February 9, 2010: Pre-Dinner Forum and Dinner Presentation

Pre-Dinner Forum: 4:30-5:30 PM

1st Topic: Sore Feet Can't Dance - Redesigning Business Opportunity Fairs To Help Buyers Be More Effective
Speaker: Ramesh Sambasivan, Co-Founder, iTradeFair.com, Inc.

2nd Topic: An International Women¹s Social Enterprise as a Diverse Supplier
Speaker: Monaqui Porter-Young, Founder, MPGlobal Connect Inc.

There will be two parts to the Pre-Dinner program this evening. The first presentation is by Ramesh Sambasivan, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of iTradeFair.com, Inc. Established in 1999, iTradeFair.com creates specialized virtual business matchmakers in the familiar setting of an online exhibition. Over the past ten years, iTradeFair.com has been used with great success by corporate buyers to improve productivity; advocacy groups to increase member-value, tradeshow organizers to grow revenues and marketers seeking to create or extend their trade show strategy. iTradeFair.com is the No.1 creator of online exhibitions, having deployed thousands of virtual booths for small and medium-sized businesses, replete with multimedia and live interaction capabilities. Each virtual booth is set up by the exhibitors independently in less than sixty minutes without the need to know software programming. iTradeFair.com's virtual matchmakers often boast between $7 billion and $34 billion in annual purchasing power 'walking' its virtual exhibit halls. An itradefair helps buyers research suppliers more efficiently, while enabling an extended team to directly participate in the business matchmakers without having to travel.

Mentored over the years by some of the finest in corporate procurement, and honed by a decade-long first-hand experience with virtual business matchmakers, Ramesh Sambasivan is considered a subject-matter expert in virtual exhibitions. He shares his knowledge through his blog, white papers, ebook published at http://www.iTradeFair.com and as a speaker at various conferences. Mr. Sambasivan and his team are currently designing earth¹s largest trade fair entirely online, in partnership with various advocacy groups.

He volunteers at various online networks, including one on Linked In called 'SupplierDiversityExchange.com', and serves his local community as the Education Chair on the home-school association board.

The second portion of the Pre-Dinner program, features a presentation by Monaqui Porter-Young, Chief Executive Officer and President of MPGlobal Connect Inc., a social business venture located in New York City. Ms. Porter-Young successfully launched this venture and continues to move the company forward with her vision of economic empowerment through sustainable development. MPGlobal Connect Inc. is the exclusive import distribution company of Srina® organic teas in North America.

MPGlobal Connect Inc. is a certified New York/New Jersey Supplier (NY/NJMSDC), and a certified Women¹s Business Enterprise (WBENC). Over the past six years Ms. Porter-Young has been working closely with the mostly female small-scale farmers in Sri Lanka to shape a clear vision of the redevelopment of Paradise Farm. The redevelopment of Paradise Farm includes creating a social enterprise that would sustain the small-scale farmers and local villages, using their natural resources such as sustainable agriculture and forestry plants.

Ms. Porter-Young received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She studied Import Operations at the World Trade Institute of Pace University. Ms. Porter-Young is a certified Holistic Health Practitioner specializing in digestive disorders and primary foods through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and received certification in Integrative Nutrition at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has also published articles and presented interactive workshops, guest lectures and keynote speeches at universities, business associations and organizations throughout the United States and abroad. She worked as foreign correspondent with Young Asia Television in Sri Lanka and was a guest speaker for the United Nations International Women¹s Day in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ms. Porter-Young currently serves on the board of Worldview Impact, a social enterprise based in London, and is co-chair of Paradise Farm. She is also a member of the ISM-New York Supplier Diversity Committee.

Dinner Presentation: 6:00 PM

Topic: Best Supplier Diversity Practices TODAY
Panelists: Traci S. Jackson, Vice President, Corporate Supplier Diversity, JPMorgan Chase;
John P. (Pat) MacMonagle, Sourcing Leader, Corporate Initiative Group, General Electric;
Todd G. Sears, Director and Head of Americas Diversity & Inclusion, Credit Suisse
Moderator: William H. Drewes, J.D.

Best supplier diversity practices are complex and challenging in the best of times but, today? We are in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment is in the double digits. The financial markets are in disarray. Corporations are cutting budgets, laying off staff and outsourcing non-core competencies. Government regulations, monitoring and compliance burdens are increasing. Workforce diversity and inclusion, sustainability, corporate social responsibility programs are demanding attention. Procurement professionals are charged with doing more with less. Existing suppliers are being squeezed and newer vendors are being sought which can provide better value at a competitive cost. Is vendor development a thing of the past? Is supplier diversity just a feel good program in better times or does a business case still exist for this initiative today, domestically and in the global economy? Our distinguished panelists will discuss how their supplier diversity programs are fairing in the economic downturn and what adjustments they have made to cope with the changing business environment.

