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Greg Hawkins is the Manager of Diversity Supplier Development at Stellantis, one of the world’s leading automakers and mobility service providers carrying brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Jeep, and Peugeot. For the last 15 years, Greg has worked in sales and training, project design, process development, and supplier diversity, and was awarded Automotive News’ Notable Champion of Diversity at Stellantis in January 2022.

Greg joins Cloe and Adam to describe Stellantis’ supplier diversity program and the impact they make throughout the rest of the automotive industry. He describes why it can be challenging for minorities to become entrepreneurs in the industry and explains how empowerment can create a positive effect on communities. Greg also describes what clients can expect when they partner with Stellantis.

https://hubs.ly/Q016yn9d0

Holi, an ancient Hindu festival, also known as the festival of love, colors, and spring was this past Friday. Our Technical Delivery Manager, Abhijit shared this image of the celebration in his neighborhood of Pune, Maharashtra India. Attendees doused each other in "rang" (brightly colored powder), sang, danced, and celebrated the victory of good over evil, spring over winter. Having a globally distributed team means getting to glimpse moments from life around the world. We hope everyone who celebrates Holi had a wonderful day!

In the last two years, corporations were driven to make significant transformations regarding how they conduct business, specifically moving to digital platforms. The ability to evolve through uncertainty is a mark of an excellent development program.

We describe how the pandemic forced every industry to take the digital leap and what that means for the future. We share how leaders can grow their organizations and how to determine whether their developments were successful. We also discuss some of the technological innovations we expect to see soon.

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As a company, AT&T is a name most recognize. What most people don’t know, is that the telecommunications giant pioneered supplier diversity programs, making them a champion in the industry.

Cloe and Adam discuss why they see AT&T as the gold standard for supplier diversity efforts. We explain the difference between a company’s mission and vision and how they relate to each other. We discuss how companies can inspire younger workers to stay, and what it means to be purpose driven.

https://hubs.ly/Q015Fs9k0

Current trends indicate that the future of the economy will be more diverse each year, with more startups actively pursuing diversity in their cultures to ensure long-term growth.

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground, Cloe and Adam describe how the economy can rely on innovation to improve the country’s overall supplier diversity status, and the role supplier diversity plays in mergers and acquisitions. They also touch on the impact of supplier diversity in refining supply chains.

https://hubs.ly/Q015b4K40

Gary Sutton is the US Firm Business Diversity Leader at Deloitte Consulting. With over 18 years of sourcing and procurement experience, he has served more than 40 commercial and public sector clients.

Gary joins Cloe and Adam to discuss how Deloitte strategizes to procure diverse suppliers systematically and how it is pursuing its mission to create sustainable wealth for communities of color and for women. Gary also explains the role of intent in shaping the future and highlights the business case for supplier diversity in the professional services industry.

https://hubs.ly/Q014KB190

Supplier diversity programs are ramping up, and this will only continue to put pressure on your company’s supplier diversity leaders. Fortunately, through tail spend, there is a way to improve the results of your supplier diversity program. What is tail spend? How can tail spend improve existing diversity and inclusion programs?

In this episode, Cloe and Adam explain what tail spend is and how organizations can use tail spend to hit your supplier diversity goals faster and how it provides more opportunities for diverse vendors.

https://hubs.ly/Q014c4Ph0

Louis Garcia is the CEO of Media Garcia, an agency focused on helping small businesses generate leads and conversions through process optimization and automation. Louis joins Cloe and Adam to discuss how Media Garcia’s programs help small business owners get off the ground quickly and scale sooner. He explains the need for businesses to elevate each other, especially those belonging to high-poverty communities. He also reminds business owners that failures are opportunities to do better.

https://hubs.ly/Q013L5gZ0

“If you don’t know the why you’re doing what you’re doing, you have no idea how to set a goal against it.” - Adam Moore.

Upholding supplier diversity programs in any business is no easy task. In this episode, we describe some of the innovations we expect from the top companies in the United States regarding supplier diversity and inclusion programs in 2022.

We share tips for small businesses to win contracts with large companies. We explain the importance of knowing the “why” of your supplier diversity program regarding goal setting. We also discuss the supplier diversity solutions Higher Ground offers.

https://hubs.ly/Q013jDt_0

Marty Parker is a partner at TECHCXO and the Chief Strategy Officer at Hire Ground. The hats that Marty has worn over the years are numerous, but they all have one thing in common: his services help companies and students succeed in their chosen industries.

