College of Business

Success Stories

Chico State students from the College of Business have been very successful, enriching both business and community organizations. Randy Hutchison, Kim Box, Keith Bewley, Scott Hanson, and Steve Perricone are great examples.


Keith Bewley

Keith Bewley

While still in college, Chico State alumnus Keith Bewley learned about entrepreneurship by working with his brother, Stuart Bewley, and Michael Crete, co-founders of California Coolers, a company that sparked a national wine cooler craze. Bewley worked at California Cooler until the company was sold in 1985 for $180-million, then co-founded LINC Venture Partners Inc., which specialized in analyzing business plans and funding start-up companies. He is currently the president of NEx Systems, which provides organic, environmentally safe dry cleaning and fabric protection services to Fortune 500 companies and residential properties.


Kim Box

Kim Box

After a successful career as an IT executive, Kim Box decided to begin giving back. She authored a book (Woven Leadership) to help others become the inspiring leaders of tomorrow. Her experience at IT giants such as Hewlett-Packard provided her unique experiences. She has transformed corporate operations in more than 100 locations, and she shares her insights via speaking engagements and workshops. Kim also gives back to the community through serving on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations. She is also a popular guest lecturer on college campuses.


Kim Box

Debra Cannon

Keenly devoted to fashion, aesthetics and culture, Debra Cannon, has mixed business savvy with a passion for family and place. Debra’s college career at Chico State wove together a wide range of interests in her studies, counter culture trends, and motherhood. This combination created a rich student life peppered with the Chico community’s local color that laid the foundation for her current success. After graduating at the top of her Chico State class with a degree in American Studies, she moved north to pursue graduate work at the University of Oregon School of Library Science. To follow her career path, though, she returned to Chico, first working at Merriam Library, Butte County and Chico Unified and then turning to the compelling life of an entrepreneur. In 1996 Debra and her daughter Colleen Winter founded LuLu's Fashion Lounge, a boutique in downtown Chico which blossomed into a retail destination along with GiGi Shoe Parlour. Lulus.com became a natural extension in 2005. With its rapid growth and strong appeal for its market, Lulus.com now employs 110 people and requires a 20,000 square foot warehouse in Chico. To foster the education of aspiring Chico State entrepreneurs, Debra has endowed the Lulu’s Entrepreneurship Scholarship.


Scott Hanson

Scott Hanson

Scott Hanson is a senior partner and founding principal of Hanson McClain Advisors, Inc., an independent investment advisory firm specializing in investment planning and wealth management. He is a nationally known financial expert identified as one of the 25 most influential people in the financial services industry by Investment Advisor magazine. He has been featured on Fox News, CNN, ABC Evening News and in The Wall Street Journal. Recently, Hanson was selected by Research magazine for induction into the publication’s Advisor Hall of Fame.


Randy Hutchison

Randy Hutchison

Randy is a serial entrepreneur with keen interest in technology who has used his B.S. and MBA to advantage. His most recent venture was Travidia, Inc. that he co-founded in 2000, led as President and CEO until recently, and then sold. Randy is an active contributor to Chico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and has shared that knowledge and experience by teaching in the College of Business for the last few years.


Steve Perricone

Steve Perricone

Chico College of Business graduate Steve Perricone is the President and co-founder of BioFuelBox Corporation, a San Jose-based alternative energy company that focuses on converting waste fats, oils and greases into ASTM quality biodiesel. BioFuelBox’s modular bio-refineries are deployed and co-located next to feedstock supplies, allowing companies and communities to efficiently convert waste streams into useable fuel. Selected by AlwaysOn as one of their 2008 GoingGreen Top 100 Winners, BioFuelbox is an emerging leader in the bio-tech field.