Marcella McCullough is the senior manager of supplier diversity, purchasing strategy for Nissan North America, Inc. She hosted Nissan's first "targeted" Service and Support Supplier Diversity Trade Show at the company's North American headquarters. The event's main goal is to increase awareness of diverse suppliers with specific internal functional groups, particularly in marketing, communications, facilities, and manufacturing support. She provides updates to the internal teams regarding diverse suppliers for continuous new sourcing opportunities. Also, McCullough believes that training and education are essential to the organization’s understanding the value proposition for using diverse suppliers.
To develop a robust supplier diversity program, McCullough implemented the NMSDC Best Practices. She strongly believes that Practice #1, gaining top management support, is critical to success. With executive support, McCullough established quarterly leadership reviews at Nissan to discuss their program progress and roadblocks. To maintain progress, Marcella utilizes the Best Practice #6 measurements. She recommends each organization select the practices that support their desired organizational culture.