TRACI S. JACKSON is Vice President, Corporate Supplier Diversity at JPMorgan Chase, where she leads the development and execution of the firm¹s growth strategy for new and incumbent diverse suppliers and builds cross-firm collaboration with all lines of business. She also manages strategic partnerships with preferred and approved diverse suppliers and the Supplier Diversity Leadership team across the firm. Previously, Ms. Jackson was Vice President, Sourcing and Procurement Services, where she led a team of project managers in developing infrastructure technology sourcing strategies with internal lines of business throughout the firm. She and her team developed and managed the request for proposal effort for hardware, software, telecommunications and professional services and led the vendor selection process, negotiated business terms and structured contract sections for deals in excess of $5M.

Ms. Jackson earned a bachelor¹s degree in Economics from Spelman College and an MBA with a Finance concentration from Clark Atlanta University Graduate School of Business. During her time at CAU, she was the recipient of the Union Pacific Railroad Fellowship. Ms. Jackson is a former Committee Co-Chair for JPMorgan Chase¹s Diversity Council, a current member of Toastmasters International, the National Association of Female Executives and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

PAT MACMONAGLE is the Manager of Corporate Sourcing in General Electric¹s Corporate Initiatives Group. The charter of CIG includes driving company-wide initiatives, best practices and standards in Sourcing, Information Management, Lean, Digitization and Customer Growth. As head of General Electric¹s Global Indirect Sourcing Council, he is responsible for facilitating and driving savings and productivity, setting standards, simplifying processes and improving supplier performance. He also leads GE¹s Supplier Diversity Council, Professional Services Council and GE¹s standardized Sourcing Training Program.

Mr. MacMonagle holds a Masters of Public Administration from the State University of New York, University at Albany and a Bachelor of Arts degree from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY.

TODD G. SEARS is Director and Head of Americas Diversity & Inclusion at Credit Suisse, with responsibility for the firm¹s diversity strategy and implementation across investment banking, private banking, asset management, shared services and information technology. He joined Credit Suisse from Merrill Lynch, where he worked for eight years, having most recently served as Head of Strategic Initiatives and Best Practices and a Divisional Diversity Manager for the Global Wealth Management business. As Head of Strategic Initiatives and Best Practices, he was responsible for implementing US strategies to increase both headcount and revenue from diverse financial advisors, ultimately contributing to revenue growth of 21.2% from those advisors in 2007. He also increased the net diverse financial advisor headcount by 5.6% during the same year.

In the community, Todd is a member of: the Lambda Legal National Leadership Council, the Williams Institute Founders Council, the Lambda Legal Planned Giving Council, the Out & Equal New York Regional Council and the NY LGBT Center¹s Corporate Council. He is a member of the SIFMA Diversity Board as well as the Corporate Diversity Board of the Asia Society. Most recently, he joined the Corporate Board of the National Council for Research on Women. He is also a co-founder and co-chair of Jeffrey FashionCares, an annual fashion event, which has raised over $1.8 million for LGBT causes over the past six years. Mr. Sears is a graduate of Duke University.

BILL DREWES, J.D. is enjoying senior citizenship after forty years as a business consultant, attorney and diversity counsel with an "encore career" which he describes as "meaningful public service and fun things to do." Mr. Drewes is serving as chair of the Diversity Special interest Group of the Human Resources Association of New York (www.hrny.org), the largest chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (www.shrm.org). He is co-chair of the Institute for Supply Management - New York (www.ismny.org) Supplier Diversity Committee and also chairs the ISM-New York Annual Supplier Diversity EXPO. He is a member of The Columbia Business School Social Entrepreneurship Network; ReServe Elder Services (www.reserveinc.org) and the New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (www.ywse.org) He has taught classes in intellectual property, business law, social entrepreneurship and contract procurement for minority and women businesses at the Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College, City University of New York (www.baruch.cuny.edu). Mr. Drewes received the lifetime achievement award from the National Minority Business Council (www.nmbc.org) for his work with minority and women business entrepreneurs.

A BUSINESS CARD RAFFLE AND GIFT BAGS for all attendees will be included in this evening's program. ISM-New York wishes to thank MARIA PEREZ of AIA New Dimensions in Marketing, Inc. (www.effectivepromos.com) for her special contribution of the design and printing of the gift bags.

Registration:
Please email ISM-New York to register for a meeting or to request more information.