Agenda 2022

Tracy Balazs

Project Director
USPAACC Community Navigator Pilot Program

Tracy Balazs is an entrepreneur and senior executive with a foundation based in supporting both public and private sector organizations in Healthcare, Human Resources Consulting, and Human Performance for Military Readiness programs. She comes from a background of healthcare with 20 years of clinical trauma nursing followed by healthcare recruiting and federal government business development career prior to her starting her first business in 2004. In 2004,Tracy founded a company called Federal Staffing Resources (FSR) which obtained several hundred prime government contracts that cover the United States. After leading FSR as their CEO for 17 years, she transitioned to became the founder and CEO of Compass Government Solutions in April, 2021.

Throughout Tracy’s career, she has always been involved and has subject matter expertise in Government Contracting, Health, Talent Acquisition, Leadership and Organizational Development. She has a vast network and is an active member in several associations and professional groups such as, Women’s Presidents Organization (WPO), Women Business Leaders (WBL), and various Government and Veterans organizations which gives her access to people with strong leadership and executive capabilities. Through these organizations and groups as either a board member or participant, she frequently mentors the professionals and has spoken at the behest of the SBA and for other organizations.

Angela Thi Bennett

Digital Equity Director, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce

Angela Thi Bennett will serve as the first-ever digital equity director at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), within the US Department of Commerce.

She will move from her current position as DigitalC’s director of advocacy, where she has been a strong champion for digital inclusion in Cleveland. Angela has also been deeply engaged in national digital equity work for years with National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).

“We are thrilled Angela Thi Bennett is joining the NTIA team,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of NDIA. “Her local digital inclusion experience combined with her active national community involvement means she is equipped to understand the challenges and the need for holistic and collaborative solutions.”

NTIA is the agency responsible for advising the President of the United States on telecommunications and information policy issues. Currently, NTIA has a strong focus on expanding broadband access and adoption and advancing digital equity.

Mark Madrid

Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development
U.S. Small Business Administration

Mr. Madrid has been selected to serve as Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) at the U.S. Small Business Administration. In this role, Mr. Madrid will lead the OED, which is the SBA’s technical assistance arm with a national resource network including Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and the Office of Entrepreneurship Education.

Previously Mr. Madrid served as CEO of Latino Business Action Network, a national 501(c)(3) organization focused on strengthening America through funding and supporting U.S. Latino entrepreneurial research and education-impact programs at Stanford University. Mr. Madrid was named the 2019 Silicon Valley Nonprofit CEO of the Year by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. He serves on the Board of Trustees for Scholarship America, the leading nonprofit scholarship and educational support organization in the United States. He is an Honorary Colonel of the United States Army and Jefferson Award recipient.

Before his chief executive nonprofit roles, Mr. Madrid held a senior executive career in banking that began on Wall Street in 1995 with J.P. Morgan. His passion for American small businesses is dedicated to his father, who passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. His father, Marcos Madrid, Jr., owned a welding business for over four decades.

Mr. Madrid holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business.

Shalei Holway

Senior Advisor for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development
SBA

Shalei serves as Senior Advisor for SBA's Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED). In this role, she leads initiatives to expand equitable access to the SBA’s national resource network, including Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and the Office of Entrepreneurship Education.

Prior to joining the SBA, Ms. Holway pioneered strategies to combat COVID-driven disruption at Wayfair, an e-commerce company. In this role she partnered with Wayfair’s thousands of small business suppliers to both support and grow them through the pandemic. In her leadership position at Wayfair, Ms. Holway also forged material improvements to diversity and equity in the firm’s hiring practices. Additionally, Ms. Holway brings to her role extensive experience leveraging analytics and design thinking to grow businesses at companies such as HelloFresh and JPMorgan.

Ms. Holway earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Barnard College and her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ben Selden

Program Officer, Community Navigator Pilot Program, Office of Entrepreneurship Education
SBA

Ben helps run the day-to-day operations of the Community Navigator Pilot Program. He began his time at the SBA as a Presidential Management Fellow. Prior to SBA, Ben worked at LEAF, a Community Development Financial Institution in Boston, MA, with a focus on providing lending and technical assistance to cooperatives and disadvantaged small businesses. He attended Harvard College and Yale School of Management and is a Massachusetts native.

