CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fifth Third Bank recently hosted its fourth annual Supplier Diversity
Summit. With the theme of “Leveling Up Your Business,” the summit
focused on educating women and minorities on how to advance their
companies.
The Supplier Diversity Summit is hosted each year as a way to help
women-, minority- and veteran-owned companies do more business with
Fifth Third. It is also a way for those owners to gain perspectives from
each other and to network. Over 180 people attended the event, and more
than 60 diverse companies from 15 states were represented.
Greg Carmichael, Fifth Third’s chairman, president and CEO, said
supplier diversity is key to the Bank’s bottom line. “Supplier diversity
is a strategic imperative for the health and vitality of our
business and communities,” he said. “We work hard to build strong
relationships with minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses
because we recognize that suppliers are essential partners in providing
high-quality products and services to our customers. Since 2015, we have
continued to significantly increase our spending with diverse suppliers.”
Fifth Third spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually in goods and
services, ranging from facility-management services to information
technology and office supplies. Awarding more of these contracts to
diverse businesses has been a major focus of the Bank’s Strategic
Sourcing department, led by Chief Sourcing Officer Juan Munoz, Executive
Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Teresa Tanner, Chief
Diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer Jule Kucera and
Director of Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Stephanie Smith.
Munoz said the Bank’s executive team has made building the Supplier
Diversity Program a priority. “We continue to take an integrated and
thoughtful approach to identifying, supporting and partnering with the
many qualified diverse suppliers all over the country. The Supplier
Diversity Summit affords us the opportunity to collaborate with these
individuals and to make them aware of the opportunities that exist at
the Bank.”
Kimberly Blackwell, CEO of PMM, a full-service marketing and
communications firm, served as the keynote speaker at the summit. She
told attendees about the importance of learning through experiences and
evaluating partnerships. She explained that as a business owner, it is
important to be committed, passionate and driven. And as the visionary
of their business, an owner has the opportunity and responsibility every
day to share their brand with the world.
Part of Fifth Third’s Community Commitment focuses on increasing
diversity and inclusion efforts and the number of companies with which
it does business. This year, a highlight of the summit included
recognizing some of the graduates of the Ohio Minority Supplier
Diversity Council/Ohio State University Fisher School of Business
Supplier Diversity Executive Education program. The SDEE program, which
was sponsored in part by Fifth Third, exists to create and deliver
development opportunities for the enhancement of minority businesses and
to help them be better suppliers to corporate partners. The program also
helps facilitate the employment and economic development of minority
communities.
Jennifer O’Neal Harris, director of channel sales/partnerships at
ConnXus, is a summit attendee and SDEE graduate who said her experience
was valuable. “Working with the colleagues and participants and learning
from them and the professors was beneficial for me,” she said. “The
information I learned has made a huge impact on my business.”
Through the years, Fifth Third has developed many partnerships with
organizations that focus on enhancing supplier diversity efforts at
businesses including the National Minority Supplier Development Council
(nmsdc.org), the U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.gov), the U.S.
Dept. of Veterans Affairs (va.gov) and the Women's Business Enterprise
National Council (wbenc.org). In 2018, the Supplier Diversity Program
was recognized by Minority Business News as one of the Best of the
Decade; by Diversity Plus Magazine for Stephanie Smith’s accomplishments
in directing the supplier diversity initiatives; and by WBENC as one of
America’s Top Corporations.
For more information about Fifth Third’s Supplier Diversity Program,
visit https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/personal-banking/about/diversity-at-fifth-third/supplier-diversity.html.
About Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company
headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and the indirect parent company of
Fifth Third Bank, an Ohio-chartered bank. As of Sept.30, 2018, Fifth
Third had $142 billion in assets and operated 1,152 full-service Banking
Centers and 2,443 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky,
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia
and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with
access to approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States.
Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch
Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is
among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of Sept. 30,
2018, had $376 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $38
billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations
through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses.
Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com.
Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market
under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858.
Deposit and credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank. Member FDIC.
Fifth Third Bank
Danielle Jones, 513-534-0162