United Airlines Named Corporation of the Year by Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council

CHICAGO - April 29, 2013 - PRLog -- Chicago, IL, April 29, 2013 – ChicagoMSDC, a thought leader in minority business since 1968, has named United Airlines Corporation of the Year during the annual Chicago Business Opportunity Fair (CBOF46) Dinner Dance at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, April 18, 2013.

The Sharing Success Award, Corporation of the Year is the highest honor conferred by ChicagoMSDC. Past Corporations of the Year Awards include: Allstate, AT&T, BP, Kraft, Pepsico and Navistar.

Katrina Manning, United’s vice president technical procurement, accepted the award on behalf of Chairman, President & CEO Jeff Smisek. “It is an honor to be recognized by a leading minority business organization such as ChicagoMSDC. Supplier Diversity is a critical component of our procurement process" said Ms. Manning.  We want our suppliers to reflect the diverse backgrounds and cultures of our customers and employees.”

The criteria is rigorous for this highly coveted honor. Members of the minority business community review, evaluate, nominate and select the winner based on a series of metrics.

“United Airlines certainly deserves this award and recognition. United is a tremendous advocate committed to inclusion and leads by example. Supplier diversity is embedded in the company’s infrastructure and is considered a strategic business practice vital to the success of the corporation,” Shelia Morgan, ChicagoMSDC President & CEO, told the audience.

“We have a number of diverse suppliers that add value to our supply chain.  Our diverse business partners provide products and services across the company, from  IT to cabin cleaners, from maintenance to food services.” said Ruby McCleary, director of United’s Supplier Diversity Program.

United’s Supplier Diversity Team is substantially involved in the company’s procurement process, and they have access to every bid opportunity. This process helps to drive the reality of a diverse supply chain. The United Airlines diversity spend increased 20% in 2011 and 22% in 2012 over their established goals, driving the company’s diversity spend in the last few years to more than $3.5 billion (in non-fuel procurement dollars). United also has a strong 2nd Tier initiative that invites its prime contractors to partner with diverse businesses, resulting in an additional $500 million in diversity spend with subcontractors.

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 CENTER - CHICAGO, call 312-755-8880 or visit the web site at: www.chicagomsdc.org.