Clint Odom

Vice President of Strategic Alliances and External Affairs
T-Mobile

Clint Odom serves as the Vice President of Strategic Alliances and External Affairs for T-Mobile, where he is responsible for shaping and advancing the company’s public policy agenda. He leads the team responsible for increasing visibility and awareness of the brand among external partners in the community and NGOs to further shared policy issues, including 5G deployment, internet governance, privacy, and broadband adoption.

In his previous role with the National Urban League, he served as the Senior Vice President for Policy & Advocacy and Executive Director of the Washington Bureau. In this role, he managed the relationship between the League and members of Congress, the White House, and federal agencies.

Before joining the National Urban League, Clint served for a decade in the United States Senate as legislative director for then Senator Kamala D. Harris of California, Democratic General Counsel of the Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, and General Counsel to Senator Bill Nelson of Florida.

Prior to then he served as a Vice President of Public Policy with Verizon Communications Inc. and Verizon New Jersey as well as a senior advisor at the Federal Communications Commission for Ambassador William

E. Kennard and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

Clint also practiced law at the firm Dow, Lohnes & Albertson (now Cooley LLP). He served as law clerk to the Honorable Henry T. Wingate of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi and is a graduate of Louisiana State University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Ada Hu

CEO & Managing Partner
NU Media and NXT Factor

Ada Hu is a female entrepreneur, angel investor, and social activist. Having gone to an all-girls school and a female dominant university, Ada truly believes in the power of female entrepreneurship. She currently serves as the CEO & Managing Partner of NU Media and NXT Factor.

Kevin O’Brien

SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer
Nationwide

Kevin G. O’Brien was recently named the SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer and the Business Transformation Office Leader. Kevin brings more than 30 years of financial experience and a proven track record of helping businesses achieve their strategic priorities. Kevin’s experience in activating business strategies, contract negotiations, identifying creative and financially sound growth and expansion opportunities, along with his leadership and talent development skills, make him ideally positioned for this role.

Kevin began his career with Nationwide in 1998 and has served in many different roles within Finance including Investor Relations, CFO for Individual Protection, Strategy & Capital Management, CFO for Retirement Plans and most recently leading the Mergers & Acquisitions team. .

Prior to joining Nationwide, Kevin worked at Hartford Life and attained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation while working at KPMG in Springfield, MA.

Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management with an Accounting Concentration from Westfield State University. He has four daughters and lives in Westerville with his better half, Denise, where he serves on the Olentangy Local Schools’ Board of Education.

James Haddow

Adjunct Professor, Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management
Howard University School of Business Information Systems & Supply Chain Management Department

James Haddow is Director of the Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management (CESUM) and a professor in the School of Business at Howard University in Washington DC. Currently, Mr. Haddow teaches a range of supply chain management courses to both undergraduate and graduate level students. He also supports students as faculty advisor during supply chain case competitions and participates in various CESCM activities (e.g., SCM Think Tanks, Corporate Advisory Board, Site Visits, Workshops, etc.). Mr. Haddow has made supply chain presentations at ISM, IMC, APICS, PMAC and other Global industry conferences. Mr. Haddow has previously held positions as Director of Global Procurement (Chief Procurement Officer) and a Supply Chain consultant for A.T. Kearney a global consulting firm, Cost and Financial Analyst at the Interstate Commerce Commission and Safeway Stores, Inc. His 30 years of consulting and industry experience encompass global procurement, supply chain management, business planning and commercial business development which provides hands-on teaching examples for his students.

Dr. Denice Clarke (DC) Ware

Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management
Howard University School of Business

Dr. Denice Clarke (DC) Ware recently joined the faculty of Howard University’s School of Business, supporting the MBA and undergraduate programs within the Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management (CESCM). Her responsibilities are to ensure that students are exposed to the most relevant corporate, government and entrepreneurial experiences to prepare them for successful careers in global demand, logistics, and supply management leadership positions. A 30-year veteran of the telecom technology industry, Ware began her career in Verizon’s college hire leadership program and continued ascending into positions of increasing responsibilities. DC Ware retired in 2017 as Director of Human Resource Business Partners supporting Verizon’s Corporate Marketing and Legal and Public Policy organizations, which includes the Verizon Foundation. She was responsible for achieving the business units' strategic initiatives by focusing on Talent Acquisition and Assessment, Succession Planning, Training and Development, Communications, Diversity, Culture, Employee Relations and improving organizational efficiencies. She had previously served in this capacity for Corporate Real Estate, Sourcing, Global Wholesale, Operational Excellence, Network Services, and the New England regional operations. Prior to her tenure in Human Resources, DC served as a Director in the Network Services Group, managing operations and accountable for labor relations, fiscal and regulatory objective attainment, compliance, data analytics and reporting.