Marty joins Cloe and Adam to share his thoughts on what makes supplier diversity a challenging concept. He explains how the pandemic affected different companies of various industries and sizes. Marty also describes some of the good that came out of Covid-19.

https://hubs.ly/Q012RLhn0

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground, hosts Cloe Guidry-Reed and Adam Moore focus on two essential terms that are shaking the industry: supplier diversity and economic inclusion. They discuss the definition of economic inclusion and how it results from supplier diversity.

Cloe and Adam explain how economic inclusion has shifted the way businesses look at their consumers and suppliers. Additionally, they describe some of the topics they want to touch on this year and what the audience can expect in the coming weeks.

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The Vice President of Supply Chain Management at Southern Company, Johnny Howze is responsible for overseeing operational functions and power delivery. He has over 20 years of experience in the industry and joins Cloe and Adam to discuss why he prefers the term “economic inclusion” over “supplier diversity.”

He divulges advice to small businesses interested in working with large corporations, and his economic takeaways from the pandemic. Johnny also explains why a diverse team allows for better decision-making and dispels the myth of the costs associated with working with small businesses.

https://hubs.ly/Q011tD6G0

As the Global Supplier Inclusion and Sustainability Lead at Accenture, Nedra Dickson promotes and leads Accenture’s efforts to maximize procurement opportunities with small and diverse businesses across 17 countries. She also holds several board seats within the supplier diversity community, including board memberships in the Women Business Enterprise Council, the Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council, and the Supplier Diversity Leadership Council for The Conference Board.

Nedra joins Cloe and Adam to discuss what companies what measures companies should use to gauge the progress of their supplier diversity programs. She explains the expanse of Accenture’s supplier diversity program and its international reach. She describes the complex processes involved in navigating another country’s laws and legislations for Accenture’s programs, and how to manage expectations when working internationally.

https://hubs.ly/Q01133xj0

Monette Knapik, the Director of Operations at CVS, is responsible for day-to-day strategy ex*****on, network expansion, strengthening of internal working relationships, and innovation and growth opportunities.

Monette joins Cloe and Adam to showcase CVS’s supplier diversity program. She outlines how supplier diversity leaders should ask for support from company leaders. She explains the difficulties small businesses may encounter when working with large corporations and how being part of the supplier diversity program changed her perspective of what the program is and its goals.

https://hubs.ly/Q01130Kd0

Supplier diversity programs are hard work but having one in your organization is always worth the effort. Too often, however, companies often confuse a compliance program with a diversity program.

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground, Cloe Guidry-Reed, MBA, and Adam Moore discuss how to properly integrate a supplier diversity program into your company and utilize it intentionally. They also explain how supplier diversity programs can be a source of revenue and the ways in which the environment is a consideration when partnering or merging in any industry.

https://hubs.ly/Q010NbY20

Finding your perfect supplier + buyer match has never been easier.

Small and diverse businesses can set up a Hire Ground profile as a supplier to receive, discover and submit proposals for new business opportunities. Get warm introductions to buyers, communicate and collaborate with clients from wherever you are, automate tasks, monitor supplier risk, and more.

Or, use our intelligent SaaS platform as a buyer to connect with vetted diverse suppliers, helping small businesses grow while strengthening corporate and government supply chain inclusion programs.

See our website for more information: https://hubs.ly/Q010zD5N0

Anthony Hayes, President, and Founder of The Hayes Initiative has over 15 years of experience in crisis and issue management, communications, and political and legislative campaigns. One of Anthony’s notable achievements is that he was the Overall Press Lead for Team Hillary during the 2016 presidential election.

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground Anthony joins Cloe and Adam to discuss how The Hayes Initiative works with their clients to create a strong line of communication within an organization. He also shares the most opportune times for a company to stay quiet or make noise during a social justice movement.

https://hubs.ly/Q010r-2p0

As the Senior Director and Head of Indirect Procurement at Floor & Decor, G'Sean Williams is known as an industry speaker, negotiations leader, and expert in global commercial contracting.

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground, G'Sean joins Cloe and Adam to discuss the ways the pandemic changed how we perceive supply and demand and describes the complexities of contracting small, diverse companies. Additionally, G’Sean explains the necessity of leadership skills offers advice to young workers who are struggling to forge their own path in corporate America.

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“Our north star is closing contracts and fostering engagement. Focusing on that helps us make an impact," said our CEO and co-founder, Cloe Guidry-Reed, MBA, at the EY Connect Day Impact Entrepreneurship 101 conference last week.

