2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
Presented By: Venable LLP
Peter Buzy
Past President & CEO
Paragon Biosciences
Pete Buzy is an industry veteran, who led one of the fastest expanding Mid- Atlantic Biotech companies. Having joined Paragon Bioservices in 2014 as an investor and Chief Operating Officer, he later moved into the role of President & Chief Executive Officer and Board member. His expertise in building strong and focused leadership teams and growing emerging technology companies was instrumental in the value creation of Paragon, which resulted in its purchase by Catalent (NYSE: CTLT) in 2019 for $1.2B one of the largest PE backed transactions in the region over the past decade.
Prior to joining Paragon, Pete spent more than 13 years as a senior executive at Martek Biosciences Corporation (NASDAQ: MATK), a leader in the innovation, development, production, and sale of high-value products from microbial sources. He played a key role in transforming Martek’s business from an R&D company to a fully integrated and profitable commercial organization, setting the stage for Martek’s sale to Royal DSM NV in 2011 for $1.1B.
Pete is currently an Advisory Partner with NewSpring Capital and is also on the board of several healthcare companies.
Veronica Cool
Founder & CEO
Cool & Associates LLC
Veronica Cool serves as Chief Executive Officer & Founder at Cool & Associates LLC. After 20 years in the corporate sector, Veronica launched Cool, a management consulting firm to bridge the mainstream world to the Hispanic and diverse segments in the United States. Specializing in an integrated model providing solutions from the basics, like translations, media and events to the more complex, such as Influencer Marketing, Community Outrach, Recruiting, Workforce & Employee Support Plans and Full Menu of Professional Development Trainings. She has blended her financial expertise and operational experience with her nonprofit activities to drive engagement and growth. Her expertise includes commercial banking, lending, financial analysis and sales management, working with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and leading and operating the state-wide Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as well as launching the only nonpartisan statewide Hispanic advocacy nonprofit Maryland Latinos Unidos group. She is the founder of the Latino Innovators Pitch, an innovative program to showcase and empower Latino entrepreneurs to scale and grow their businesses profitably and sustainably. Veronica founded the Facebook Groups Yo Quiero Trabajo and Emprendedores Exitosos, where she curates content, resources and opportunities for Latino jobseekers and entrepreneurs. She holds a BS from Kutztown University in Business Administration, and a Master's of Science in Finance from Loyola University of MD. A native of Dominican Republic, she is the Past Board Chairman of the MD Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the boards of Loyola University, Medstar Hospital, and Maryland Latinos Unidos.
Maria Martinez
Specail Secretary
Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs
Governor Wes Moore appointed Yolanda “Maria” Martinez as Special Secretary of the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs in July.
Established in 1986, the office connects Maryland’s small business community to greater economic opportunities across the public and private sectors. It oversees the state’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Veteran Small Business Enterprise (VSBE), and Small Business Reserve (SBR) programs.
A first-generation American and lifelong Marylander, Martinez is a respected entrepreneur, community leader, and philanthropist with over 25 years of private sector experience—including nearly two decades as a minority woman business owner. In 2001, with support from a women’s entrepreneurship program, she launched Respira, a respiratory sleep medicine company that grew into a multimillion-dollar healthcare operation. She now serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Project Enhancement Corporation, a national firm serving federal clients in environmental, health, safety, and national security sectors.
Martinez has held leadership roles on numerous boards and commissions, including as board chair of the Ellicott City Partnership, and former chair of both the Baltimore and Maryland Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. She also served on the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, co-chaired Baltimore’s Advisory Council on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, and was a member of the Baltimore NAACP advisory board and President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board Workforce Development Task Force.
As Special Secretary, Martinez is advancing Governor Moore’s commitment to expanding access, accountability, and measurable success within the state’s small and minority business programs, while fostering growth and engagement across Maryland’s business landscape.