DC holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University in Boston, a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources Management from Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. She has also completed Wharton Business School’s Executive Leadership program and holds a Project Management Master’s Certificate from George Washington University. Dr. Ware is currently enrolled in Cornell University’s Industrial & Labor Relations Advanced Diversity Certification program. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, a non-profit supporting the largest public STEM high school in the United States.

Barbara Kubicki

Chief Procurement Officer
Wells Fargo

Barbara Kubicki-Hicks is a seasoned executive with over 25 years’ experience in supply chain management and global procurement operations in the financial services industry. She is the chief procurement officer at Well Fargo, responsible for leading Supply Chain Management, which is comprised of strategic sourcing, procure-to-pay, supplier diversity, and

third-party risk management functions. Her team executes end-to-end supply chain activities and third-party initiatives that align with business priorities and leads strategic, enterprise-wide programs with focus on third- party expense optimization.

Previously, Barb was a senior procurement executive at Bank of America responsible for end-to-end procurement, associated risk management and third party program adherence for all eight lines of business, and led a procurement transformation initiative to simplify the end-to-end third- party process, reduce connections, restructure roles to gain economies of scale, and replace current technology solutions.

Barb serves on the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee as board chairperson. During her 10- year tenure on the WBENC Board of Directors, she was also Corporate Membership and Revenue Generation Committee chairperson, co- chairperson of the Strategic Planning Resources Committee, and active member of the Marketing Committee.

Over the course of her career, Barb has held a variety of supply chain management, procurement, and technology roles with a proven track record for developing procurement professionals, delivering consistent results by balancing business needs, risk and value, as well as leading business transformation enabled by technology.

Miguel Gonzalez

Chief Procurement Officer
DuPont

Kindle Goodson

VP, Chief Procurement Officer
TIAA

Kindle Goodson currently serves as the Chief Procurement Officer leading the Global Supplier Services team responsible for the End-to End Procure to Pay process inclusive of Sourcing, Enterprise Vendor Risk, Procurement, Metrics, and Business Diversity. In this capacity, Kindle brings over 20 years of experience, 17 of which are in the financial services industry, working for several Fortune 100 companies.

In 2010, Kindle began her career at TIAA, initially responsible for the procurement of Printed Materials and Marketing Services. Since that time, in addition to her expanded roles in Sourcing, Kindle also served as the Business Finance Officer for TIAA’s Corporate Functions responsible for the fiscal budgeting process for Legal Risk & Compliance, Internal Audit Services, Human Resources, Chief Administrative Office, and Office of the CFO.

Kindle began her career at Navigant Consulting, where she worked to

assess Companies’ risk of insolvency. Given education has always been paramount, Kindle decided to return to school to pursue her MBA. During this time, she also worked at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Procurement and Acquisition Management.

Upon graduating with honors, Kindle moved to New York City, where she was accepted into the Management Associate Program at Citigroup, working in Acquisition Life Cycle Marketing for Card products. While at Citigroup, Kindle was approached by Bank of America and asked to join their Supply Chain Management organization. Excited about the opportunity, Kindle relocated to Charlotte, NC and became responsible for the sourcing of Data Aggregation and later all printed materials.

During her tenure there, she also worked on several mergers and acquisitions (MBNA, LaSalle, Countrywide, and Merrill Lynch) which positioned her to transition to TIAA.

Kindle has a B.B.A. in Business Insurance and a M.B.A., concentrating in Supply Chain Mgmt. from Howard University. She is also Six Sigma Green and White Belt certified. Kindle lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and three children; 2 sons and 1 daughter.

