Attendee Hub

WELCOME TO YOUR GMSDC VIRTUAL BOE ATTENDEE HUB

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The Business Opportunity Exchange (BOE) is the premier supplier diversity and small business development conference in Georgia each year. As the GMSDC celebrates 45 years of facilitating relationships, creating jobs and stimulating Georgia’s economy, the current business climate mandates a focus on the survival, success and sustainability of the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firms across the state, many of whom have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn.

Below you will find reminders and resources to help you get acquainted with the Virtual BOE Attendee Hub so you can take full advantage of all the possibilities during the week of BOE September 14 – 18!

Virtual Attendee Hub Tour and FAQs – Need help logging in? All events will be broadcast using Microsoft Teams. If you have not already done so, download the Microsoft Teams App. If you want to learn more about login into Microsoft Teams, use the handy tip sheet from the link below.

Tips for using Microsoft Teams

You can join a Teams meeting anytime, from any device, whether or not you have a Teams account. If you don’t have an account, follow these steps to join as a guest. It is recommended to download the Teams app prior to the event.

Note: Some meetings don’t allow people to join as guests.

Go to the meeting invite and select Join Microsoft Teams Meeting.
That’ll open a web page, where you’ll see two choices: Download the Windows app and Join on the web instead. If you join on the web, you can use either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. Your browser may ask if it’s okay for Teams to use your mic and camera. Be sure to allow it so you’ll be seen and heard in your meeting.
Enter your name and choose your audio and video settings. If the meeting room (or another device that’s connected to the meeting) is nearby, choose Audio off to avoid disrupting. Select Phone audio if you want to listen to the meeting on your mobile phone.
When you’re ready, hit Join now.
This will bring you into the meeting lobby. We’ll notify the meeting organizer that you’re there, and someone in the meeting can then admit you.

Notes:

If no one admits you to the meeting within 15 minutes, you’ll be removed from the lobby. If that happens, you can try joining again.
Some features of Teams meetings aren’t available to guests.

Corporate Connection Appointments – Will be scheduled, confirmed and held in MyBusinessMatch. If you registered for this event, you received a link via email. Please check your personalized MyBusinessMatch Dashboard.

MBE Presentations – Will also be scheduled, confirmed and held in MyBusinessMatch. If you registered for this event, you received a link via email. Please check your personalized MyBusinessMatch Dashboard.

Chat – We will be available via chat during BOE week (8:30am – 5:00pm) for any help you need navigating the Virtual BOE.

Get Social – Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and use #GMSDCBOE and #WEAREGMSDC when posting about the event! Be on the lookout for information coming soon about the many opportunities you’ll have to win prizes throughout the week. In the meantime, here’s an insider tip: the more you post using our hashtag, the more chances you’ll have to win!

AGENDA

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

9:00 to 9:15 a.m.	Welcome C-Suite Conversations featuring Jim Dinkins, Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor, The Coca-Cola Company
9:30 to 11:00 a.m.	State of Minority Business Town Hall Powered by AT&T, Accenture, Aflac, Fifth Third Bank, Pyramid Consulting and VDart Panelists: Sidd Ahmed, President and CEO, VDart Ashley D. Bell, Region IV Administrator, US Small Business Administration Dar’shun Kendrick, Small Business Committee, Georgia House of Representatives Kris Oswold, Vice President, Global Supplier Diversity, UPS Emily Poole, Regional Project Manager, Georgia Department of Economic Development Moderator: Cassius Butts, Minority Owned Task Force, Georgians First Commission
11:00 a.m.	How To Do Business With Corporate and Governmental Entities
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.	Industry Forum – Construction and Facilities Powered by Grady Health System and JE Dunn Construction Presenters: Barkley Richey, Senior Director of Business Development, Skanska Archie Deese, Owner, The Paint Doctor Jalal Slade, Assistant General Manager, Diversity, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Theresa Schroeder, Vice President, Community and Citizenship, Turner Construction Moderator: Chondra Webster-Myers, President & CEO, WEBMyers Construction
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.	Business After Hours Powered by Starbucks Coffee Company Special Guest: Nzinga Shaw, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Starbucks Coffee Company

Our After Hours Chat today is powered by Starbucks! So, prepare your beverage of choice and prepare to be inspired by Nzinga “Zing” Shaw Global Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer for Starbucks Coffee.

Afterwards, we will engage in some serious networking led by Adam A. Moore of Truist and GMSDC’s ’s own Reggie Phams. See you there!

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

9:00 to
3:00 p.m.

