s legacy and his vision of a just and inclusive world. During his address, Cazenave credited Cal State L.A. with providing him with an outstanding education and launching him on the path to professional success and community engagement. Cazenave graduated in 1962 with a degree in political science. He completed Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Smaller Companies in 1978.
Progress Investment was founded in1990 and has funded more than 125 emerging firms across a broad range of asset classes. Progress currently manages more than $7 billion in assets for some of the world’s largest public and corporate pension funds.
Cazenave was appointed by former President Jimmy Carter to serve as regional administrator of the Small Business Administration for the California, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam regions. He also served as director of business development for the State of California and as a principal consultant to the State Assembly Office of Research.
In 2012 Cal State L.A.’s College of Natural and Social Sciences honored Cazenave with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Over the years, 13 Cal State L.A. alumni have been honored with awards by the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles during its annual breakfast. They are:
- Former Assemblyman and Los Angeles Councilman Richard Alatorre.
- Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
- Beulah Bailey
- William Bailey
- Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block
- Esther Castruita
- George McGhee
- Ruth Moore
- Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard
- Cecilia Sandoval
- Genevieve Shepherd
- Sidney A. Thompson
- Gilbert R. Vasquez
Photo: Marx L. Cazenave II receiving the YMCA's 2015 Human Dignity Award. (Photo credit: Earl E. Gibson III.)
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