August/September 2010
EEI honors members for supplier diversity efforts
Washington, DC – Edison Electric Institute (EEI, www.iee.org) recently honored three of its member electric companies for creating opportunities for MBEs and WBEs in the electric power industry. Southern California Edison won the industry's overall excellence award, and Georgia Power and We Energies each received an innovation award for their efforts to increase the diversity of their companies' suppliers.
Southern California Edison (SCE) was recognized for its organization-wide commitment to supporting diverse suppliers. The utility's efforts to reach a wide variety of ethnic groups, women and veterans, and its mentoring and training for those suppliers were particularly significant.
 Electric companies earn the EEI supplier diversity innovation award by setting a standard for other companies to follow. Georgia Power created a new approach to diversifying its supplier base by using its executives and consultants across its business units, and by its aggressive goal setting. We Energies earned its award by creating a strong supplier diversity policy statement signed by its CEO, and by successfully seeking out and using minority suppliers for its finance, investing and banking services.
"These electric companies deserve praise for  their efforts to expand purchasing opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses," says EEI president Thomas R. Kuhn. "Their efforts to broaden their supplier bases keep them among the nation's most competitive electric and natural gas delivery companies in the country. Their efforts also help the U.S. electric power industry to be among the strongest industries in the world."
For the past twenty-seven years, EEI has recognized electric companies that demonstrate leadership in advancing purchasing opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses. Diverse suppliers have entered critical industry areas like underground and overhead line construction, meter reading, nuclear engineering services, construction management and pension fund management.
For more about these awards, check out www.eei.org/diversity.
June/July 2010
NMSDC honors business leaders
 New York, NY – The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) has honored Michael Duke of Wal-Mart Stores, Ralph G. Moore of Ralph G. Moore & Associates and Frederick Ruiz of Ruiz Food Products for their significant long-term achievements in minority business development.
Duke is Walmart’s president and CEO. In its fiscal year ended January 2010, Walmart spent $2.75 billion with 325 Asian, Black,
Hispanic and Native American businesses.
Walmart also encourages its major suppliers to join NMSDC to increase their supplier diversity opportunities.
Ralph G. Moore is president of Ralph G. Moore & Associates (Chicago, IL), a consulting firm that
develops and evaluates supplier diversity programs for public and private-sector entities.
Frederick Ruiz is chair emeritus of Ruiz Food Products (Dinuba, CA), the largest manufacturer of frozen Mexican food in the U.S.
AT&T to help SDVBEs
Dallas, TX – AT&T’s goal is to spend 1.5 percent of its total purchases with disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBEs). With that in mind, the company started Operation Hand Salute (OHS) to mentor DVBEs. The year-long program matches each of seven DVBE mentees with two mentors: a current AT&T supplier and an AT&T employee on the OHS task force. The goal is to give DVBEs tools to improve their business operations and ability to win corporate contracts. OHS workshops will cover everything from quality certification to global procurement processes and corporate supply chain requirements. At the end of the program mentees will be better positioned to register for TL 9000 certification, a quality management system designed to meet supply chain quality requirements of the telecom industry.
Last year AT&T coached and mentored a pilot group of WBEs through its women of color businesses growth initiative. Helping small businesses get TL9000 quality certification was a key component of that program, too.
Although the current program is focused on DVBEs in California, AT&T plans to take it national next year.
NMSDC names new president
New York, NY – Former procurement executive Joset B. Wright is the new president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Wright will succeed Harriet R. Michel, who is retiring this year after twenty-two years at the helm of the organization.
Most recently Wright was executive director of Orchard Village, a not-for-profit organization supporting people with disabilities. Before that she was a VP and managing director at the Hollins Group (Chicago, IL), a minority-owned search firm. As VP of procurement and property services at Ameritech Corp, she introduced strategic sourcing across the enterprise.
For more information about NMSDC see www.nmsdc.org.
April/May 2010
WBENC names new board chair, expands exec committee
 Washington, DC – Pamela Prince-Eason, VP of worldwide procurement for Pfizer, is new chair of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC, www.wbenc.org) board of directors.
Prince-Eason has led Pfizer’s procurement operations in Europe, Australia and New Zealand since 2000. She has held various leadership positions at Texas Instruments, GSE Systems, Warner Lambert and as a co-owner of women-run RMR Associates, a consulting company.
She has a bachelor of business admin in accounting from East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, TN) and a master of administrative science in international business and finance from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). In May 2008, she was among the first to receive ISM’s certified professional in supply management (CPSM) designation.
