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May 21, 2024

C-suite leaders lauded for advancing business diversity

The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) announced this year’s Equity Honors recipients during a reception and dinner at Fremont Studios as part of the organization’s 2024 Minority Business Economic Forum. Amid the increasing legal and economic pressures facing minority-owned businesses, The Equity Honors recognizes the chief corporate officers leading the way to greater economic equity and minority business integration. The awards acknowledge that building a more equitable economy requires a renewed focus on business diversity at all levels of corporate America.

The 2024 winners are:

Chief Executive Officer of the Year
Calvin Butler, Exelon

Chief Diversity Officer of the Year
Celeste Warren, Merck & Co.

Chief Financial Officer of the Year
Robert Verostek, Denny’s

Chief Information Officer of the Year
Jay Cavalcanto, Constellation
Sanjay Sood, CDW

Chief Marketing Officer of the Year
Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s

Chief Operations Officer of the Year
Derek Ferguson, TIAA

Chief Procurement Officer of the Year
Susanna Webber, Merck & Co.

“Despite an uncertain economic climate resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and continued legal and political uncertainty, minority-owned businesses have seen unprecedented economic growth over the past few years,” said NMSDC CEO and President Ying McGuire. “Resolute visionaries like these have helped spur this growth and are leading the charge as we march towards our shared vision of $1 trillion in annual revenue for NMSDC-certified MBEs."

Nominations were made by NMSDC corporate members and certified minority business enterprises (MBEs) with winners determined by a panel of supplier diversity practitioners. For more information about the NMSDC Equity Honors including everyone who was nominated this year, please visit https://www.nmsdcconference.org/2024/the-forum/the-equity-honors.