Honorees 2014 Archives - WBE Hall of Fame

Tara Abraham

WBE

Tara Abraham, chairman and co-CEO, Accel Inc., accepts her award from Craig Eppling, regional manager, communications, General Motors.
Tara Abraham is the chairman and co-CEO of New Albany, Ohio-based packaging company Accel Inc. Her entrepreneurial drive was sparked 19 years ago, when, as a procurement specialist for a national retail chain, she couldn’t find a packaging company to meet her standards for quality and timely delivery. She founded Accel in 1995, growing it from a 1,200-square foot studio to an award-winning company serving major companies in the personal care and beauty, pharmaceutical and health care, and food and beverage sectors. In 2011, Accel moved to a 517,000-square-foot facility and added 400 new jobs to the New Albany area. Ms. Abraham has served on the board of directors of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, chaired the WBENC Forum and co-chaired the 2012 National Conference & Business Fair. She was appointed in 2011 to the National Women’s Business Council, where she served as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners. She was the recipient of the WBENC 2013 Applause Award, for helping to expand opportunities for women’s business enterprises on a national and international level. She was also named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and was named a WBENC WBE Star.

Linda Alvarado

WBE

Linda Alvarado, president and CEO, Alvarado Construction Inc., accepts her award from Steph Point, founder and president, Point 2 Point Global Security Inc.
Linda Alvarado is the president and CEO of Denver-based Alvarado Construction Inc., a commercial general contractor, construction management and development company she launched in 1976 with a $2,500 loan from her parents. In 1992, she became the first Latin owner in major league baseball when she joined a group that brought the Colorado Rockies team to the Mile High City. Although she endured many challenges in her first jobs in the industry, she persisted and is considered a pioneer, bringing new insight and perspective to the male-dominated construction industry. Her company’s first construction projects were curbs, gutters, sidewalks and bus shelters. Today, Alvarado Construction builds convention centers, high-rise office buildings, hotels, retail centers, sports stadiums and numerous multi-million dollar structures across the U.S. and Latin America. In addition to traveling the country as a motivational speaker, Ms. Alvarado serves on the board of directors of 3M Company, Pitney Bowes and the Mayo Clinic. She assisted in the creation of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has opened doors for women following nontraditional paths to success. Ms. Alvarado was the first person to be named the Ultimate Latina in Business by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was presented with the Horatio Alger Award in 2001 for her philanthropic efforts in improving her community, as well as her perseverance over adversity.

Cheryl Snead

WBE

Cheryl Snead, president and CEO, Banneker Industries Inc., accepts her award from Benita Fortner, director of supplier diversity, Raytheon, and chairman of the board, WBENC.
Cheryl Snead is the president and CEO of Banneker Industries Inc., a provider of supply chain management solutions headquartered in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. A mechanical engineer and green belt Six Sigma specialist, she founded the company in 1991 to manufacture precision-machined components, but changed the focus of the firm when she realized that a wide range of industries had a critical need for tailored solutions to supply chain challenges. Ms. Snead is vice chair of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Women’s Enterprise Forum and serves on the WBENC board of directors, as well as AMICA Insurance Company. She is an immediate past director of Bank Rhode Island. Her community activities include serving on the Board of Trustees of Bryant University and as a charter member and officer of the Greater Providence RI Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She travels the country as a motivational speaker advocating for youth, minority and women empowerment. Her business and civic accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. She has been named a Women’s Business Enterprise Star by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and the New England Businesswoman of the Year by Bryant University’s Women’s Summit. Banneker Industries was named the National Subcontractor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2008.

Cynthia Chace

Corporate Advocate

Cynthia Chace, enterprise account manager, state government sector, UPS (right), accepts her award from Billie Bryant, president and CEO, CESCO Inc.
Cynthia Chace is an enterprise account manager, state government sector, for UPS in Atlanta. She is responsible for creating, implementing and executing marketing and sales initiatives in the public sector, working her way up from the position of preloader back in 1986. During her 28-year career there, she has been devoted to the connection and advancement of women inside and outside the company. She has championed partnerships with women’s business organizations, such as the National Association of Women Business Owners and Women Presidents Organization. In her role at UPS, she helped found and launch Go for the Greens, a business development conference for women entrepreneurs. Now in its sixth year, Go for the Greens attracts entrepreneurs from all over the southwest and provides them with opportunities to meet with decision-makers from private and public organizations. She also helped steer UPS to become the corporate partner of the year for NAWBO. In recognition of her efforts on behalf of women business owners, Ms. Chace was awarded the World of Difference Award in 2012 by The International Alliance for Women, a global organization dedicated to the economic empowerment and advancement of women across six continents. Ms. Chace earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Radford University in Virginia, which she attended after being recruited – and winning a scholarship – to play basketball.

