Corporations Meet Minority Businesses at Washington, D.C. Conference

     Oct. 5 -- Corporate executives representing some of the world's largest purchasing organizations and thousands of the best minority businesses in America will seek greater opportunities to do business at the National Minority Supplier Development Council Conference at the Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., from October 17-20. The Conference theme is "Minority Business and Corporate Alliances: Capitalizing on Opportunities."
     This year, America's biggest corporations will spend more than $80 billion to buy goods and services from minority business enterprises (MBEs). Minorities represent 28% of the population in the U.S. but minority-owned businesses represent only 15% of total businesses and 4% of total corporate purchases. However, minority businesses are one of the fastest growing business segments and play an increasingly important role in job creation and economic growth.
     "As global competition leads corporations to improve financial performance and become more customer-focused, they are working with their minority suppliers to build capacity to compete for larger contracts," says Harriet R. Michel, NMSDC president. "Minority businesses can be a true strategic resource within the supply chain."
     Co-chairing the event are Armentha Cruise, president and CEO of The Aspen Group and John W. Marriott III, executive vice president, lodging for Marriott International, Inc.
     The 704-booth Business Opportunity Fair that takes place on Monday, October 18th, is a perennial sell-out. An equal mix of corporate and MBE exhibitors, will have an opportunity to meet the expected 6,000 walk-through participants and to do business in the largest national procurement event of its kind.
     The participation of thousands of certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses in NMSDC activities makes it one of the most inclusive organizations of its kind.
     All program sessions, including the Business Opportunity Fair, will be held at the Washington Convention Center. The Plenary sessions and featured speakers at breakfasts and luncheons are a key part of each full day of activities.
     Tuesday's Plenary Session is "Supply Chain Management Effectiveness and Implications for Minority Suppliers." The speakers are Tony Brown, vice president, global purchasing, Ford Motor Company, one of the largest automotive companies in the world, and Howard E. Thompson, operating vice president, purchasing, Federated Department Stores, whose responsibility includes procurement of supplies and equipment for over 450 stores in 34 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. The moderator is Paul Novak, chief executive officer of the Institute for Supply Management, an organization of more than 45,000 supply management professionals.
     The Wednesday Plenary session, "The View from the Top: The Future of Minority Business Development" will feature two CEOs of corporations well-versed in the development of minority suppliers and the growth opportunities business diversity creates.
     John M. Barth, chairman, president and CEO of Johnson Controls, heads a Fortune 100 global market leader in automotive systems and facility management and Wisconsin's largest public company. In fiscal 2003, the company achieved its 57th year of sales increases, 28th straight year of dividend increases and 13th consecutive year of earnings increases. Michael F. Johnston, president and CEO, Visteon Corporation, is charged with driving the strategic vision and leading day-to-day operations for the $17.7 billion company that is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers. The moderator is Thomas W. Sidlik, executive vice president, global procurement and supply for DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
     Hon. Al Wynn, Fourth Congressional District of Maryland, is the Monday Breakfast Speaker. Dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for all Americans, he is a long-time advocate for small business development, successfully enacting legislation to improve federal contracting opportunities for small and minority businesses and earning him the U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator's Leadership Award twice.
     Michael Lee-Chin, chairman and chief executive officer, AIC Limited, president of the Berkshire Group of Companies, and chairman of the National Commerce Bank of Jamaica Limited is the Monday Luncheon speaker. AIC, the largest privately-held mutual fund company in Canada, services almost one million investors and has more than $11 billion in assets under management. As a Jamaican-born, Canadian citizen he is among Canada's richest individuals and Forbes ranks him among the wealthiest people in the world.
     Tuesday morning's Power Breakfast speaker is Karen K. Narasaki, executive director, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium. As a nationally recognized expert on immigrant, voting and civil rights and affirmative action, she leads the non-profit, non-partisan civil rights organization whose mission is to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through advocacy, public policy, public education and litigation.
     Jorge de Cespedes, president and chief operating officer, Pharmed Group Holdings, is the Tuesday Luncheon speaker. He heads the largest independent distributor of medical, surgical, pharmaceutical and rehabilitative supplies in the United States, distributing more than 25,000 products in the Americas. With more than 250 employees, Pharmed's revenue has grown at an average rate of 26% annually, and in 2003 had almost $600 million in revenues.
     Debra L. Lee, president and chief operating officer, BET Holdings, Inc., is the Wednesday Breakfast speaker. As the highest ranking African-American woman at BET's parent company Viacom, the Harvard Law graduate has led the company in four consecutive seasons of record-setting ratings as well as the network's evolution into original movies, documentaries, concert specials, news, late-night talk shows and public policy coverage. BET reaches more than 78 million homes.
     JoAnn H. Price, president, Fairview Capital Partners, Inc. is the speaker at Wednesday's Business Consortium Fund Luncheon. She is a general partner of Fairview's seven institutional funds-of-funds representing over $1.6 billion in committed capital under management dedicated to private equity markets. As general partner, she participated in the investment of more than 60 venture capital and private equity limited partnerships. There are 24 workshops scheduled with more than 48 panelists, and two seminars for minority business owners on Survival in a Price-Competitive Environment and Strategic Selling.
     Tuesday workshops include: The Basics for Success of your Minority Supplier Development Process; Purchasing: Trends and Issues; Developing Trust in Strategic Alliances; Building a Global Network of Historically Excluded Suppliers; Measuring Corporate Success: Are We There Yet?; Including Supplier Development in Corporate Diversity Goals; Doing Business With Universities; Second Tier Purchasing: The Big Multiplier Effect; Advantages of Outsourcing to MBEs; Power Tools: Keeping Positive Pressure on the Government; Long-Term Capital: The Key To Sustained Growth; Business Insurance, Risk Management and Surety Bonding for Small and Emerging Firms.     
     Wednesday workshops include: Capacity Building for Minority Suppliers; Purchasing: Trends and Issues; Reverse Online Auctions: MBEs Compete and Win; Influencing Buying Decisions: The Power of Persuasion; More Value From Supply Chain Planning; Doing Business with the Telecommunications Industry; Supplier Value Analysis: How MBEs can Be Prepared; Making an Effective Business Case for Minority Supplier Development; Doing Business with Corporations in the Healthcare Industry; Using Training To Build Enthusiasm and Commitment for Minority Supplier Development; Utilizing the Power of the General Counsel; Technology Advances Emerging Today.
     The Conference is co-hosted by the Maryland/District of Columbia Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc., one of 39 NMSDC-affiliated councils around the country. For additional information on the Conference or minority business development, contact the National Minority Supplier Development Council at (212) 944-2430 or http://www.nmsdc.org.
     Providing a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country's leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

Source: National Minority Supplier Development Council