04 Dec December 5, 2025 – AWBC CEO Corrine Goble, Colin Furze, Tilman Fertitta and Dr. David Cunic Q10
Corinne Goble – CEO of Association of Women’s Business Centers and Winner of 100 Women to KNOW in America
I think one of the biggest things that we find by having women in the
name is we’re encouraging the participation of women. We’re not
exclusively here for women, and it’s not necessarily that the needs of
a woman opening a business are starkly different than any other founder,
because the barriers to opening a new business, they’re they’re great
kind of no matter who you are.
Corinne Goble
Goble joined the Association of Women’s Business Centers as CEO in January 2019 and is charged with bringing about enhanced sustainability and increased capacity to the association and its members. When AWBC and the national network of Women’s Business Centers were confronted with effects of a global pandemic in early 2020, Goble and the advocacy team sprung into action. While Women’s Business Centers responded tirelessly to small business concerns in their communities, Goble and the team championed their efforts to secure resources. Thankfully, members of Congress foresaw the important role that Women’s Business Centers would play in an economic disaster and appropriated record-level emergency funding (CARES Act) to be administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). In addition to $150,000 awarded annually to each Women’s Business Center, centers could access up to $420,000 of CARES Act funds giving them access to $570,000 in a single fiscal year. In addition to their own annual fundraising efforts, this unprecedented combination of funding is the highest level of funding than at any other point in history. Women’s Business Centers leveraged this infusion of funds into tremendous impact. Goble and the full AWBC team will remain steadfast in their commitment to the growth and strength of the Women’s Business Center network. Her immediate priority is the modernization and re-authorization of the Women’s Business Center program while building capacity throughout the growing network of 145 Women’s Business Centers. Adjacent to and in support to this work, Goble serves in a variety of collaborative efforts that directly support small businesses in their efforts to get started and grow, whether in procurement, digital skills, access to capital or international trade. She’s a Founding Member of the USMCA Small and Medium Enterprise Counselor Network consisting of counselors in Mexico, Canada, and the United States that collaborate to help small businesses find success through exports.
Tilman Fertitta – TV Star, Owner of Houston Rockets and Author of Shut Up and Listen!: Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed
I am not the smartest guy. I think I’ve outworked people. I think I’ve built a culture in my company that we outwork people, and we make hard decisions… It’s being a tough business person and accepting some small failures and pulling yourself up by your scraps. But it’s making tough decisions, and people don’t like to make tough decisions, and people don’t want to play tough. Sometimes you just have to.
Tilman Fertitta
Tilman Fertitta is the star of his own reality TV show “Billion Dollar Buyer” on CNBC, and sole owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Golden Nugget Casinos, and 600 other properties under Fertitta Entertainment. He turned a $6,000 loan into a billion dollar restaurant empire. He is a Houston Native, accomplished businessman, and recognized as a world leader in the dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming industries, and is often referred to as, “the world’s richest restauranteur.” Tilman is also the sole owner of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the restaurant giant Landry’s, Five Golden Nugget Casinos and Hotels, and the NBA’s Houston Rockets, which he purchased for a record $2.2 billion. He is also the start of his own reality TV show on CNBC, “Billion Dollar Buyer.” Through his restaurant and hospitality company Landry’s, Fertitta owns more than 600 properties in 36 states and in over 15 countries. He is also one of the largest employers in the nation, with more than 60,000 employees. His restaurants include a signature collection of eateries, such as Mastro’s Steakhouse and Ocean Club, Morton’s Steakhouse, Vic & Anthony’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Dos Caminos, Joe’s Crab Shack, and more.