Michael Robinson

Corporate Advocate

Michael Robinson, program director, global supplier diversity, IBM, accepts his award from Lynn Scott, immediate past chairman of the board of the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce.
Michael K. Robinson is program director, global supplier diversity, for IBM’s Integrated Supply Chain. He is responsible for leading IBM’s supplier diversity initiatives worldwide. In this role, Mr. Robinson and his team focus on the utilization, development and mentoring of diverse suppliers. His team is also responsible for IBM’s Supplier Connection, a free, cloud-based portal that provides small businesses access to large corporations. With Mr. Robinson’s leadership in supplier diversity, IBM has spent in excess of $2 billion on a first-tier basis with diverse enterprises since 2006. The company has received numerous honors, including being named a Top Corporation for Women’s Business Enterprises by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. The company also received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Frances Perkins VanGuard Award for excellence in utilizing women-owned small businesses as prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. Mr. Robinson was named a Champion of Diversity for 2010 by DiversityPlus and a 2011 Congressional Executive Leadership Awardee and was recognized as one of the Best of IBM in 2013 in the category of corporate responsibility. Mr. Robinson serves on the board of directors of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, WE Connect International, the Conference Board Council on Supplier Diversity and Clark-Atlanta University Supply Chain Leadership Advisory Board.

Laura Taylor

Corporate Advocate

Laura Taylor, senior director, procurement strategy and planning, Pitney Bowes Inc., accepts her award from Pamela Prince-Eason, president and CEO, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
Laura Taylor is the senior director, procurement strategy and planning, for Pitney Bowes Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. Ms. Taylor provides strategic procurement leadership and is responsible for defining and implementing strategic objectives, policies, procedures and programs. Ms. Taylor and her team have global procurement accountability for the strategy and program management of spend analytics, project sourcing, controls and compliance and supplier risk. At Pitney Bowes, Ms. Taylor was twice awarded the company’s One Standard Excellence Award for results in business process improvement. As a former chair of the board of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, she leveraged her track record of creating innovative, business enhancing initiatives at Pitney Bowes to help strengthen the strategic direction of WBENC and its 14 regional partner organizations. She has also served as WBENC’s board first vice chair, where she campaigned to re-launch the organization’s Ambassador Program, reinforcing the quality of corporate membership. In other positions with WBENC committees, Ms. Taylor has tirelessly worked to expand membership and advance WBE competitiveness. Ms. Taylor has received WBENC’s most prestigious honor, the William J. Alcorn Leadership Award, and was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Corporate Supply Diversity by Women’s Enterprise USA in 2013. Believing that the seeds of collaboration and leadership are planted early in life, Ms. Taylor is an active volunteer in Girl Scouts and has served on the board of directors of the Southwestern Connecticut Girl Scouts Council.

Michelle Richards

WBE Advocate

Michelle Richards, president, Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Great Lakes, accepts her award from Debbie Hurst, president, Women’s Business Council – Southwest.
Michelle Richards is the president of the Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Great Lakes. The Livonia, Michigan-based council was created in 1998, when the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development, or CEED, became a partner with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. This collaboration has facilitated the relationships between corporations, governments and women-owned businesses and provided a solid foundation for the empowerment of WBEs that reaches beyond the Great Lakes region. Under Ms. Richards’ leadership, CEED became one of the first microloan programs in the country in 1984 and has since provided more than $5.5 million in microloans, trained more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs and certified 1,000 WBEs. The Michigan Women’s Marketplace, an online business community, has brought together some 7,000 members who share best practices and engage in WBE-to-WBE business opportunities. Ms. Richards has received high praise for her efforts and initiatives. She was named Women’s Business Advocate of the Year by the Michigan Small Business Administration and The Red Tape Buster by the National Association of Women’s Business Owners in Greater Detroit for her ability to cut through excessive bureaucracy in order to help WBEs successfully pursue business opportunities. Ms. Richards has also supported women beyond the United States, traveling with a professional delegation to Ghana, West Africa, where she provide assistance and instruction on women’s business development.