One on One Corporate Connections

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

9:00 to 9:15 a.m.	Welcome C-Suite Conversations featuring Eric Seldon, Senior Vice President of Aflac and President & CEO of Communicorp
9:15 to 10:15 a.m.	Industry Forum – Technology Powered by AdaptOne, IBM, Office Depot and Softpath System Presenters: Dane Bamburry, Director, Business Platform Services & Solutions Architecture, Cox Enterprises Derek Harrison, Procurement Emerging Technologies Lead, IBM Paul Judge, Co-Founder and Partner, TechSquare Labs George Sloan, NCR Moderator: Laron Walker, President, Sciberus
9:30 to 3:00 p.m.	MBE Presentations
11:00 to 12:00 p.m.	Industry Forum – Transportation/Manufacturing Powered by WestRock and Summit Container Presenters: Brooke Griffin, Director of Supplier Diversity/National Accounts, Sigma Supply Ron Guzzi, Career Relations/Sourcing, The Home Depot Joe Raia, Senior Procurement Director, The Coca-Cola Company Adam Walker, CEO, Summit Packaging Solutions Moderator: Walter Griggs, Founder and CEO, SquarePac LTD
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.	Industry Forum – Staffing Powered by Delta Air Lines, NLB and Primus Software Corporation Presenters: Duane Green, Director, Global Supplier Diversity Solutions, Kelly Services Keerti Gupta, Market Vice President, Pyramid Consulting Norma Marquez, Diversity and Inclusion Leader, randstad Calvin McCoy, CEO, Signature Staffing Moderator: Shawn Menefee, President and CEO, Corporate Temps
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.	Business After Hours – Cooking Demonstration Special Guest: Carlton A. Brown, Chef & Owner, Occasional Occasions by Carlton

Cooking with Chef Carlton

Come out and join MBE Chef Carlton Brown of Occasional Occasions by Carlton as we cook and dine the GMSDC way. It may not be Tuesday, but we are going to cook like it is!!

We will be Live in Chef Carlton’s kitchen watching as he cooks up an amazing dinner and dessert. This interactive session will allow you to cook right along with Chef Carlton. We want to see you cooking too so using the recipe links below, review the ingredients and get ready! Then stick around – you never know who’s going to turn up in Chef’s kitchen!

Recipe Link

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

9:00 to
3:00 p.m.

One on One Corporate Connections

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

9:00 to 9:15 a.m.	Welcome C-Suite Conversations featuring George Richter, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Management, Cox Communications
9:30 to 10:30 a.m.	Supplier Diversity in the New Supply Chain Powered by Ampcus, Cox Enterprises, Ernst & Young LLP, Metasys Technologies, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Trane Technologies, Six Consulting Panelists: Wassel Lewis, Vice President, Third Party Management, Aflac Dan McNally, Chief Procurement Officer, WestRock Regenia Sanders, Principal, Advisory Supply Chain Transformation & Operations, Ernst & Young LLP Jose Turkienicz, Chief Procurement Officer, UPS Moderator: Tracey Grace, President and CEO, IBEX IT Business Experts
2:00 to 3:00 p.m.	Industry Forum – Professional Services Powered by CIA Media Group, IBEX IT Business Experts, Southern Company Gas Presenters: Oko Buckle, Vice President & General Manager, Burns & McDonnell Louis Dillard, CEO, Zero to Infinity Tracey Grace, President and CEO, IBEX IT Business Experts Crystal King, Director, Supplier Diversity, Grady Health System Glenda Thomas, Supplier Diversity Manager- Electric, Southern Company Moderators: Montina Young Portis, Founder & CEO, CIA Media Group
4:00 to 4:30 p.m.	Announcement of Spirit of Alliance Awards Winners * New Link
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.	Virtual Reception * New Link

Spirit of Alliance Awards Nominations

The excitement is building to here the winners of the 2020 Spirit of Alliance Award Winners. Prepare your favorite cocktail and join our host, Adam Walker of Homestead Packaging to celebrate the nominees and congratulate the winners. Stick around to dance the evening away with music provided by DJ Lonnie.

CONTACT

If you have any questions or concerns, please use the GMSDC Attendee Hub Chat to communicate with the team. The chat will be monitored 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., September 14-18, 2020.

Additional Resources

SPEAKERS

Ashley Bell

- Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration for Region IV

Ashley was appointed on February 21, 2018 by the White House to serve as Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration for Region IV; serving nine districts located in the 8 Southeastern States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Regional Administrator Bell has oversight of over $5 billion in SBA-backed lending, the Counseling arm of the SBA, which counseled over 225,000 entrepreneurs last year in Region IV, and the contracting programs for small business, which account for over 23% of all federal contracts awarded. As a small business owner and entrepreneur himself from the young age of 22, Mr. Bell is committed to the SBA’s mission to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Bell served as Associate Director for External Affairs for the U.S. Peace Corps and Special Assistant in the Public Affairs Bureau of the United States Department of State. During the Trump/Pence Transition, he served as Communications & Intergovernmental Affairs Lead on the Landing Team at the State Department.