Wassel Lewis, Jr.

Vice President, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
Aflac

Wassel Lewis is vice president of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement and manages approximately $1.2 billion in spend. He is responsible for: Category Management, Strategic Sourcing, Procurement Ops, Procurement Administration, Supplier Relationship Management, Performance Management and Supplier Diversity.

Wassel joined Aflac in 2007 as senior project consultant in the Enterprise Project Office. During his career at Aflac he served in IT-PMO, and Strategic Partnerships before joining Strategic Sourcing and Procurement.

Wassel earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Mark Reed

Chief Procurement Officer
Windstream

Mark has more than 20 years of procurement and operations experience in various industries, including telecommunications, retail and media and entertainment.

His responsibilities at Windstream include leadership of the procurement function, managing more than $1 billion in annual spend, the supply chain organization, corporate real estate, fleet and facilities. He joined Windstream from Alix Partners where he led large cost reduction and capability building engagements for publicly and privately-held companies.

Prior to working at Alix Partners, Mark served as AARP’s first Chief Procurement Officer where he transformed a purchasing organization into a true procurement function that leveraged category management, annual sourcing plans and common-sense policies and processes that balanced the need for speed and efficiency in business operations with appropriate competitive bid thresholds and controls.

Earlier in his career, Mark was VP of Procurement and Business Services at L Brands, owners of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, where he led a global procurement team managing over $1 billion in annual expenditures. He also served as a Director of Strategic Sourcing for C&S Wholesale Grocers, a $20 billion privately-held company, where he built the non-merchandise procurement department from the ground up.

Out of business school, Mark was a procurement and supply chain consultant at Accenture and Capgemini Ernst and Young, where he helped companies like Time Warner and 7-11 implement centralized procurement organizations, e-procurement technologies, sourcing processes and cost management programs.

Mark has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to graduate school, he served on active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer.

AT&T

Caesar's Entertainment

Charter Communications

CVS

Fannie Mae

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

Hilton

Home Depot

Kellogg's

Logitech

Mass Mutual

Merck

Meta

MGM

Nationwide

Nissan

Pepsi-Co

Southern California Edison

Southern Company

Target

Trane Technologies

UNIF

UPS

US Department of Education

USPS

Wells Fargo

Mark Reed

Chief Procurement Officer
Windstream

Mark has more than 20 years of procurement and operations experience in various industries, including telecommunications, retail and media and entertainment.

His responsibilities at Windstream include leadership of the procurement function, managing more than $1 billion in annual spend, the supply chain organization, corporate real estate, fleet and facilities. He joined Windstream from Alix Partners where he led large cost reduction and capability building engagements for publicly and privately-held companies.

Prior to working at Alix Partners, Mark served as AARP’s first Chief Procurement Officer where he transformed a purchasing organization into a true procurement function that leveraged category management, annual sourcing plans and common-sense policies and processes that balanced the need for speed and efficiency in business operations with appropriate competitive bid thresholds and controls.

Earlier in his career, Mark was VP of Procurement and Business Services at L Brands, owners of Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, where he led a global procurement team managing over $1 billion in annual expenditures. He also served as a Director of Strategic Sourcing for C&S Wholesale Grocers, a $20 billion privately-held company, where he built the non-merchandise procurement department from the ground up.

Out of business school, Mark was a procurement and supply chain consultant at Accenture and Capgemini Ernst and Young, where he helped companies like Time Warner and 7-11 implement centralized procurement organizations, e-procurement technologies, sourcing processes and cost management programs.

Mark has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to graduate school, he served on active duty as a Naval Intelligence Officer.

Erika Moritsugu

Deputy Assistant to President Biden & Asian American and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison
The White House

Erika L. Moritsugu was appointed by President Joe Biden in April 2021 to serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison. With a distinguished career in the federal government and non-profit advocacy, she has spent her professional and personal life fighting for social justice and the empowerment of communities and individuals.

At the White House, Erika supports the Administration on a wide array of the President’s priorities and engages with AA and NHPI communities and leaders on important issues such as advancing safety, justice, inclusion, and opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities through a whole-of-government approach to racial justice.