 Prince-Eason will chair a newly expanded WBENC executive committee of twelve with support from vice chairs Laura K. Taylor, VP for procurement operations at Pitney Bowes and Laurie Acreman, manager of strategic improvements and global procurement, ExxonMobil Global Services. The executive committee includes officers of the board as well as chairs of key committees: WBENC board treasurer Kathy Homeyer, director of supplier diversity and corporate procurement services for UPS; WBENC board secretary  K. Michelle Johnson, director of supplier diversity for Home Depot; chair of the women’s enterprise leadership forum Nancy Williams, principal, ASAP; chair of the leadership council Geri Swift, president, Women’s Business Enterprise Council PA-DE-sNJ; chair of the national certification committee Nancy Conner, manager of supplier diversity at W.W. Grainger; chair of member services and programs Benita Fortner, director of supplier diversity at Raytheon; chair of corporate membership and revenue generation Theresa Harrison, director of supplier diversity at Ernst & Young; chair of marketing, communications and brand management Debra Jennings-Johnson, director of supplier diversity for BP America; and immediate past chair of the WBENC board of directors Cheryl Stevens, VP of supplier diversity for Energy Future Holdings.
Going green at EEI supplier diversity conference
Kansas City, MO – May 18-20 the Edison Electric Institute (EEI, www.eei.org) and Kansas City Power & Light will host the twenty-seventh annual EEI supplier diversity conference. This year’s theme is “making a difference in the new green economy.”
KCP&L is the host company, and the event takes place in Kansas City, MO. Conference highlights include business matchmaking sessions, networking with energy-industry supplier diversity professionals and a supplier spotlight. There will also be a session called “utility supplier diversity 101, a how-to guide to doing business with utilities,” and of course the EEI awards luncheon.
Delta expands access to SD opportunities
Atlanta, GA – Delta Air Lines is looking for more M/WBEs to work with. The company plans to increase purchasing from certified business enterprises owned by minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities.
“This initiative is simply good for business,” says Steve Gorman, Delta’s exec VP and COO. “It strengthens Delta’s focus on the diversity of our suppliers to ensure that we are partnering with companies that reflect the global nature of our business. It also underscores our commitment to the diversity of communities we serve.”
Diverse businesses can register online at deltasupplierdiversity.cvmsolutions.com.
WBENC names record top companies for WBEs
 Washington, DC – The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) announced its annual listing of America’s top corporations for women’s business enterprises. The awards honor corporations for 2009 programs that created level playing fields for WBEs.
“Our top corporations are world-class leaders generating growth through partnerships with WBEs,” says Linda Denny, president and CEO of WBENC. Denny is an authority on and advocate for WBEs as vendors and suppliers to the nation’s leading corporations.
“This year we reached a record high of twenty-one top corporations selected for outstanding, enterprise-wide supplier diversity programs and measurable results.”
The programs offer equal access and result in a high volume of business with WBEs. Among WBENC’s 2009 top corporations are AT&T, Dell, Ernst & Young, Manpower, Office Depot, Pfizer and Verizon. For more information, see www.wbenc.org.
February/March 2010
DOT reaches out to SDVOBs with MBE day
 Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) held a day-long small business vendor day with an emphasis on service- disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOBs). Many procurement opportunities for SDVOBs are mentioned in the OSDBU’s 2010 fiscal year procurement forecast; this event was designed to help the SDVOBs and other minority-owned businesses take advantage of them.
WBENC names its business enterprise stars
 Washington, DC – The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) has named fourteen women business owners as WBENC Women’s Business Enterprise Stars for 2010. The stars are selected by WBENC’s fourteen regional partner organizations. In addition to their active roles at the helm of successful WBENC-certified businesses, they are honored for leadership in their local business communities and inspiration to other women business owners.
The 2010 stars include two technical women, Sandy Hunter and Michele Vignes.
Sandy Hunter is president of Hunter Hawk, a manufacturing and project-management company. Hunter Hawk specializes in  reverse engineering and manufacture of critical mechanical equipment components for industrial applications at refineries, power plants, mining operations and more. Hunter was nominated by the Astra Women’s Business Alliance of California.
Another technical star is Michele Vignes, president and CEO of Universal Personnel. The firm specializes in recruiting and supporting professional staff for the oil and gas, utilities and chemical manufacturing industries.
For more info and a complete list of winners, see www.wbenc.org.
NNSA small business spend tops $418 million in 2009
Washington, DC – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) distributed more than $418 million to small businesses for federal prime contracts in fiscal year 2009. NNSA surpassed its departmental small business goal by over 15 percent in the same period.
A key example of NNSA’s small business contracts is the agency’s “second line of defense” program. The program employs three small-business-led teams to install radiation portal monitors to detect nuclear and radioactive material at international border crossings, airports and seaports around the world. NNSA also uses small businesses to fulfill the majority of its technical and administrative support services at its Washington, DC HQ.
Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a semiautonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. It is responsible for enhancing national security through the military application of nuclear science. See www.nnsa.energy.gov for more info.