Cassius F. Butts

- President/CEO of 1st Choice Credit Union

Cassius F. Butts is the President/CEO of 1st Choice Credit Union which serves over 8,000 members located in Atlanta, Ga. He is also the owner of Capital Fortitude Business Advisors, a management-consulting firm located in Atlanta, Georgia that focuses on access to capital and strategic business development endeavors. As an accomplished executive, Mr. Butts served in financial roles with Bank of America, Fleet Bank and two presidential administrations. In 2019, Butts was appointed to lead Governor Kemp’s Small & Minority Owned Business Task Force for the inaugural Georgian’s First Commission. Governor Kemp also appointed Mr. Butts to the Georgia Board of Cemeterians (Consumer Advocate) and the Fort McPherson Local Redeveloping Authority (Chairman). Mr. Butts is the former Regional Administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) appointed by the 44^th President of the United States (Obama Administration). It was with SBA where he managed five record-breaking years for SBA lending within the eight southern states. He strategically helped to back over $30 billion dollars to small businesses during his appointment. Mr. Butts previously served as a Presidential Management Fellow under the George W. Bush Administration within the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). He assisted in the establishment of HUD’s multimillion marketing procurement process and was named Branch Chief of the Real Estate Owned division during his tenure. Mr. Butts is a graduate of Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University’s Graduate School of Public Administration and Emory University’s Osher Life Learning Institute. He enjoys volunteering his time with several organizations including; World Affairs Council (Atlanta), and Board Advisor to the Morehouse College Department of Business & Economics. He has also serves as a Trustee to Morris Brown College, the Florida 8a Association Board, National Black MBA Association Board and the WellStar Health Systems-Research Review Board. Mr. Butts is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta class of 2012.

Dan McNally

- hief Procurement Officer at WestRock Company

Chief Procurement Officer Dan McNally leads a global procurement organization with regional support in India, China, Europe, Brazil and North America. The team manages approximately $7.5 billion across major spend categories including Raw Materials, MRO/Plant Services, Capital, Corporate Services and Energy, setting strategies and supporting sourcing and supply management activities. The team also executes the vendor requisition to purchase order function and vendor and item master data for the major North American ERP systems. Dan brings 30 years of experience in manufacturing, quality and sourcing starting his career as a process engineer working for Westvaco, Boise Cascade, and Mead Corp paper mills located in Maryland and Maine. In 2000, Dan moved into a corporate sourcing role with MeadWestvaco taking on additional responsibilities leading to his current position as CPO of WestRock. Dan hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University and an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. Passionate about empowering women in engineering and other data-driven fields. Auburn University graduate. World traveler and adventure enthusiast.

Dar’shun Kendrick

- Member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing the 93rd district

Dar’shun Kendrick has represented House District 93, which includes East DeKalb and South Gwinnett, ever since being elected at the age of 27 in 2010. She was sworn into the House as the 2nd youngest member of the Georgia legislature in 2011. She was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and attended Towers High School in Decatur where she graduated at the top of her class. She then went on to Oglethorpe University where she graduated in 2004 receiving a dual degree in political science and communications. She enrolled in the University of Georgia, School of Law and graduated in 2007 with a focus on corporate law. In 2011, she graduated with honors from Kennesaw State University with a Master in Business Administration. In 2019, she obtained her series 65 license and is currently a registered investment adviser in the State of Georgia. She current serves as the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Non-Civil (Criminal law) committee, the Juvenile Justice Committee, Interstate Cooperation Committee and the Small Business Development and Job Creation committee. She also serves as Chair of the Special Committee on HBCUs for the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and co-chair of the Georgia Future Caucus, a bipartisan group made up of legislators under the age of 40. In 2018, her peers elected her as the Chief Deputy Whip for the House Democratic Caucus. In 2019, she was appointed to the Telecommunications, Science and Technology Committee for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Additionally, in 2019, she started the first Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship bipartisan caucus of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Emily Poole

- Region 3 (Metro Atlanta) Project Manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development

Emily Poole serves as the Region 3 (Metro Atlanta) Project Manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Prior to joining the Department, Emily worked at the local level for the City of Fayetteville, as their Director of Economic Development, as well as the Fayette County Development Authority as Vice President of Economic Development. Awarded Fayette County Young Professional of the Year for 2011, Emily has an impressive record of community service and partnership. The 2012-2013 President of Young Professionals of Fayette County, Emily has in the past served on the board of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Fayetteville. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for Bloom, AV Pride, and Fayette Senior Services. Additionally, she is a 2013 graduate of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute, and a 2014 graduate of Leadership Fayette. Emily is a native of Fayette County, where she graduated from McIntosh High School in Peachtree City. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Human Services and an MBA in International Business from Clayton State University where she was recognized with the “MBA Service & Leadership” Award for the Class of 2016.

