Carrboro Massage Therapy will hold an open house today from 5 to 7 p.m. at 102 Ashe St.

The event will celebrate the opening of Carrboro Massage Therapy and the offices of BlissWorks Life Coaching Services.

Carrboro Massage Therapy is a new cooperative massage practice of Ruth Newnam, Sarah Pryor, Allyn Sharp Putnam and Naomi Heitz. BlissWorks Life Services is the practice of Leela Breedlove and Margaret Rhee.

The open house will include music, food, drinks, door prizes and the artwork of Jenifer Padilla. There is limited on-site parking; parking also is available at Carrboro Town Hall.

For information or directions, call 593-1630 or e-mail ruth@carrboromassagetherapy.com.

Local firm hires consultant

Emilio Power has joined ThotWave Technologies, a Chapel Hill-based consulting company.

Power will serve as an ETL developer, utilizing his SAS development and data integration experience.

"We are pleased Emilio has joined the ThotWave Team," said Greg Nelson, president and CEO of Thotwave. "His comprehension and knowledge of the application and data warehouse design industry will be an asset to our clients."

Prior to joining ThotWave, Power was an analysts and developer with SAS and an IT specialist and served as the head of the Human Biology Computer Lab at Florida International University.

Power holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and a master's degree in management information systems from Florida International University. He lives in Durham.

Founded in November 2002, ThotWave Technologies specializes in providing business intelligence solutions to clients in the biopharma, health care, energy and utilities, financial services and retail industries.

Mebane company hires new VP

David Pepin has joined ArcaTech Systems, a Mebane-based company that makes transaction automation components for the financial, retail and self-service industries, as vice president of operations.

Pepin will manage ArcaTech's manufacturing, quality and technical services operations and will formulate policies and implement business strategies to help the company manage its rapid growth.

"Since joining ArcaTech, David has drawn upon his years of operational and management experience in the financial industry to contribute to many areas of the company," said Mort O'Sullivan, ArcaTech president. "We are confident that David's dedication, leadership and knowledge will play an integral role in continuing to build ArcaTech's position as a leader in the industry."

Pepin has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry. He has an MBA in finance.

Students explore finance careers

Six students from Chapel Hill High School graduated June 22 from a new program designed to attract minority or female high school students to business careers at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The students are Alice Cruz, Charles Harris, Mariah Norris, Krina Patel, Lavanya Rao and Joyah Watkins.

The Financial Futures Foundation established an alliance with Kenan-Flagler to offer the inaugural Financial Futures/UNC Kenan-Flagler Youth Institute June 11-22. The program was designed to help minority and female students learn about the career opportunities in business and, in particular, in the financial services industry.

Twenty-five high school students from Cary, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro and Rocky Mount learned about business from Kenan-Flagler professors.

During the first week, students learned about the basics of business and the economy, ethics, entrepreneurship, teamwork and communication. They traveled to Greensboro to visit American Express, where they met with senior vice president Michelle Gethers-Clark and toured the facilities. Gethers-Clark also gave the keynote address at the graduation luncheon.

Parish Capital Advisors LLP of Chapel Hill was a financial contributor to the Financial Futures/UNC Kenan-Flagler Youth Institute. Parish Capital founders James Mason, Wendell McCain and Charles Merritt all are Carolina graduates.