CelebrAsian Procurement Conference 2017 Held in San Diego, CA to Universal Acclaim

CelebrAsian Procurement Conference 2017 – the country’s oldest and largest business-to-business event convened by Pan Asian Americans – received rave reviews for the unprecedented high-level attendance from Fortune Chief Procurement, Chief Technology and Chief Information Officers, Disrupters who wowed the entire conference for how they transformed industries, new innovation Pitchers, Secret Sauce that leads to coveted clients, lessons on entering the hundreds-billion dollar construction, manufacturing and Federal contracting markets, the Fast 100 Asian American Businesses who generated over $10 billion sales last year, what all suppliers waited all year for – the one-on-one prescheduled matchmaking meetings between buyers and suppliers, and of course the ever popular Supplier Diversity Managers Caucus.

Held May 31 to June 2, 2017 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego, CA, Conference Co-Chairs were Ampcus, Nissan, PepsiCo, Prudential, Southern California Edison, Technology Integration Group (TIG), and Wells Fargo. Platinum Sponsor was JPMorgan Chase.

13 Chief Procurement Officers from Fortune powerhouses and large nonprofits – AARP, Caesars Entertainment, Charter Communications, Ingersoll Rand, Nationwide Insurance, PG&E, Schneider Electric, Sempra Energy Utility (San Diego Gas & Electric and SoCal Gas), Southern California Edison, UPS, U.S. Bank, The Walt Disney Company – gathered for a two-part CPO Forum (Services and Manufacturing Industries) to share big-picture market intelligence on current issues, trends and outlook for the benefit of minority suppliers who wish to be part of the billion-dollar supply chain.

At the CTO & CIO Forum: Navigating the New World of IT, 10 Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers from leading global brands, financial institutions, and Asian American businesses – Ampcus, CA Technologies, Enterprise Holdings, General Motors, Ingersoll Rand, MGM Resorts International, Nationwide Insurance, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo – discussed current information technology landscape, transformational ideas for the future, and how they impact large corporations and small businesses.

Following the two CPO Forums and the CTO & CIO Forum, the Conference held networking sessions that gave suppliers the rare opportunity and more time to connect with the speakers.

The special networking reception showcased the outstanding achievements of the Fast 100 Asian American Businesses, whose collective revenue reached over $10 Billion, with companies achieving up to 261% growth rate despite the tepid economic landscape.

The forum on Doing Business with Federal Government Under New Administration featured Directors and Deputy Directors from 6 Federal Agencies – U.S. Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Homeland Security, Navy, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Small Business Administration (SBA) – who shared in-depth information on essential tools, databases, websites and other important skills necessary to market to the federal government.

For the third year in a row, USPAACC provided a platform for startups in What’s Your Pitch: Innovations Meet the Market competition. Eight businesses from across the country presented their innovative ideas to a panel of judges composed of investors and corporate procurement executives to compete for cash prizes and opportunities to meet one-on-one with the judges to promote, market or receive a hand up.

For the more seasoned innovators, USPAACC’s popular session on Meet the Disrupters: How They Transform Industries featured CEOs, Founders, and policy leaders of companies that are game changers – Catalyte, FiscalNote, Hobo Labs (Creator of Rotten Tomato), Kiip, Leeding Media, RedOctane (Co-Creator of Guitar Hero); and Facebook/Oculus – all shared their experiences in creating disruptive business models and how innovative ideas shift the paradigm to create new markets.

The session on Doing Business with Corporations in Construction and Manufacturing Sectors featured speakers from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), BMW, Clark Construction, Ingersoll Rand, PG&E, Southern California Edison, and Southern Company Gas – representing Fortune corporations in the auto industry, utilities and construction. Their dialogue on challenges and opportunities in the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, and the insights on their respective procedures on recruiting suppliers, were welcome new addition to the Conference.

The Micro-Grant Awards and Young Entrepreneur Success Stories Luncheon featured a fast-growing business owner who is an industry disruptor and 6 micro-grants winners from organizations across the country were awarded cash grants for their ongoing programs to help their respective constituents.

The Supplier Diversity Managers Caucus continued to provide important and informative, peer-to-peer discussions among Supplier Diversity managers and directors whereby they share and learn strategic solutions and best practices. This continues to be the one-of-a-kind program especially designed for USPAACC’s most valued partners in supplier diversity.

At the Excellence Awards Gala, USPAACC presented the Most Valued Corporation Award to Hilton, Ingersoll Rand, and UPS for their unwavering support of USPAACC’s mission and programs, as well as for their steadfast commitment in ensuring the robust growth and success of the Asian American business community.

USPAACC presented the Most Valued Asian American Business Award to Ampcus, MSL Express, and Qnexis for their outstanding achievement as a small and award-winning business, their proactive support of USPAACC’s programs, and their leadership in the minority business community.

Chairman Emeritus Gary Kallenbach, CPO, UPS was recognized for his 6-years’ help in building the foundation of USPAACC’s CPO Forum, which was introduced to the market in 2011.

The Marketing Workshop: Generating Leads to Customers was a hit because the best-kept secrets to converting customers were revealed.

USPAACC continued to invest in the future with the presentation of 23 hallmark scholarships, provided by Corporations and Asian Americans, to deserving college-bound students who have demonstrated academic excellence, community volunteerism and financial need, at the Business Leaders and Scholarship Awards Luncheon.

Capping the Conference were USPAACC’s signature One-on-One Business Matchmaking Meetings that held over 500 meetings between serious buyers and top-caliber suppliers, and the Guanxi* Business Opportunity Fair featuring fast-growing and established global brands, that creates the exciting atmosphere of business connections being made! *Guanxi is a common business term meaning “connections” or “relationship”
 
After 3 days, CelebrAsian Procurement Conference 2017 in San Diego hosted over 650 participants, who came in full force from all over the country, representing 100 corporations, 300 Asian American-owned businesses, 8 Government Agencies, 3 Non-Governmental Organizations, and 11 media partners.