Her past government service includes serving as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Julián Castro in the Obama Administration and was the first-ever Senate Deputy Legislative Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

On Capitol Hill, she was a senior representative of Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawai’i, and at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

In the non-profit sector, Erika led two teams the National Partnership for Women & Families for economic justice and congressional relations advancing workforce and health policies focused through a gender equity and race equity lens. Erika has also led the Government Relations, Advocacy and Community Engagement team at the Anti-Defamation League, a leading anti-hate organization.

Kevin O’Brien

SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer
Nationwide

Kevin G. O’Brien was recently named the SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer and the Business Transformation Office Leader. Kevin brings more than 30 years of financial experience and a proven track record of helping businesses achieve their strategic priorities. Kevin’s experience in activating business strategies, contract negotiations, identifying creative and financially sound growth and expansion opportunities, along with his leadership and talent development skills, make him ideally positioned for this role.

Kevin began his career with Nationwide in 1998 and has served in many different roles within Finance including Investor Relations, CFO for Individual Protection, Strategy & Capital Management, CFO for Retirement Plans and most recently leading the Mergers & Acquisitions team. .

Prior to joining Nationwide, Kevin worked at Hartford Life and attained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation while working at KPMG in Springfield, MA.

Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management with an Accounting Concentration from Westfield State University. He has four daughters and lives in Westerville with his better half, Denise, where he serves on the Olentangy Local Schools’ Board of Education.

Em Nguyen

Washington Reporter
ABC News

Em Nguyen is a Washington reporter for ABC News. Before this, she was a political Washington Correspondent for Spectrum News, covering Asian American hate crime, and immigration, and traveled across the country for the 2020 presidential race. She won the Charter Spot Award for her first-hand coverage during the January 6 Capitol riot and was the political reporter on the team that won the LA Press Club’s Best Morning Newscast.

She’s the daughter of two Vietnamese immigrants, grew up in Texas, and graduated from Boston University. Em is the current Vice President of the Asian American Journalism Association - DC Chapter empowering journalists to diversify news coverage. She loves cooking different cultural foods and being on the water during the summer.

Susan Au Allen

National President & CEO
USPAACC

Miguel Estien

Acting National Director
Minority Business Development Agency

Miguel serves as the Acting National Director for the Minority Business Development Agency at the Department of Commerce.

His 20-year professional trajectory in business and financial services was shaped by his time with GE Capital, where he structured multi-billion dollar transactions and led general management efforts in the corporate lending space, in roles such as Managing Director leading the working capital lending business in Mexico and Head of Strategy for GE’s commercial finance division in Latin America.

Richard Fu

CEO & President
IMPRES Technology Solutions

IMPRES knows the Federal marketplace. As a leading IT solutions provider, IMPRES Technology Solutions, Inc., combines decades of technological expertise with a thorough understanding of the federal procurement and contracting process to implement the best possible IT solution for civilian and defense agencies while reducing risk and lowering costs.

With a vendor-neutral approach, we can lead you through the procurement process to uncover the core drivers for your unique mission requirements.

IMPRES has been recognized as an industry leader within the Federal community and by OEM's alike. Recently named as Dell Technologies Excellence in Customer Experience – Partner of the Year 2021 and Los Angeles Business Journal 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

IMPRES is a certified HUBZone, minority-owned, small business with ISO 9001:2015 Certified by DQS, Inc. and CMMI Service 3.

The Hon. Isabella Casillas Guzman

Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration

Isabella Casillas Guzman serves as the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and was sworn in on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Administrator Guzman represents the more than 30 million U.S. small businesses and is committed to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow and be resilient.

A lifelong proponent of small businesses, Guzman grew up as the daughter of a small business owner and learned at a young age how important small businesses are to the communities they serve, the people they employ, and the economies they help power.

