Each year, the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) holds a procurement conference, a premier business-to-business event convened by the Pan-Asian American business community. This year the, the 2018 CelebrAsian Procurement & Business Conference rocked the business world once again with a 4-day agenda that celebrated the successes of the past while preparing the next generation of Asian American and minority businesses to lead into the future.
From May 29-June 4, 2018, the Bethesda North Marriott was the spot where new connections between Asian-American and minority businesses and Fortune corpo-rations and government agencies were made. It is also the place where attendees listened to prestigious keynote speakers like Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo; Laxman Narasimham, CEO of PepsiCo, Latin America and Europe Sub-Saharan Africa; and Linda Tai, Global Head of Architecture and Engineering for Chief Technology Officer, Managing Director, Bank of America. There were corpo-rate speakers representing a wide range of companies, including Amazon, Auto-ISAC, Dupont, Charter Communications, General Motors, Marriott International and many more. There were also government and NGO speakers, like Kimberly Marcus, Director of Supplier Diversity, AARP and Melissa "Lisa" Jenkins, Women-Owned Small Business Program Manager, Industry Liaison, Department of Treas-ury.
Being able to get this many influential people to speak at the same conference reflects the enormous value the CelebrAsian delivers to all participants. The agenda offers numerous programs on topics like federal contracting for newcom-ers and experienced contractors; doing business with corporations in construc-tion, manufacturing, and clean tech sectors; technology and disruptive innova-tion; meet the disruptors; and so much more.
This is an exciting conference that leads to new business opportunities. There is a business fair, awards dinner, one-on-one matchmaking meetings, and network-ing sessions. Each year the USPAACC conference serves as the link between the past successes and an innovative future fueled by Asian Americans and other mi-nority entrepreneurs and businesses. This is a conference that should always be on the business calendar as a not-to-miss event each year.