Billion Dollar Roundtable Elects Don McKneely Chairman Emeritus
Spanish Fort, Al., Wednesday,
April 16, 2008 -- The Billion Dollar Roundtable
(BDR) has elected as its chairman emeritus Don McKneely,
president and CEO of TexCorp Communications Inc.
and founder and publisher of MBN USA and Diversity
Texas magazines.
McKneely will serve in an ex officio capacity and offer strategic guidance and consultation to the BDR, a top-level forum for corporations that have attained $1 billion or more in annual supplier diversity spending. McKneely co-founded the BDR in 2001 and served as its chairman until November 2007.
“Don McKneely has served an integral role in the development of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. His vision and expertise helped to move the organization to a preeminent place in the development of supplier diversity strategy in this country. We are pleased Don will remain involved as chairman emeritus as the organization continues to develop new domestic and global supplier diversity initiatives,” said current BDR Chairman Jethro Joseph, senior manager, Diversity Supplier Development, Chrysler Corp.
BDR Vice Chairman and CEO Sharon Patterson, a BDR co-founder, said McKneely’s day-to-day contribution will be missed, but looks forward to working with him in his new role as chairman emeritus. “Don long has understood the value and necessity of supplier diversity. It is comforting to know that he will continue to be available for advice and consultation,” Patterson said.
McKneely, who is based in Dallas, has received more than 50 awards for his support of minority and women business development initiatives. He credits BDR members for their commitment to advancing opportunities for diverse suppliers and expects the organization’s leadership and influence to continue to grow.
“Supply chain spending with diverse suppliers simply is good business. The members of the Billion Dollar Roundtable understand that supplier diversity is a corporate imperative and are committed to sharing best practices and promoting policy positions that benefit other minority- and woman-owned companies,” McKneely said.
The BDR also announced that it will hold its fourth annual summit May 21 in New York City. More than 100 corporate procurement executives, supplier diversity managers, and heads of minority- and woman-owned companies are expected to attend. The daylong summit at the Marriott Marquis Hotel will continue the BDR’s examination of supplier diversity opportunities in the marketing/advertising industry.
BDR members include AT&T Corp., Boeing Co., Chrysler LLC., Ford Motor Corp., General Motors Corp., IBM Corp., Johnson Controls Inc., The Kroger Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Procter and Gamble Co., Toyota Motor North America Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
About the Billion Dollar Roundtable
The Billion Dollar Roundtable was created in 2001 to recognize and celebrate corporations that achieved spending of $1.0 billion or more with minority and woman-owned suppliers. The BDR’s mission is to drive supplier diversity excellence through best practice sharing and thought leadership. The vision is to lead, influence, and shape supplier diversity excellence globally.
In discussions, members review common issues, opportunities and strategies. The BDR encourages corporate entities to continue growing their supplier diversity programs by increasing commitment and spending levels each year. The BDR inducts new members bi-annually. For more information, go to http://www.bdrusa.org.
Billion Dollar Roundtable Summit Targets Marketing/Advertising for Increased Diversity Spend
NEW YORK, Monday, May 24, 2006 -- The Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR), the top-level forum for corporations that have attained $1 billion or more in annual supply chain diversity spending, hosted its 4th annual summit today in New York to examine opportunities in marketing/advertising for minority- and woman-owned companies.
More than 80 corporate procurement and marketing/advertising executives, supplier diversity directors, and leaders of related organizations attended the daylong summit at the corporate headquarters Altria Group Inc. in New York. Altria co-sponsored the event with fellow BDR member Verizon Communications Inc.
Participants examined a range of issues in marketing/advertising, including supply chain diversity, multiculturalism, best practices and procurement techniques. Panelists McGhee Williams Osse, co-CEO at Burrell Communications; Anita Laney, director, supplier diversity, GSD&M and BBDO Detroit; Victor Edozien, principal, the Asaba Group, and Icy Williams, associate director, Corporate Supplier Diversity Development, Procter & Gamble, offered views of supplier diversity in marketing/advertising in their respective areas. Breakout groups that involved all participants in extensive discussions drilled down into specific topics such as threats/trends/key drivers, the business case for marketing/advertising supplier diversity, and opportunities for diverse companies to serve the industry.
Advancing opportunities in marketing/advertising is the focal point for the BDR outreach efforts in 2006. The BDR will publish a comprehensive white paper this fall that will incorporate elements of the summit.
“This important conference helped chart the course going forward for diverse companies seeking opportunities in marketing/advertising. This is a fertile area for supplier diversity that typically generates a generous portion of overall procurement spend at major corporations. Our goal was to devise strategies to get more minority- and woman-owned agencies to the procurement table,” said Sharon Patterson, BDR CEO and co-founder.
BDR members include Altria Group Inc., AT&T Corp., DaimlerChrysler Corp., Ford Motor Corp., General Motors Corp., IBM Corp., Johnson Controls, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Procter and Gamble Co., Toyota Motor North America Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The combined BDR membership celebrated collective purchasing of more than $24 billion in products and services from minority and women-owned suppliers in 2004.