Administrator Guzman previously served as Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a position she held after being appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in April 2019. In that role, she served as the voice of small businesses and innovative startups in the 5th largest economy in the world. She administered and advocated for programs and initiatives to help small businesses access capital, markets, and networks for stronger outcomes. She and her team helped connect entrepreneurs in every community with the resources needed. As the economic recovery support function coordinator for the state, she focused on resilience and most recently worked to help small businesses access relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In California, Administrator Guzman oversaw a network of small business centers focused on expanding assistance to underserved business groups. She launched new public private partnerships and collaborated to deliver cutting edge resources to small businesses, including through initiatives like Get Digital CA to increase technology and e-commerce adoption and Source Diverse Source Local to strengthen supply chain readiness. She advocated fiercely for financial relief for small businesses, leading to the expansion of state supported lending and the largest COVID-19 grant relief program in the nation at over $2.5 billion. Guzman's office launched the Entrepreneurship Task Force to serve as a bridge to small businesses and create content and programs to help strengthen the competitiveness of startup and small firms.

Administrator Guzman has previously served in leadership at the SBA as the agency’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor during the Obama-Biden Administration, where she oversaw policy and new program implementation. She was a small business entrepreneur herself, and an advisor to fellow founders including in accelerating technology commercialization and in helping small business contractors leverage the federal marketplace. Administrator Guzman earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

Edkedsha (KeeKee) Mathis

Supplier Sustainability & Diversity Senior Leader
Trane Technologies

Edkedsha (KeeKee) Mathis, Sr. Leader, Supplier Sustainability & Diversity for Trane Technologies beginning her new role in April 2021, is no stranger to the world of Supplier Diversity. Before deciding to accept her latest role at Trane Technologies, she worked in the automotive industry for thirteen years at Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. where she was the Supplier Diversity Manager. Her accolades include an array of awards, acknowledgements, and recognitions including but not limited to 2017 Corporation of the Year and Corporate Representative of the Year for (TSMSDC) TriState Minority Supplier Development Council and she has been recognized for many years as one of the Top 30 Diversity Professionals on a national level as a leader in the Supplier Diversity community. KeeKee brings more has more than 26+ years within purchasing which includes supporting as a regional buyer, service buyer, supply chain support, key user for all the purchasing systems and continuous improvement such as (TPM) Total Planned Maintenance, QCDSM, and Lean Management. She is committed to mentor diverse suppliers but also to build strategic “partnerships” and “alliances” with diverse suppliers. Now also leading supplier sustainability within her organization her role is the integration of social, ethical, and environmental performance factors into the process of selecting suppliers. The goal is to build strong, long term relationships with suppliers as we “Boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world.”

Diversity within Procurement: Providing the tools and the access necessary for minority/diverse suppliers to be successful within our organization. This is to match or mimic our supplier base to our customer base. Our products represent many different styles, sizes, and unique options just as our community, customers, and employees who support our products.”

Sustainability within Procurement: We are climate innovators with the courage to look at our world's challenges and see endless opportunity. We aren't afraid to make bold commitments that set new standards to enhance the health and well-being of our communities, customers, employees, and planet.

Quote: “I alone can not change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” - Mother Teresa

Kevin O’Brien

SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer
Nationwide

Kevin G. O’Brien was recently named the SVP, IT Chief Financial Officer, Chief Procurement Officer and the Business Transformation Office Leader. Kevin brings more than 30 years of financial experience and a proven track record of helping businesses achieve their strategic priorities. Kevin’s experience in activating business strategies, contract negotiations, identifying creative and financially sound growth and expansion opportunities, along with his leadership and talent development skills, make him ideally positioned for this role.

Kevin began his career with Nationwide in 1998 and has served in many different roles within Finance including Investor Relations, CFO for Individual Protection, Strategy & Capital Management, CFO for Retirement Plans and most recently leading the Mergers & Acquisitions team. .

Prior to joining Nationwide, Kevin worked at Hartford Life and attained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation while working at KPMG in Springfield, MA.

Kevin earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management with an Accounting Concentration from Westfield State University. He has four daughters and lives in Westerville with his better half, Denise, where he serves on the Olentangy Local Schools’ Board of Education.

Itu Otu

Global Supplier Diversity Lead
Logitech

Ray Pittard

Transformation Officer
Trane Technologies

Ann Anjali Ramakumaran

Founder and CEO
Ampcus, Inc.

