The mission of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is to significantly increase business relationships between our corporate members and our certified MBEs. We believe that minority business development is a key component of reducing poverty, unemployment, increasing wealth, and integrating American society. You are receiving this email in order to keep you abreast of developments with the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Supplier Diversity Issues and Minority Business Development. If you like what you read please share internally and externally. |
2011 NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair |  to be held October 30-November 2 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Online Registration is closed. Onsite registration is available on Saturday, October 29, at the Georgia World Congress Center.
More than 700 Corporate and minority business exhibit booths. Countless networking opportunities, Special events, meal functions and a black-tie Awards Banquet.
NMSDC Business Opportunity Fair Exhibitors List and Floor plan
GNEMSDC will be exhibiting and we have a great theme for this year, make sure you stop by and say hello. Our booth number is 837 and we are raffling away an iPad. |
Corporate News |  We received this news item last week from CVS Caremark.
"Please join me on Monday, October 24th in welcoming Todd Gray to the CVS Caremark Strategic Procurement organization. Todd will be taking on the role of Manager, Supplier Diversity reporting to me. In our quest to expand the supplier diversity program across our enterprise Todd brings knowledge and experience in developing and implementing supplier diversity inclusion and policies while increasing business to business spend. Todd has a master's in Finance and a bachelor's in Communication. His experience spans across corporate settings as well as working for non-profit community based programs.
Todd has been recognized by the Atlanta Business Journal as one of Atlanta's Top 50 Rising Stars and a Top 100 Most Influential Business Leaders. He will be a great addition to Strategic Procurement's incredible team and we are happy to have him join us."
On behalf of the GNEMSDC, we also welcome Mr. Gray to the network. |
MBE News |  On behalf of the GNEMSDC board, I congratulate Young Moving & Storage!
Cartus Global Network Conference that was held in October 10 -12th in Denver Colorado. As a valued member of the Cartus Global Network, Young Moving & Storage, attended the highest quality recognition and educational conference in the industry, with access to more than 400 of the most influential suppliers from around the world! Young Moving & Storage was recognized by Cartus for providing consistent high quality service to their clients and received their " Commitment to Excellence Gold" Award for Domestic US Moving Services. |
MBE Showcase from Trade Expo 2011 - VRT and Virpie Tech Come Together |  This week we feature VRT and Virpie Tech, two certified MBEs who have combined their IT experience with their business process improvement experience to come up with a product that can dramatically change an organization. Please take the time to take a look at these award winning companies. View Presentation
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NMSDC/GNEMSDC Upcoming Events, Activities and Information | Please take a close look at the events listed below. The links will take you to detailed information about the events. We will have more information for those events that do not currently have live links, but please mark your calendars and call the office.
Events and Activities: Information: |
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Job Openings at GNEMSDC |  The GNEMSDC is looking for a procurement professional with supplier diversity and entrepreneurship experience for the Boston office to be a part of our exciting new MBDA Business Center. This is a full time position. Interested parties should send their resumes to Joanne Wang at jwang@gnembc.org.
The GNEMSDC is also looking for an administrative assistant for the Boston office. Interested parties should send their resumes to akim@gnemsdc.org
The GNEMSDC is also looking for a person to serve as an administrative assistant in our Hamden office. Interested parties should send resumes to Gloria Yopp atgyopp@gnemsdc.org. |
Opportunity with Corporate Member | |
Boston MBDA Business Center Grand Opening! |  The GNEMSDC is proud to announce the Grand Opening of the MBDA Business Center - Boston on Tuesday, November 15 from 3:00 to 4:30 PM at the GNEMSDC offices in Copley Plaza. Invited guests include MBDA National Director David Hinson, Regional Director Heyward Davenport. The U.S. Department of Commerce will also be inviting Governor Deval Patrick, Senators Scott Brown and John Kerry and Congressman Michael Capuano.
Please RSVP by contacting Joanne Wang at jwang@gnembc.org. There will be a reception to follow the Grand Opening. |
Boston MBDA Business Center News - Warren Bacon Hired as Project Director |  Warren H. Bacon, Project Director, Minority Business Development Center - Boston.
Prior to joining the Business Center, Warren was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Initiative For A New Economy, a non-profit consulting organization dedicated to helping minority owned businesses grow, gain scale and larger and more competitive. This was accomplished by intensive mentoring of selected MBE's and helping them win contracts, resulting in increased sales and the creation of new jobs. He joined INE after a 30 year career in banking, with extensive experience in lending, risk management, developing and leading staffs to exceed expectations, process improvement and business turn around.
Prior to joining INE, he served as SVP of Small Business Credit and Operations for TD Banknorth, where he managed two loan underwriting centers and the bank's $800MM small business loan portfolio. Under his management, the loan approval rate increased 5%, underwriting time improved by 43%, maximum loan limits increased fourfold, numerous new products were introduced and the portfolio increased by more than 12% annually. Warren also held several key positions at BankBoston and Fleet Banks. He was a Director in BankBoston's loan review department, where he managed credit examinations both domestically and internationally across the bank's commercial and consumer portfolios. He was also the Senior Credit Officer for BankBoston Mortgage Corporation, the 7th largest originator of residential mortgages in the nation, where he introduced several new processes and analytical techniques that significantly improved efficiency and risk mitigation. Warren also managed the bank's Private Banking division for eastern Massachusetts, and grew this client intensive business by over 15% annually. Additionally, he served as Risk Manager for Fleet's International Private Banking, where he developed a comprehensive anti-money laundering system and other risk mitigation tools that led to the release of severe operating restrictions on the business.
Warren's commitment to community service is expressed in his Board memberships at Children Services of Roxbury Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, and Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, .
Warren holds a B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
On behalf of the GNEMSDC network, I welcome Warren to the team. |
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And Finally... | 
I think some of the best conversations a person can have is with one's self, although I do not suggest that these internal discussions become external, animated and frequent. This happened to me after I mailed out last week's And Finally which urged MBEs to seek merger and acquisition opportunities as part of their growth strategies. The "other" me countered with "M&A is not for every entrepreneurial company". "After all some entrepreneurs are making a good, and sometimes a great living. Who needs to be a "Master of the Universe" when you can successfully grow an enterprise, hire some folks and yourself and make enough money to buy a home, take nice vacations, have food on the table, and get your kids through college?" I had to concede that this much is true. Then the "other" me added that "not only are some entrepreneurs not interested in M&A and market supremacy, M&A would be bad idea for some entrepreneurs given the status and health of their company. You see, a strong company can take over a weak company. And a strong company can even take over another strong company. But a weak company cannot take over a strong company. And a weak company should not take over another weak company." So the "other" me reasoned, that prerequisites for success at M&A include the desire and the capability to execute. So I guess I was right. I suspect I will have more to discuss (with myself) on this subject, but it would be nice to hear from others.
In your service, Dr. Fred  |
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