By San Antonio Business Journal Staff
San Antonio, like the rest of the world, has seen a year unlike any other.
The business community has suffered significantly through loss and uncertainty, but there have been some very bright spots, which we are pleased to report. The 2020 Business of the Year — AmeriVet Veterinary Partners — and the other finalists are among our community’s brightest spots last year.
Though there were many others, these 10 businesses found a way to bring their employees together and work toward their common goals of growth, stability, and of course, profitability.
They seized the unprecedented moment and grabbed a very elusive brass ring in 2020. Many of the businesses you know very well, and a few you may have only recently heard of, and they’ve all found a path to success. We’re proud to celebrate them.
CNF TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
CEO: Roxanne Ramirez
Industry: Cybersecurity
Year founded: 2005
In a challenging year, San Antonio-based cybersecurity defense contractor CNF Technologies Corp. grew its workforce by more than 30%, hiring about 60 new employees, while maintaining an over 94% retention rate.
It instituted daily health and welfare checks, and CEO Roxanne Ramirez personally checked in on each of its employees as the Covid-19 pandemic started.
“I have to say that if it wasn’t for our employees, we wouldn’t be on this list. Our employees make us who we are,” Ramirez told the Business Journal.
CNF was also named to the Inc. 5000 list for a second year, rising to No. 806 from No. 3,409 with 589% growth between 2019 and 2020. The company went from having one location to four total, including expanding into Southern California during the pandemic year — all within about a year and a half.
In 2020, it also added a research and development division, for which it laid initial groundwork at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s National Security Collaboration Center.
In 2021, CNF wants to continue this momentum.
“We want to grow, continue to hire, continue to bring the jobs to San Antonio that I know we can,” Ramirez said, adding that this includes developing college interns within the company, a personal passion for her. The company has six interns from UTSA, as well as Palo Alto College and Northwest Vista College.
To read more about San Antonio Business Journal Business of the Year Finalists, please visit https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2021/03/18/honoring-the-2020-business-of-the-year.html