National Minority Supplier Development Council Releases 2017 Annual Conference Programming with a New Focus on Technology, Women-Owned Businesses and the Digital Generation

Detroit, Michigan, Oct. 19, 2017 -- National Minority Supplier Development Council today released the comprehensive programming slated for the 2017 Annual Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange that will be held at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. This annual event marks the 45^th anniversary of the Council, and the return to the nation’s largest epicenter of supplier diversity: the automotive industry. The 2017 Conference also marks the first year that NMSDC Conference programming has a special focus on technology, WMBEs and the digital generation in the global supply chain.

The NMSDC Conference is looking forward to the future of the supply chain through technology-focused programming, including:

• Cybersecurity: A Serious Security Challenge
• Supply Chain of the Future: A Self Organizing Network
• How Small Business Can Leverage Technology

While the theme of this year’s NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange is “Minority Supplier Development: Fueling Economic Growth,” this year’s programming also highlights for the first time the digital generation with Millennial-focused programming, including:

• Gen Now: Understanding the Multi-gen Workforce
• Emerging Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) Program
• Teaming to Develop MBE Suppliers of the Future

For four days, more than 6,000 corporate CEOs, procurement executives and supplier diversity professionals from top multinational companies will convene to re-energize their collective efforts to develop and advocate for more vigorous participation by minority-owned firms in global corporate supply chains. This year, one of the main Plenary Sessions on “Fueling Company Growth” features the first only female C-suite executives Mary Kramer, Crain's Detroit Business; Janice Bryant Howroyd, The ACT 1 Group; Carmen Castillo, SDI Intl. Corp.; Andra M. Rush, Detroit Manufacturing Systems.

According to Louis Green, interim president of NMSDC, “The 2017 Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange will focus on propelling economic growth for corporate executives and minority business owners, with a special focus on technology, WMBEs and the digital generation. As the U.S. nears the point where minorities comprise greater than 50 percent of the population, the need for strong minority-owned businesses in national and global supply chains will be vital to the health of our growing economy.”

Conference co-chairs are: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, ACRO Service Corporation, Ampcus and Kyyba. There are more than 60 corporate and MBE sponsors. DiversityComm is the NMSDC’s media partner for the event. For a complete list of companies supporting the Conference, please visit www.nmsdcconference.com and scroll to the bottom.

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About NMSDC

The NMSDC advances business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises (MBEs) and connects them to corporate members. One of the country's leading corporate membership organizations, NMSDC was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. The NMSDC Network includes a National Office in New York and 23 affiliate regional councils across the country. The network also includes five international partner organizations located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and South Africa. 

To meet the growing need for supplier diversity, NMSDC matches its nearly 12,000 certified minority-owned businesses to our network of more than 1,400 corporate members who wish to purchase their products, services and solutions. NMSDC, a unique and specialized player in the field of minority business enterprise, is proud of its unwavering commitment to advance Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American suppliers in a globalized corporate supply chain. For more information, visit www.NMSDC.org.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9030b205-50b7-4f5f-8a24-92608e22a978

Teena Touch
National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.
212-944-2430 x127
[email protected]