Procurement Officers Forum to Highlight Domestic & Global Buying Trends

April 16, 2012 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, DC – Top Procurement Officers from leading Fortune 500 Corporations such as AT&T, ConAgra Foods, Marriott International, PepsiCo, Verizon, and non-profit organizations including American Red Cross and AARP, will gather at the Procurement Officers Forum on June 4, 2012 to discuss domestic and global trends in the supply chain, issues and challenges in the business community, how corporate procurement practices adjust to global market and political changes, and how suppliers get selected to be a part of the bid and become a value-added vendor.

This forum is part of CelebrAsian 2012 Business Opportunity Conference – the flagship annual national event of the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC). The Conference, with the theme “The Future is Now: Seize It & Win It," will be held on June 4 ~ 6 at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ravi Saligram, CEO of OfficeMax and Kyle McSlarrow, President of Comcast/NBCUniversal, Washington, DC will serve as Conference Co-Chairs. Corporate Co-Chairs are Marriott International, PepsiCo and Wells Fargo.

The International CPO panel includes: Jill Bossi, Senior Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer, American Red Cross; Mark Reed, Chief Procurement Officer, AARP; DK Singh, Senior Vice President, Global Procurement, ConAgra Foods; Stephane Masson, Vice President, Global Procurement, Marriott International; George Sloan, Vice President, Global Business and Operations Supply Chain, AT&T; and Richard Bellas, Vice President, Strategic Procurement, Global A&M and Corporate Services, PepsiCo; among other distinguished speakers.

“We are honored to provide a unique and pioneering platform for top Procurement Officers to discuss important procurement trends and issues in this increasingly global economy,” said Susan Au Allen, USPAACC National President & CEO.

CelebrAsian is the only annual national Pan Asian American business conference in the United States, providing Asian American-owned businesses greater access to contract opportunities, growth industries, strategic solutions and best practices to thrive in the global marketplace.

CelebrAsian also connects hundreds of top-caliber Asian American suppliers and business owners with buyers from Fortune 1000 Corporations, the Federal, State and Local government, and the small and minority business community, through pre-scheduled one-on-one business matchmaking meetings (USPAACC lists over 45 different types of commodities needed to be purchased across industries), informative summits, workshops, and networking events.

Last year, CelebrAsian was held in Los Angeles, California where over 600 conference participants came from all over the country and over 500 pre-scheduled one-on-one business matchmaking meetings were held. “What a fantastic event! I met several suppliers with whom we are now working to further assess their capabilities and opportunities,” said Marianne Strobel, Executive Director, Supplier Diversity, AT&T Services.

The specially-designed sessions will include: Under 40 Millionaire Entrepreneurs – Success Stories; Procurement Officers Forum; Asia Trade Mission Roundtable; Welcome Reception and Asian American Directors’ Awards; Industry Focus Groups (A&M, Construction, IT, Telecom); Supplier Diversity & Small Business Program Caucus; Immigration Investors Program as a Business Expansion Plan: Financing Through Investors & Banks; Business Express: Ready Set Grow - What Are the Many Roles of a CEO in a Growing Small Business?; Crack the Code of Marketing to Corporations & Government 101; Taking Your Relationship with Corporations & Government to the Next Level: Advanced Contracting; Asian American CEOs: Living the American Dream; Excellence Awards Gala Reception and Dinner; Presentation of the Fast 50 Asian American Businesses; Guanxi* Supplier Opportunity Fair; One-on-One Prescheduled Business Matchmaking Meetings; and the Business Leaders and College Scholarship Luncheon (*Guanxi is a business term meaning “connections” or “relationship”) and much more.

Conference attendance is open to all. Early bird rates end April 27, 2012. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.uspaacc.com or http://www.celebrasianconference.com or call USPAACC at (202) 296-5221.

Media Inquiries: JP Torres
Tel (617) 933-9629
Email: jptorres@uspaacc.com

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ABOUT USPAACC: Founded in 1984 as a non-profit and non-partisan organization, USPAACC is the single unified voice for equal opportunity for Asian American businesses. USPAACC promotes and propels economic growth by opening doors to business, educational and professional opportunities for Asian Americans and their business partners in corporate America, government at the federal, state and local levels, and the small and minority business community. For 26 years, USPAACC has served and will continue to serve as the gateway to large corporate and government contracts, top-caliber Asian American and small and minority suppliers, key information about Asian Americans and business opportunities in the dynamic Asia-Pacific market.