Anjali Ann Ramakumaran, Founder and CEO of Ampcus Inc. (Ampcus), is a technology savvy entrepreneur with more than 15 years of contribution towards the design, development and delivery of leading edge Technology Solutions and Human Capital Management across the globe. Under her leadership she has cultivated Ampcus into a fast growing Consulting and Professional Services firm. For eight consecutive years (2009-2016), she has been recognized as a top Asian American owned business by the USPAACC. In addition, for the past seven consecutive years (2010-2016), she has been honored as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Women Owned Businesses in the CONUS by the Women Presidents Organization. Under Ann’s leadership, Ampcus has made the Inc. 500/5000 list and has been recognized as a Top Diversity Business for the past 7 years (2010-2016). Ann was also awarded Women in Technology Entrepreneur of the Year by WIT and most recently received the Chairman’s Award for Inspirational Leadership from the CRMSDC. Ampcus has also received the Global Growth Award from Astra Women’s Business Alliance, Supplier of the Year Award from the GMSDC and the Top Asian American Business Award from the USPAACC-SE.

Ann works closely with her Advisory Board, whose advice/input on strategy and direction helps her drive the company to attain its vision of being one of the largest and most successful high performing Professional Services companies globally. She has been actively involved in executing a consultative methodology to define, qualify and quantify Ampcus’ target clients, determine their strategic IT and business objectives and from this developed solutions which proactively address their current and evolving demands and needs.

Ann serves on the CRMSDC Board of Directors, WPEO Leadership Committee and the USPAACC Scholarship Committee. She has been a speaker at numerous National and Local Procurement and Diversity Conferences. In addition, Ann has mentored several women and minority start up’s in an effort to help them grow their business. Ann holds her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business and Commercial Management from India and has completed Executive Management from the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond Virginia and an Advanced Management from the Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University Illinois.

Calvin Ruan

CEO & Co-Founder
Hauslane

Namita Tirath

Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer
Pyramid Consulting, Inc.

Namita Tirath is the co-founder, co-owner and Chief Customer Officer of Pyramid Consulting, Inc., a company specializing in technology and professional staffing, and technology solutions across North America, Europe and Asia. Namita’s leadership has grown Pyramid from 3 people working in an Atlanta basement to a $300M business in 20+ countries.

In response to growing IT talent shortages, in 2019 Namita drove the creation of Pyramid Academy, giving recent college grads and those looking to grow in their careers the opportunity to re-skill, upskill or get their foot in the door with intensive IT training and a career-path while providing talent for clients. The Academy has graduated 100+ people and counting.

In addition to her experience and longevity in the marketspace, Namita brings her passion to increase diversity in the technology space, and the tenacity, perseverance, persuasiveness and ability to connect with people on both a personal and professional level that it takes to drive collaboration and change.

Sanjeev Tirath

CEO
Pyramid Consulting

Eric Toda

Head of Meta Prosper & Global Head of Social Marketing
Meta

Priscilla Wallace

SVP, Head of Supplier Diversity & Supply Chain Management Sustainability
Wells Fargo

Priscilla Wallace is the head of Supplier Diversity & Supply Chain Management (SCM) Sustainability for Wells Fargo & Company. She leads a team of supply chain professionals and builds relationships within the communities Wells Fargo serves through the development, inclusion, and utilization of diverse and small businesses. As part of Wells Fargo commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), her team maintains and fosters the integration of diverse supplier options into the procurement strategies. The effort currently results in over $1 billion annual spend with certified diverse suppliers. Her team is also responsible for integrating and aligning with corporate ESG/sustainability strategies inclusive of data review, analysis, and reporting, as well as ensure organizational oversight which minimizes risk for Wells Fargo overall supply chain.

Priscilla brings more than two decades of supply chain and diversity, equity, and inclusion experience. She was previously vice president of supplier diversity at Foodbuy – Compass Group, the largest food service management company in North America. Priscilla was the vice president of corporate development and executive director at Charlotte Minority Economic Development Initiative. She spent 13 years in supply chain and diversity leadership roles at the American Red Cross.

Priscilla has received numerous accolades during her career. She was recognized in 2020 and 2018 as one of the Top 25 Diversity Women in Power by Diversity Plus, Inc., 2019 as an All-Star of Supplier Diversity by MBN Magazine, and on the Top 50 Omni awards for multi-cultural businesses in 2018 and 2019. She is a graduate of Delta State University.

Priscilla enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. Her hobbies include cooking, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.