16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards- Announces Supplier Of The Year Finalists

Nov. 1, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, MICH., Tues., Nov. 1, 2011 - The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, hosted by the Emerging Diversity Education Fund and Decisive Media, announced the finalists of the 2012 Supplier of the Year Awards who will be honored on Sunday January 8, 2012 at the Sound Board Theater, MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Mich.  The Annual Urban Wheel Awards is the nation’s only award show bringing together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives, and the multicultural community to celebrate inclusion in the automotive industry.  The Urban Wheel Awardswas named the Official Multicultural Event of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) by the 2012 NAIAS Executive Committee.

The finalist of the 2012 Supplier of the Year awards are being honored for demonstrating a unprecedented record of quality, growth, and service to the automobile industry.  Nominees were selected by ethnic minority business and trade organizations and will be honored in each of the following award categories:

African-American Supplier of the Year
Steven Phillips - Chairman, President and CEO, Detroit Technologies, Inc.

Asian Supplier of the Year
Wallace Tsuha - Chairman and CEO, Saturn Engineering & Electronics

Hispanic Supplier of the Year
David Segura - CEO, VisionIT


Phillips is Chairman, President, and CEO of Detroit Technologies, Inc. (DTI) a Tier 1 supplier in the automotive industry.   An accomplished executive and respected leader, Phillips’ “hands-on” style inspires the DTI organization and several strategic alliances and joint venture partnerships, together to achieve higher levels of quality, sales and customer satisfaction. With over 30 years in the automotive industry, his background in design and engineering has been instrumental in DTI’s success to date – including being recognized as a GM Supplier of the Year for the past four years, and a three time recipient of Toyota’s Certificate of Achievement Award.  DTI is a supplier to General Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, Chrysler Group LLC, and Johnson Controls.

Segura serves as Chief Executive Officer and is the founder ofVisionIT.   Fifteen years ago, with a strong technology background within a Fortune 10 corporation, Segura combined his zeal for IT with a bold vision to create VisionIT, an IT Managed Services, IT Staffing, and Vendor Management firm. Since that time, Segura has successfully led the company from a startup to a global enterprise working with some of the largest corporations in the U.S. and Latin America.  Under his savvy leadership, VisionIT has become one of the largest and most recognized minority-owned businesses in the United States, operating in 20 U.S. offices, and global operations in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and India.VisionIT is a supplier to General Motors, Chrysler Group LLC, Toyota Motor Corporation, Meritor, Delphi, and Federal Mogul.

Tsuhafounded Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc. in 1985.  He started with an idea and a business plan, and tenaciously pursued financial resources until he was able to get started with just six employees.  Since then, Tsuha, Chairman & CEO, has significantly grown the company to a highly recognized global supplier to OEM manufacturers and their suppliers.  Saturn's highly innovative products are designed, engineered, and manufactured for the automotive, appliance and communications industries.In 2010, Saturn Electronics & Engineering was one of forty-seven global suppliers who received Ford’s World Excellence for achieving the highest level of excellence in quality, cost and delivery.  Saturn operates manufacturing, engineering and sales support facilities in the U.S., Mexico, the U.K., China, Japan and the Philippines and is a supplier to General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Group LLC and a host of other OEMs.

"Serving the automobile industry through the production and delivery of superior products and services is extremely important to the multicultural market," said Randi Payton, president and CEO of Decisive Media. "As the global attention continues to shift toward meeting the needs of consumers of color, Decisive Media is focused on celebrating inclusion in the automotive industry by spotlighting these individuals and companies that help buyers capitalize on these new market realities.  We are honored to recognize Steven Phillips, David Segura, Wally Tsuhaand their respective teams forsetting a high standard of excellence in serving the auto industry and multicultural markets.”

The 16th Annual Urban Wheels Awards is a daylong event expected to attract nearly 2,500 movers and shakers in the automobile industry as well as auto enthusiasts from across the country.  The festivities begin at 2:00 p.m. with a vehicle exhibit, followed by a reception at 4:00 p.m. in honor of William “Bill” Perkins, the first African-American chairman of the NAIAS. The celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards show from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. and the evening will conclude with an afterglow reception from 9:00 – 11:00 p.m.   In addition to the Supplier of the Year award category, the Dealer of the Year, Executive of the Year, Company of the Year, Car/Truck and Green Vehicle of the Year, and a Lifetime Achievement award to Warren Brown, an auto writer for the Washington Post, will be among those presented.

According to R.L. Polk & Co.—the recognized expert for automotive intelligence and marketing solutions—consumers in the multicultural market purchase one-quarter of new vehicles annually. The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards also promotes awareness of their inclusion and honors the companies and individuals who have made progress toward embracing this reality.

For media information, please contact pr@decisivemag.com or call (301) 390-1823. For event and sponsorship information, please e-mail us at events@decisivemag.com or log on to www.urbanwheelawards.com for more details.

ABOUT THE URBAN WHEEL AWARDS

The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards is a world-class awards show, held during the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The only Official Multicultural Event held in conjunction with the NAIAS, the awards promote diversity inclusion in the nation’s largest auto show and brings together celebrities, automotive executives, international media, government representatives and the multicultural community to celebrate diversity accomplishment in the automotive industry. The festivities begin at 2:00 p.m. with a vehicle exhibit, followed by a reception at 4:00 p.m. to honor William “Bill” Perkins, the first African-American Chairman of the NAIAS. The celebrity Green Carpet and VIP reception follows at 5:30 p.m. and the awards show will take place from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. An afterglow networking reception will conclude the evening. Proceeds from the event support the Emerging Diversity Education Fund, which provides internships, scholarship and mentoring to students pursuing careers in the auto industry, communications, and Green jobs. For more information, please contact Marjorie Staten at events@decisivemag.com or (248) 866-8837 or visit www.urbanwheelawards.com