The National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC) is recently held its annual Veteran Business Matchmaker & Vets Night Out in Columbus Ohio on November 5th & 6th, 2019.
Veterans had the opportunity to showcase their services to business leaders, and corporations enjoyed the opportunity to engage with Veteran business owners who offer the products and services they need to get things done. Past experience has demonstrated that our Veterans are motivated, capable and resourceful when it comes to providing the highest degree of quality to their customers.
“This year”, said Keith King, NVBDC Founder & CEO, “the NVBDC is honored to have as our distinguished guest speaker, Ken Barrett Global Chief Diversity Officer, General Motors. As General Motors’ first Global Chief Diversity Officer, Ken Barrett leads GM’s diversity and inclusion portfolio, which includes workforce diversity strategy, empowering employee resource groups, and fostering an inclusive culture that promotes diversity of thought to help GM compete and win in the marketplace. He continues to set the bar high and is regarded as a thought leader and subject matter expert in global diversity.
Prior to joining GM, Barrett, a retired Navy Captain, served as the Under Secretary of Defense’s acting director of the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity in Washington, D.C. He also served five years of award-winning performance as the U.S. Navy’s Diversity Director, where he achieved historic levels of minority and female officer additions and transformational work-life balance initiatives. Barrett has agreed to a “Fireside” chat format that I’m sure our Veterans and other supplier diversity professionals will enjoy, King concluded.
According to a leading corporate executive: “Attending the NVBDC networking events over the years has proved invaluable to our organization in terms of finding and recruiting qualified Veteran businesses. As well as serving as a great source for committed associates, our purchases of materials and services from NVBDC certified veteran businesses authorizes us to capture and report our spends to the Billion Dollar Roundtable.”
The event included Vets Night Out, where corporations and Veteran business owners’ network on a more informal basis, and featured a special guest; Major General Deborah Ashenhurst, (U.S Army, retired) Director of the Ohio Department of Veterans. The following day included the more formal one-on-one Veteran Business Matchmaker sessions during which participants had the opportunity to explore the possibilities for mutually beneficial business collaboration.
“The networking opportunities offered by the NVBDC have always been productive for me, especially when it comes to meeting business decision makers. I highly recommend that you attend the 2019 Veteran Business Matchmakers & Vets Night Out event,” said a NVBDC certified service-disabled business owner.
The occasion also generated a host of benefits for corporations and other resource organizations.
The Summit concluded with our awards ceremony which recognized the crucial role our corporate members play in advancing our mission of assisting and championing certified service-disabled and Veteran-owned businesses in competing for opportunities supplying needed goods and services.”
The 2019 NVBDC Veteran Business Matchmaker & Vets Night Out was not only a great success, but a profitable and enjoyable experience for all concerned.
