Bristol Myers Squibb and the New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce will host a Supplier Diversity Summit on Friday at the Bristol Myers Squibb campus in Lawrenceville.
The event, “Unlocking Your Potential for the Future,” will run from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is intended for small, medium and large suppliers, corporations, state agencies and officials.
The summit will include three panels and a keynote speaker:
- A corporate panel: It aims to discuss emerging areas, such as sustainability and innovative technologies, and the opportunities they will present.
- A chamber panel: It aims to help the audience understand how to best partner with various chambers of commerce to unlock opportunities of contracting, professional development and supplier development.
- An EBRG panel: It aims to discuss the impact Employee Business Resource Groups can have.
- Keynote speaker: Braxton Fleming, CEO of Stealth Bros. & Co.
(The complete schedule and panelists are listed at the bottom.)
The event will feature a showcase for companies and chambers that are looking to interact with diverse vendors.
Vendors also will be able to earn their state certification on site with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (with prior registration).
The Supplier Diversity Summit stems from a new partnership between Bristol Myers Squibb, a global biopharmaceutical company, and the New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce, a Wayne-based LGBTQ+ business organization.
By serving as a lead sponsor for the NJPCC, BMS is acting on its commitment to sustaining a culture of inclusion, which it considers fundamental to its success in delivering medicines to patients.
“We welcome this strong partnership with BMS, and we are especially proud of this important relationship, given that, just recently, BMS was inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable as a Fortune 100 company that has invested more than $1 billion with diverse-owned business groups,” NJPCC Executive Director Gus Penaranda said.
The sponsorship with NJPCC is a collaboration between BMS’ Global Supplier Diversity team and PRIDE Alliance, which is one of the BMS global network of People and Business Resource Groups, representing thousands of employees around the world, enabling a company culture where all colleagues can be their full, authentic selves, and by supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies through education, benefits and well-being offerings and career development.
“Our award-winning global supplier diversity program is anchored on the importance of the inclusion and diversity of our many business communities and truly ‘Partnering with Purpose,’” Sundari Pai, senior manager, global supplier diversity, strategic sourcing and procurement, at BMS, said.
The schedule
Corporate panel: 9 a.m.
- Blue Point Wind (renewable energy): John Dempsey, CEO
- Bristol Myers Squibb (pharmaceutical): Devin Carsdale, associate director, sustainability
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (health care): Wendy Lanski, director, enterprise vendor management & operations
- New Jersey Transit (transportation): Namibia Muid, managing contract specialist
- TD Bank (banking): Steven Garibell, vice president, community business development strategy
Moderator: Tom Bergeron, editor, ROI-NJ
Chamber panel: 9:45 a.m.
- New Jersey Pride Chamber of Commerce: Gus Penaranda, executive director
- Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey: Luis de la Hoz, chairman
- New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce: Francisco Cortes, president
- African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey: John Harmon, CEO
- Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce: Rajeev Krishna, president
Moderator: Cathy Renna, CEO, Target Cue
Keynote address: 10:30 a.m.
- Braxton Fleming, CEO, Stealth Bros. & Co.
EBRG panel and roundtable: 11 a.m.
- Bristol Myers Squibb: Paul Shay, former global lead, PRIDE Alliance
- Merck: Jason Hoar, associate director, global diversity & inclusion center of excellence
- TD: Steven Garibell, vice president, community business development strategy
Moderator: Ashwini Haldankar, director, Johnson & Johnson