NMBC holds seventh annual Women’s Business Leadership conference
 New York, NY – At the seventh annual Women’s Business Leadership conference of the National Minority Business Council (NMBC), more than 100 women business owners met with state officials, state and city procurement folks, financial services execs and minority business advocates.
This year’s theme was “Success strategies for the new economy.” Information was provided on IT co-sourcing, social networking, marketing strategies for the new economy and stimulus money for small businesses.
“The NMBC was honored to have such distinguished organizations as lead corporate sponsors of this year’s Women’s Business Leadership Conference,” says John F. Robinson, NMBC president and CEO. The lead sponsors were BNY Mellon and C.W. Brown Inc; the New York Power Authority was also a sponsor.
For more about the NMBC and its women’s conference, visit the website www.nmbc.org.
Office Depot releases an all-MBE supplier catalog
Boca Raton, FL – At the National Minority Supplier Development Council annual conference trade show in the fall of 2009, Office Depot released a HUB (historically underrepresented businesses) catalog of products and services provided by M/WBEs.
The catalog lists more than 1,400 items ranging from Hess white board cleaning products and Smead file folders to Neutral Posture desk chairs and Lepages packaging tape.
By purchasing from the HUB catalog, customers are able to work toward fulfilling their second-tier HUB spending requirements. The catalog is available at www.officedepot.com/diversity.
Electronic security MBE fits out new hotel
 Atlanta, GA - Carter Brothers’ Edwards Service division recently designed and installed an automatic fire detection system, along with an emergency voice communication and alarm system, for Swissôtel Chicago and the hotel’s event center. Carter Brothers, headed up by John and Cris Carter, is one of the largest minority-owned firms in the country providing electronic security and fire- and life-safety installation service and maintenance.
The new installation uses the GE Security EST3 fire alarm system; the project included a retrofit of an existing hardwired fire panel. The entire new system is ADA compliant and capable of elevator recall. It has a complete graphical interface and meets all City of Chicago highrise codes.
Carter Brothers was chosen for the project because of the company’s successful history with highrise fire alarm system retrofits in Chicago.
The company has some 260 employees and more than fifty locations nationally. For more information, see www.carterbrothers.com.
2009 Stevie awards for women in business
 New York, NY – The Stevie awards for women in business are designed to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of business women and women-owned organizations. The awardees are selected by judges worldwide.
Technical women among the 2009 honorees included Mary Tappouni, president and owner of Breaking Ground Contracting (Jacksonville, FL), who was named  best entrepreneur in a service business up to 100 employees in the consumer products, IT and materials area.
Wendi Goldsmith, president of the Bioengineering Group, Inc (Salem, MA), was a finalist in the category of best entrepreneur in service businesses up to 100 employees in other industries.
 Kathy Memenza, VP of info protection, privacy and IT security at Marriott International (Bethesda, MD) was a finalist for best executive in the category of service businesses with more than 2,500 employees.
Rebecca Jimenez was a finalist in the category of employee of the year. Jimenez is a junior system engineer at High Performance Technologies, Inc (Reston, VA).
A list of winners and finalists is available at www.stevieawards.com/women.
December 2009/January 2010
Manpower hosts “making it happen,” a supplier diversity roundtable
Milwaukee, WI – This is the seventh year that Manpower, a world leader in employment services, has hosted a supplier diversity roundtable. Thirty-seven MBEs attended the “Making it happen” event for a chance to network and learn how to do business with Manpower.
Attendees heard from Manpower service buyers as well as from MBEs that provide services to Manpower. A day and a half of presentations and panels covered topics as wide-ranging as e-verification, immigration compliance, data demands and analytics.
Jeanna Winkler, manager of supplier diversity and supply chain initiatives, updated the guests on important changes taking place within Manpower’s supplier diversity program, including a new advisory board and an “elite supplier” program. Always in evidence was the serious interest that Manpower takes in supplier diversity.
At an evening reception, MBEs networked with Manpower execs and department reps before attending a ceremony recognizing top MBE suppliers.
The event was a great success, highlighting Manpower’s commitment to developing relationships with diverse suppliers to collaborate on innovative workforce solutions for clients worldwide. “Through these efforts, Manpower can help strengthen the economic wealth of diverse business communities. This will, in turn, contribute to the overall growth and expansion of our markets,” says Winkler. She notes that for more information, potential suppliers should check out vendortools.manpower.com.
GSA launches mentor-protégé program aimed at spurring developmental relationships
Washington, DC – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has launched a mentor-protégé program. GSA’s Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) is helping GSA prime contractors partner with smaller companies in developmental relationships. “The business mentoring concept is a proven model for increasing small-business access to key subcontracts,” says GSA acting administrator Paul Prouty.