We're thankful for the opportunity to highlight Hire Ground's efforts towards supplier diversity and to be able to inspire the next generation workforce.

Follow the link to learn more about our mission: https://hubs.ly/H0_nYFF0

In 2021, companies fared far better than they did in 2020. As organization begin engaging with their consumers to celebrate the world’s grand reopening and the end of another year, what does that mean for your business? How do you engage with your diverse suppliers without it feeling artificial or forced?

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building a Hire Ground, we describe the wild ride 2021 has been and what we can expect for 2022. We explain why businesses shouldn’t just establish rapport with their suppliers and consumers when the year ends and why kindness can significantly impact the way we perceive society. Tune in now

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Supplier diversity can elevate a company’s financial growth, especially if more companies actively pursue supplier diversity. In today’s episode, Cloe and Adam discuss why supplier diversity is more than just a trend and its critical role in the economy. They examine the role supplier diversity programs can play in all areas of business and how to elevate your company’s diverse supply chain to avoid losses. They also share some tangible ways businesses can help foster economic development and inclusion.

https://hubs.ly/H0-Y9fL0

The Senior Manager of Supply Chain Diversity and Sustainability at Vista Corp., Mary Gano is a strong advocate for diverse, small businesses in the supply chain.

This week on the podcast, she joins Cloe and Adam to discuss supplier growth through introductions to tier 1 suppliers and how corporations can work with suppliers while satisfying regulations and insurance requirements. Mary highlights where companies can go wrong when envisioning their supply chain diversity initiatives and offers insight about discussing supply chain inclusion with category and senior managers.

Tune in now at: https://hubs.ly/H0-zsX90

This week on the podcast, co-host, Moore reminds us "As relational beings, technology can’t replace the need we have to be connected with others."

In this episode of Breaking Barriers, Building Hire Ground, Cloe and Adam discuss the changes working throughout the pandemic has brought, especially in terms of professional events. Both share their experiences of attending recent in-person conferences and what tools are available to ease the stress of attendance.

Tune in to also hear how the workforce is emerging completed anew.

https://hubs.ly/H0-4wcT0

Roy Broderick Jr. is the President and CEO of Authentique Agency, a full-service marketing and consulting firm that helps businesses create brand campaigns that genuinely reflect multicultural and LGBTQ life, voices, and viewpoints.

Roy joins Cloe and Adam Moore on the podcast this week to share ways companies can authentically appeal to minorities. Roy also explains what many companies get wrong with their ads and shares advice on what small businesses can do to make purposeful brand interactions that drive growth and deliver results.

https://hubs.ly/H0ZG8qz0

Shakeia Kegler, Founder, and CEO of GovLia, is a former Navy Ordnanceman Petty Officer 2nd Class. Her experiences with the Navy and as a government contracting specialist led to the creation of GovLia, a company dedicated to helping state and local government agencies effortlessly implement and manage supplier diversity programs.

Shakeia joins Cloe and Adam to discuss how GovLia helps supplier diversity efforts through government contracting support and offers advice to small businesses about how to make themselves more attractive than the competition when applying for government contracts. Tune in now to also hear about what types of contracts the government purchases from small businesses like yours!

https://hubs.ly/H0Zd2Z60

Breaking Barriers is celebrating 50 episodes! What started as an exciting idea to help small businesses is now making waves in the world of supplier diversity. And without you, our listeners, we would never have come this far.

Today, Cloe and Adam reflect on who they’ve met, what they’ve learned, and key takeaways.They also give insight into the next 50 episodes and beyond! Tune in to this special episode at: https://hubs.ly/H0YSMm90

The Director of Supplier Corporate Responsibility and Risk at the RELX Group, Sara Bodison is responsible for developing and managing processes that ensure the suppliers adhere to ethical rules.

Sara joins Cloe and Adam this week on the podcast to explain what an ethical supply chain is and why small businesses must have ethical guidelines. They discuss how organizations can create internal champions for supplier diversity and explains the differences between domestic and global supplier diversity programs.

Tune in now to hear more!

https://hubs.ly/H0Ylft_0

Make supplier diversity work for your business! Learn the benefits of supply chain inclusion and how Hire Ground can connect you with suppliers and buyers that will improve your supplier diversity program.

https://hubs.ly/H0XFXk80

Nurture and strengthen your Supplier Diversity Program with help from Hire Ground! Receive, discover, and submit proposals for new business opportunities today! Find your next great client:

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