Austin heads SBA district office

FORT WORTH - The Dallas/Fort Worth district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration has named Herbert Austin as its new director.

Austin will oversee delivery of the agency’s loan guarantee, business development and counseling programs for 72 counties in North,

central and East Texas. In fiscal year 2007, the SBA’s district office guaranteed 3,305 loans worth more than $781 million to small businesses in the servicing area.

Before joining SBA in 1989, Austin, who has an extensive background in international trade, worked in the private sector as director of exporting for both United States and overseas companies. He has also served as the facilitator for the One Stop Capital Shop and directed SBA trade finance programs at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in New York. In 2003, Austin was named deputy district director of SBA’s New York office while serving as acting district director for several months.

Austin holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from New York University and an MBA from Pace University. He and his wife have two children.