Minority Supplier Council Names New President

NEW YORK -- Joset B. Wright, a former procurement executive, has been named president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. Ms. Wright will succeed Harriet R. Michel, who will retire on June 30 after 22 years at the helm of the corporate membership organization.

"We are pleased to have a leader of Ms. Wright's caliber as the next president of NMSDC," said Richard A. Hughes, chairman of the NMSDC Executive Committee, who led the national search committee. "Her executive experience, knowledge of procurement and strong understanding of the value of minority supplier development will be instrumental in NMSDC's expansion."

Currently, Ms. Wright is the executive director of Orchard Village, a not-for-profit organization that supports people with disabilities. Prior to that, she was vice president and managing director at The Hollins Group, a minority-owned executive retained search firm in Chicago.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to join a dynamic organization like NMSDC," said Ms. Wright. "I spent a large part of my corporate career in procurement and supplier diversity, and I'm looking forward to helping NMSDC grow its mission of connecting minority businesses with corporate America."

Ms. Wright spent 13 years at Ameritech. Most recently, she was president of Ameritech Illinois, where she was responsible for all regulatory, legislative and external relations activities following the merger of Ameritech Corporation and SBC Corporation. At the time, Ameritech Illinois was the largest communications company in Illinois, with $4.5 billion in annual operating revenues. Prior to that, she was vice president of procurement and property services at Ameritech Corporation, where she oversaw the operation of all corporate support services, including procurement, real estate operation and security services. Ms. Wright is an attorney. She served as vice president and general counsel for Ameritech Enhanced Business Services and Indiana Bell.

Ms. Wright received a bachelor's degree from Denison University and a juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

About NMSDC
Providing a direct link between corporate America and Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country's leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 37 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America's top publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 16,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their goods and services.
For more information about NMSDC, call (212) 944-2430 or visit the Web site at www.nmsdc.org.

SOURCE NMSDC