Jose Turkienicz

- Chief Procurement Officer and President of Real Estate at UPS

Jose Turkienicz is Chief Procurement Officer and President of Real Estate at UPS with global a responsibility for over $25B and a real estate portfolio of more than 4,000 properties across 220 countries and territories. A true global citizen, Jose was born and raised in Brazil and is a triple citizen holding American, Brazilian and European Union citizenships. An expert in supply chain management, Jose has more than 20 years of experience charting a collaborative, diverse and a values driven mentality for Fortune 500 companies. Before joining UPS Jose worked in multiple geographies at Mars, Campbell Soup and Aramark. Jose is also a director of the board with The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).

Kris Oswold

- VP of Global Supplier Diversity — UPS

Kris Oswold is a leader in global business process design and organizational transformation. With 30 years at UPS, Kris has built a career designing and executing global organizational change. As the Vice President leading Supplier Diversity at UPS, Kris brings a process-centric, and data-driven, perspective to the role. Under her leadership, UPS has more than doubled spend with small and diverse businesses, and broadened engagement and collaboration across the UPS enterprise. Prior to leading Supplier Diversity, Kris had responsibility to design and execute a variety of UPS processes across the globe, including all aspects of customer support, billing and account receivable operations, as well as several human resources projects. In addition to pioneering enterprise-level process design and ownership at UPS, Kris has opened and operated UPS offices in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. She has a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington, and is an alumni of Emory University’s Executive Education program. Kris is a member of the board of directors of WEConnect International, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council, and the NMSDC Business Consortium Fund.

Regina Sanders

- EY Consulting US-Central Supply Chain and Operations Leader

Regenia leads the Americas supply chain practice for the Central Region of the United States. She has 22 years of experience driving supply chain assessment and transformation projects, spanning sourcing, procurement and planning to fulfillment for Fortune 500 and private equity portfolio companies. Most of her experience is in the industrial manufacturing industry, where she has both advised and helped clients to innovate their supply chains and find efficiencies through process improvement, while leveraging analytics and advanced supply chain solutions. She has also supported the integration of these solutions with ERP globally. Regenia holds a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering and a MSc degree in Materials Engineering from Auburn University. How Regenia is building a better working world.

“Diversity and inclusion are super important to me. In every organization I have worked in, I have been a champion for diversity, serving as a role model for young women and those of ethnic diversity. I want to show them what is attainable no matter their background.”

Sidd Ahmed

- Founder and CEO of VDart Inc.

Sidd Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of VDart Inc., one of the leading digital talent management companies found in the industry globally. VDart was born months after the recession during a time when companies were closing, and its success was the result of sheer effort and motivation from its captain, Sidd. He claims that it’s because the mindset has always been to “create opportunities for the success of others,” the company is standing where it is today. It is a remarkable feat considering that prior to VDart’s success, Sidd had never worked in any large organization nor had he come from a corporate background. However, despite lacking those experiences Sidd has maintained exponential growth in the IT talent management industry and is now embarking on the digital frontier of technology, Industry 4.0. Today among many other accolades VDart holds wins such as Inc. 5000 – 8 times fastest-growing firms in the US, NMSDC National MBE of the Year 2019, Supplier of the Year Class IV by NMSDC, MBE Advocate of the Year by GMSDC to name just a few. Along with those victories, Sidd also received Government’s Small Business Administration for Entrepreneurial Success 2018, Small Businessperson of the Year – 2017 and the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Award for 2017 and Eagle Award for 2017 & 2018.

Tracey Grace

- President and CEO of IBEX IT

Tracey Grace is a woman of grit. Before breaking into tech by founding IBEX IT Business Experts, Tracey led successful sales teams at companies like Learning Tree and FedEx and obtained her BA and her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She also developed software programs like Certifiably Diverse to help clients like the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) boost their supplier diversity. At IBEX, she helps organizations like NASA, CDC and Cox Communications implement and train workers on cutting-edge technologies. A minority woman founder, Grace realized IBEX’s value wasn’t just in tech training, but also in connecting companies with underrepresented groups. Although her professional expertise lies in IT Governance and Best Practices, she’s a uniquely powerful authority on topics like diversity, networking, and leadership. This year IBEX improved their ranking on the INC 5000 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies to #802 Nationally, #31 in Georgia and #38 in Atlanta.