After 46 Years, ChicagoMSDC Stands Tall as a Minority Business leader with CBOF

CHICAGO - April 30, 2013 - PRLog -- Chicago, IL. April 30, 2013 – Since 1968, ChicagoMSDC ‘s (Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council) premiere event, CBOF (Chicago Business Opportunity Fair) has maintained its stronghold as a unique and important power player among niche business trade fairs throughout the US.  Chicago is second to none to New York and Los Angeles as it relates to the history and the number of successful minority-owned enterprises. This years’ CBOF 46 did not disappoint despite remarkable weather conditions.

CBOF 46 was  April 17-18, 2013 at Chicago’s Navy Pier. The Hyatt Regency was the CBOF 46 host hotel.  

“The Chicago Minority Supplier development is proud to be a premier organization for certifying, developing, connecting and advocating for minority supplier development! After 46 years this organization is more relevant than ever and business critical to the success, growth and sustainability of this country,”  said Shelia Morgan is President & CEO, ChicagoMSDC.

The presenting sponsor was Allstate. Benefactor partners were: Navistar, Office Max, Tovar Snow Removal and United Airlines.  

Troy Clarke, CEO, Navistar International served as Honorary Chair, CBOF46 Planning Committee; Edi Guerra of Navistar,  Co-Chair, CBOF 46, Planning Committee and James Cabrera Sr. was Co-Chair CBOF 46 Planning Committee and President of UBM Inc.

CBOF 46 kicked-off with a series of insightful and many standing room only workshops. Workshop highlights included:

We Are Family: Toronto Open for Business;
Beyond LinkedIn: Sales Mobility, Productivity & Business Networking ;
Crowd Funding Success – Raising Money $1.00 at a Time;
The Big Pitch – Winning Over Investors;
Tuck Executive Education – How to Find New Opportunities

How to Grow;  Guide to U.S. Government Exporting Resources
The IT Procurement Workshop


Sandeep Nain, President of SNtial Technologies, Inc. served as Chair of CBOF 46 MBEIC Awards Reception . Joyce Johnson, President/CEO of Anchor Staffing Inc., is the Chair of the ChicagoMSDC/MBEIC Committee. MBEIC (Minority Business Enterprise Input Committee) is made up of business owners who are certified MBEs of ChicagoMSDC.  

“The awards reception is a highlight of CBOF, because it is there we pay tribute to corporate buying organizations that have supported supplier diversity in words and action. We also pay tribute to our member firms whose expertise and diligence have propelled their firms onto the success stratosphere,” says Joyce Johnson, ChicagoMBEIC Chair and President/CEO of Anchor Staffing, Inc.

MBEIC Sharing Success Awards Reception was in the Crystal Ballroom (West Tower) Hyatt Regency Riverwalk.


Minority Supplier of the Year Awardees were:

Ash Luthra, LSL Industries (Class 4)
Juventino Cano, Cano Container Corporation (Class 3)
Michelle Lechuga, Office Space, Inc. (Class 2)
George Kinnison, Applied Controls and Contracting (Class 1)

Minority Business Advocate Award

     -      Herb Stokes, The Affluence Group

Special Recognition Awardees are:

Mark J. Hands, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Anders C. Rasmussen Jr. Award)
Margaret Klinsport, Allstate (MBEIC  Chairman’s Special Recognition Award)
Vice President & Commissioner Barbara McGowan, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (President’s Special Recognition Award)
Patricia Hanes, Retired U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA (Lifetime Achievement)

Outstanding Buyers Awardees were:

Jay Patel, Kraft; Dotch Phillips, BP; Yvette Graham, Allstate; Jim Sheridan, Navistar and Erika Summers, Ariel Investments.

Scholarship recipients for business related studies are:

Jacqueline Castro, Lincoln Park High School; Stephanie Greene, Walter Payton College Prep; Natilya McEwen, Rich Central High School; Kevin Peralta, John F. Kennedy High School; Haaris Pervaiz, Northside College Prep; Joseph Robinson, Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep and Minhua Wu, Kenwood Academy.  

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Thursday, April 18, 2013, Sponsors Breakfast, Navy Pier Grand Ballroom.

John Rogers, Chairman, CEO & Chief Investment Officer of Ariel investments interviewed Michael Escobar, Allstate Vice President of Diversity & Organizational Effectiveness and Emmett Vaughn, Exelon Director Diverse Business Empowerment discussed the current status of supplier diversity opportunities “There’s no shortage of Jackie Robinson’s in business. We need more Branch Rickey’s,” Vaughn stated.  

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Rainbow PUSH Coalition/Wall Street Project accepted the Impact Award for his work in minority business development and economic equality.

The Chicago Bulls cheerleaders, Luvabulls,  lead the procession to the Trade Fair Ribbon Cutting.

MBE Yoshio Gotoh, who has sung at Carnegie Hall sang The Star Spangled Banner.

The Trade fair was comprised of 200 booths from industries such as Informational Technology, Automotive, Food & Beverage, Construction, Healthcare and Capital Access.

Awarded at the Reception and Dinner Dance:

Corporation of the Year: Jeffery Smisek – President & CEO -United Airlines, Inc.
Transformational Leadership Awards: Anne Pramaggiore – President & CEO, ComEd and

Christopher Crane – President & CEO, Exelon Corporation

The popular Power Meal Auction stimulated a spirited bidding-volley for a meal with a Chief Procurement Officer from: Allstate, United Airlines, Kraft Foods Group or Johnson Controls, Inc.  Other live auctions items included a Napa Valley experience and a Skybox Experience hosted by a Navistar C-Suite Executive for a Chicago Bulls or Blackhawks game.  The auction grossed over $45,000 for the organization.

For more information  visit www.chicagomsdc.org or call Cynthia Jordan, 312-755-2555

About ChicagoMSDC (Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council:

ChicagoMSDC is a thought leader in minority business since 1968. Its mission is to be the premier organization for increasing value-added business opportunities between major buying organizations and minority-owned businesses. ChicagoMSDC is the founding Council of NMSDC, a network of 36 regional councils. For over four decades, serving both minority suppliers and corporate buyers, ChicagoMSDC has been Chicago’s central network where trading partners have been able to meet and develop sustainable business linkages. Today, the ChicagoMSDC partnership includes over 200 private and public sector buying organizations and more than 1300 minority-owned businesses.

Corporate members of ChicagoMSDC have reported over $3.5 billion in annual purchases from minority firms. MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) members have reported the employment of more than 98,000 workers annually.

CMBR: Chicago Minority Business Report is a quarterly newspaper published by ChicagoMSDC and MBEIC.

For more information about CHICAGOMSDC and/or MBDA BUSINESS CENTERS in Chicago & St. Louis, call 312-755-8880 or visit the web site at: www.chicagomsdc.org.