Southport, CT/ --DiversityBusiness.com latest event, the
sixteenth annual “National Summit” brought together people
from all over the United States. Once again, the diversity and
entrepreneurship world
came together under one roof, to network, to learn from one another, to
exchange ideas, approaches and strategies, and, in the case of some, to be
formally recognized for their hard work and commitment to multicultural
markets in the United States.
Participants took full advantage of the keynote and panel presentations -as
well as the social and networking
aspects of the summit. Produced for business owners and the corporations,
government agencies and academic institutions that utilize their services,
the DiversityBusiness.com summit offered a solid platform for the kind of
interactivity, exchange and networking that is usually missing from daily
business life, due to physical distance, busy work schedules and other
factors.
Perhaps the most valuable take-away for summit attendees were the keynote
presentations that touch upon topics which include: entrepreneurship,
marketing and branding, technology, social media, disability, and diversity.
Ben-Saba Hasan, SVP Chief Culture, D&I Officer at Walmart, kicked
off luncheon keynote. Coming from a 33 year background in technology; Ben
touched upon his transition from IT into the office of Chief Diversity at
Wal-Mart. At first being apprehensive, he shared how the motivating factor
in moving forward was the greater impact that can be made within this role.
Resonating on the theme of promoting diversity across your supply chain, Ben
also shared with the audience the keys to Wal-Mart success. He shared how
CEO Doug McMillon and Michael A. Byron, Senior Director of Diversity have
been instrumental in their dynamic growth. As a result of “putting their
statement to work”, Wal-Mart is currently 1.5 billion dollars ahead of their
spending goal with women-owned businesses.
He also shared with the audience expectations of suppliers, importance of
suppliers offering broad selection of products to match needs of their 260
million customers, and drive to promote diversity across supply chain. He
concluded by stating “to drive innovation and get product successfully to
customers, everyone (employees and suppliers) must be included to be
successful.”
Other keynote presenters from the event include: Gene Waddy, Founder & CEO
of DIVERSANT; Tiffany Pham, Founder & CEO of MOGUL; Aisha Bowe,
Co-Founder & CEO of STEMBoard; Bill Evans, President of
Current Staffing Solutions, LLC; and Michelle Van Otten, Founder and
Managing Director of Profit Ventures, LLC.
The day rounded out with a chief diversity officer panel forum
discussion represented by brands : Time Warner Cable, MetLife, Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
MasterCard and NYC Department of Information Technology. Jennifer Brown,
Founder and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting served as moderator.
Companies formally honored at the summit were the winners of the Div50 and
the Div500 listings, which honor, respectively, the Fortune 500 companies
and government agencies most dedicated to supporting diversity and the
nation's top diversity-owned businesses.
"We're looking forward to another dynamic, successful year of multicultural
business," said Kenton Clarke, CEO of DiversityBusiness.com. "The U.S. is so
vast, and business moves so fasts, that were it not for events such as this
one, the key underpinning of lasting, rewarding business
relationships-face-to-face contact-would slowly fade into the background.
Each year we see new faces, and they bring fresh ideas, new perspectives,
strategies and of course new technologies and processes.
Sponsors
Major Sponsors for the event included: Wal-Mart, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon,
U.S. Postal Service, Colgate Palmolive,Time Warner,
Hilton, and Apple.
| Press Contact: Quantise Rodgers | Director of Communications |
DiversityBusiness.com | (203) 255-8966 |
Contact US | 200 Pequot Avenue | Southport, CT 06890 |
Source: DiversityBusiness.com
About DiversityBusiness.com
Launched in 1999, DiversityBusiness is the largest organization of privately
owned businesses throughout the United States that provide goods and
services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, and colleges and
universities. DiversityBusiness provides research and data collection
services for diversity including the "Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural
Business Opportunities", "Top 500 Diversity Owned Companies in America ",
and others. Its research has been recognized and published by Forbes
Magazine, Business Week and thousands of other print and internet
publications. The site has gained national recognition and has won numerous
awards for its content and design. DiversityBusiness reaches more diverse
suppliers and communicates more information to them on a more frequent basis
then all other organizations combined. Our magazine reaches over 300,000 readers, a monthly e-newsletter
that reaches 2.4 million, and website visitors of 1.2 million a month. It is
a leading provider of Supplier Diversity management tools and has the most
widely distributed Diversity magazine in the United States .
DiversityBusiness.com is produced by Computer Consulting Associates
International Inc. (CCAii.com) of Southport , CT. Founded in 1980.