A protégé firm must meet the federal definition of a small business, small disadvantaged business, women-owned, HUB Zone, veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
Mentor firms choose their own protégés under this program. Online resources are available to help MBEs find companies interested in mentoring them. For more about the program check out www.gsa.gov/smallbusiness.
MBDA grants aimed at boosting minority access to Recovery Act funds
Washington, DC – Late in ’09, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) gave significant support to seven minority business centers across the country. The funds will be used to increase minority business access to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contracting opportunities.
“Minority-owned firms play a significant role in the nation’s economic growth,” points out MBDA national director David Hinson.
The centers are located in Mesa, AZ; Bismarck, ND; New Orleans, LA; Durham, NC; San Jose, CA; Detroit, MI and Philadelphia, PA.
The funding will be sufficient to let each center hire at least one business development specialist to focus on MBE access to ARRA funds.
MBEs can find out more about ARRA-related events and contracting opportunities at www.fedbizopps.gov, www.recovery.gov and www.mbda.gov.
WBE XIO Strategies given contract to support DESC public affairs
Vienna, VA – WBE XIO Strategies has a new contract to support the public affairs office of the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC), part of the Department of Defense (DOD). XIO Strategies specializes in end-to-end supply-chain management and communications consulting services to government, military and commercial organizations; it manages technology deployment and provides other services to several DOD organizations.
“We are pleased to begin this work supporting the DESC public affairs office; it shows that XIO brings the right combination of skills to the table,” says president/CEO Mary Ann Wag-ner. “We are accustomed to working with agencies across the defense community and federal government on communications projects, and this contract award is another fine example.
“We look forward to our support of the mission of DESC.” For more information visit www.xiostrategies.com.
WBDC and WBEs sponsor conference and business expo
 Miami, FL – Last fall, the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC), a Florida-based affiliate of WBENC, teamed with more than thirty corporations and WBEs to present the second annual WBDC conference and business expo. Corporations, government agencies, WBEs and affiliate organizations met to increase networking and contracting opportunities for WBEs.
The expo included one-on-one matchmaker visits with participating corporations, interactive workshops with leading businesswomen and corporations, meetings with corporate reps interested in doing business, and opportunities to network with product vendors. Office Depot held a vendor open house for interested businesses with products to sell.
Corporate sponsors included Burger King, Citibank, Office Depot, State Farm Insurance and UPS. Among the WBE sponsors were Zoya, Inc, Mercedes Electric and Betacom.
For information about future expos, see www.wbdcfloridaexpo.com.
SBA debuts YouTube channel
Washington, DC – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) now has a YouTube channel with informational videos on its programs and services for current and potential entrepreneurs. The channel debuted with a sixty-second introduction to SBA and a ten-part “delivering success” series co-produced with the U.S. Postal Service.
Future shows will cover Recovery Act loan programs, government contracting opportunities, exporting, how to start and grow a small business, and upbeat small business success stories.
Check out www.youtube.com/sba.
October/November 2009
Leadership circle of excellence honors are awarded
 Washington, DC – President Barack Obama officially proclaimed August 23-29, 2009 “minority enterprise development week” in recognition of the economic contributions small and disadvantaged businesses make to the U.S. economy. As part of the celebration, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) recognized four corporations for their supplier diversity efforts.
Ed Rust Jr, chair and CEO of State Farm; Patricia Woertz, chair, president and CEO of Archer Daniels Midland; Brendan McDonagh, CEO of HSBC-North America and Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt were all  honored for leading their firms’ supplier diversity efforts.
MBDA says winners of the award are chosen for their personal leadership and their organizations’ accomplishments in management-team diversity, diverse vendor relationships and community relations efforts.
The government is doing its part, too. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses won $93.3 billion in federal prime contracts in fiscal year 2008, while $29.3 billion was awarded to small disadvantaged businesses
WEConnect Canada “knowledge transfer” event
Toronto, Canada – This October WEConnect Canada, the association that advocates for Canadian women business owners, kicked off its first networking event and conference designed to support Canadian WBEs. “Knowledge transfer: from contacts to contracts, opening doors for women business owners” gave WBEs a chance to meet companies who want to diversify their supply chains.
Wal-Mart, Accenture and Staples were corporate sponsors of the event. For more information on this and future Knowledge Transfer activities check out www.weconnectcanada.org.
Amgen hosts M/WBE
certification workshop
Thousand Oaks, CA – This summer, biotech firm Amgen launched a program to educate small business owners about quality certification. Good quality practices, the company says, can reduce delivery costs, help ensure on-time delivery and improve the product or service being offered.
“This program educates suppliers on ISO certification and also gives them greater visibility to customers in pharmaceuticals and biotech,” explains Wendy Matheu, Amgen supplier diversity liaison officer and program organizer.
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