Philadelphia - On September 11, W/MBEs and corporate representatives from across Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey gathered at the Sofitel Philadelphia for the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council’s (EMSDC) ROAR (“Return On All Relationships”) Conference & Matchmaker. The annual event is designed to connect corporations with compatible diverse suppliers, while assisting W/MBEs in developing their businesses to meet corporate sourcing needs.
The Conference kicked off with a Power Keynote Breakfast, “The Power of Presence”, led by Todd Cohen, the nation’s leading voice on building Sales Culture. In this keynote, as well as his afternoon workshop “The Power of Suggestion,” Todd demonstrated how every conversation is a “selling moment” and how everyone can contribute to the growth and profitability of the organization.
“Presence is about how you show up and engage,” Cohen noted in his Breakfast Keynote, ““If you want to sell more, you need to engage more. Selling is the transfer of emotions. Never leave a conversation empty handed, presence means never abdicating your moment.”
During lunch, attendees heard the second keynote of the day with “A Bigger Discussion,” presented by The Bigger Discussion and moderated by Scott A. Vowels, PhD, Manager of Apple’s Supplier Diversity and co-founder of The Bigger Discussion. A Bigger Discussion is a straight talk conversation around supplier diversity, when we stop being nice and start getting real about the future and impact of supplier diversity. The seasoned panel featured:
• Loren Hopkins-Taylor, Supplier Diversity Sourcing Manager, Dupont and Global Diversity & Inclusion Champion for Dupont Sourcing & Logistics
•Beverly (Bev) Jennings, Head of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion, Johnson & Johnson
•Heather McCreary, Director of Center of Excellence, Henkels & McCoy
•Shelley Brown, Diversity Solutions Leader, Aon
In addition to the two outstanding keynotes, were able to tailor their Conference experience to their needs. Corporate representatives had the option of attending workshops such as “The Psyche of Supplier Diversity”, which provided an inside look at fine-tuning corporate diversity programs, while W/MBEs met with lending professionals as part of the all-day Loan-A-Thon for advice and instant loan approval.
Corporate and Capital Roundtable discussions provided both parties with additional chances to form relationships exchange ideas, and the Conference’s keystone, the Matchmaker, allowed for procurement professionals and suppliers to meet one-on-one about available opportunities and future contracts. Attendees were also able to “step up” their personal and professional brands with free headshots and promotional videos, both taken on-site at the conference.