John F. Young

Chief Executive Officer Award

John F. Young, president and CEO, Energy Future Holdings (center), accepts his Chief Executive Officer Award from Tom Trotter, chairman of the board, American Institute of Diversity and Commerce (left), and Jarilyn Fox, publisher, MBN and WE Magazines.
John F. Young is president and CEO of Energy Future Holdings Corp., a Dallas-based energy company with a portfolio of competitive and regulated businesses, including TXU Energy, Luminant and Oncor. A Fortune 500 company, EFH is the largest power generator, retail electricity provider and electric delivery business in Texas. Mr. Young is a strong proponent of EFH’s long-standing commitment to the economic development of the communities it serves, including small businesses and businesses owned by women and minorities. He is widely credited with assembling an advisory team of experts and innovators that has created opportunities for WBEs to steadily contribute to the success of the company. Since 1991, the company has spent more than $5 billion with diverse suppliers, more than half of that with women-owned businesses. His dedication has helped EFH land on the list of America’s Top Corporations for Women Business Owners by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council every year since the award’s inception 14 years ago. An ardent supporter of women in business, Mr. Young was the first recipient of WBENC’s CEO Leadership Award in 2012 and actively supports and recognizes women’s excellence in entrepreneurship, leadership and mentorship within the company and the community. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering, Mr. Young served five years in the U.S. Navy before beginning his career in the energy industry.

Larry Caldwell

Executive Advocate

Larry Caldwell, vice president, IT and corporate services procurement, PepsiCo, accepts his award from Nina Vaca Humrickhouse, president and CEO, Pinnacle Technical Resources.
Larry Caldwell is vice president, IT and corporate services procurement, at PepsiCo. He is responsible for sourcing IT goods and services for the global BIS function and sourcing business transformation services, global travel and corporate services for PepsiCo globally. He and his team are also responsible for the support of systems and tools specifically utilized by the global procurement team. Mr. Caldwell began his career at PepsiCo in 1983. Prior to his current role, he was vice president of procurement for PepsiCo’s Eastern European operations, responsible for direct materials and other goods and services sourcing. His service to PepsiCo has also included serving as director of service and distribution for Frito-Lay Canada, as well as various management positions in finance and operations. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Mr. Caldwell served as finance manager with The Gillette Company. Mr. Caldwell is a certified public accountant and holds a master’s degree in business and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University in Commerce. Currently, he serves on the boards of directors of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and Women’s Business Council Southwest. He previously served on the board of directors of the Share Plus Federal Bank, where he chaired the Audit Committee. In April, WBENC bestowed its Applause Award to Mr. Caldwell.

Elizabeth Vazquez

Organization Award

Elizabeth Vazquez, president and CEO, WEConnect International, accepts her award from Ricardo Barrientos, senior director, supplier diversity, PepsiCo.
Led by Elizabeth A. Vazquez, WEConnect International is a corporate-driven global nonprofit organization that works with the supplier diversity and inclusion community, as well as procurement professionals, to empower women business owners worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., WEConnect provides its corporate members with a global database and resources to ensure a diverse and inclusive supply chain. Ms. Vazquez is a serial social entrepreneur and world leader in global supplier diversity and inclusion. She co-authored “Buying for Impact: How to Buy from Women and Change Our World.” The book includes information on women business owners and ways to support and leverage their potential to create a more sustainable and inclusive global economy. As the CEO of WEConnect International, Ms. Vazquez is responsible for the group’s support and impact through a network of local representatives in 17 countries. WEConnect International members are pioneers in global supplier development and inclusion, with more than $700 billion in annual purchasing power and a clear interest in buying from women-owned business enterprises. In addition to providing training and support for women’s success in all regions of the world, Ms. Vazquez sits on several boards of directors, including the Global Banking Alliance for Women and the Cornerstone Capital Group, and is an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative.

Jerald Martin

Trailblazer Award

Jerald Martin (retired), senior vice president and general manager, PepsiCo Financial Services, accepts his award from Cheryl Stevens, vice president, supplier diversity, Energy Future Holdings, and vice chairman of the board, American Institute of Diversity and Commerce.
According to the founding president of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Susan Bari, there would be no WBENC without Jerald Martin. He is credited with providing the wisdom, connections, motivation — and the ability to raise the funds — that boosted the creation of the organization in 1996 and remained a committed volunteer, mentor and leader. Mr. Martin became a staunch and steady supporter of women’s business enterprises while working at PepsiCo, where he served in many positions. Before retiring as a senior vice president and general manager for PepsiCo Financial Services, he held a variety of positions at the company and its Frito-Lay division, including senior vice president with responsibility for global procurement, vice president of North America purchasing, controller and treasurer, planning director and plant manager. Because Mr. Martin believed that WBEs could achieve greater levels of success when surrounded with the guidance of corporate mentors and advocates, he served in leadership positions for a number of WBE groups, including WBENC and the Women’s Business Council Southwest, and championed the creation of its predecessor – the North Texas Women’s Business Council. Mr. Martin’s good deeds continue even in retirement. He is active in Plano 4th Ward Elders Quorum where his insight helps strengthen families and give direction to a new generation. He and his wife, Gemie, have eight children and 20 grandchildren and reside in Plano, Texas.

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