What would it look like to come to this country with one suitcase in hand to achieve the American dream? It might include the opportunity to serve as a corporate leader at Dell, to be sworn in at the White House to serve on the United States Investment Advisory Council, and to receive numerous accolades, including “Twenty-Five Influential Women in Business” by MEA Magazine; “America’s Top Diversity Advocate” by DiversityBusiness.com; and “Best of the Decade” by Minority Business USA.

What if you realized your American dream and then realized millions of others had not? Would you be satisfied or get back to work?

In this crossover episode of Logistics with Purpose, Enrique Alvarez and Maureen Woolshlager are joined by Ying McGuire, CEO & President of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), to talk about how her achievement of the American dream is now driving her to help systematically excluded communities of color do the same.

Intro/Outro (00:02):

Welcome to Logistics with Purpose presented by Vector Global Logistics in partnership with Supply chain. Now we spotlight and celebrate organizations who are dedicated to creating a positive impact. Join us for this behind the scenes glimpse of the origin stories change, making progress, and future plans of organizations who are actively making a difference. Our goal isn’t just to entertain you, but to inspire you to go out and change the world. And now here’s today’s episode of Logistics With Purpose.

Enrique Alvarez (00:34):

Hello, and welcome back to another very interesting episode of Logistics With Purpose. I’m Enrique Alvarez, and I have the pleasure to have, uh, Marina’s co-host today. How are you doing, Maureen?

Maureen Woolshlager (00:44):

Good, Enrique? Happy Friday.

Enrique Alvarez (00:46):

Happy Friday. Maybe it will be air on another day, but happy Friday. Regardless. Uh, no, we have a, this is very close to us near and dear. We have a very incredible subject that really good, uh, host here with us today. And I’m pretty sure that, uh, everyone that’s listening will be very, will be benefit by listening to what she has to say and her story, cuz it’s really, really amazing. Maureen, can you do us the honors?

Maureen Woolshlager (01:13):

Yes. We have Ying McGuire, c e o, and President of N M S T C. So welcome to the podcast Yang.

Ying McGuire (01:21):

Thank you, Maureen. It’s my pleasure.

Maureen Woolshlager (01:23):

Well, why don’t we get right into it here. We have so many questions for you. Hopefully we can cover some of them, uh, before we, we finish up today. But we always like to start to have you tell us a little bit about yourself and your childhood and where you grew up. It helps set the stage for us to talk about, you know, where you are now and how you got there.

Ying McGuire (01:44):

Of course, uh, uh, my honor, to be on your podcast. And, uh, so here’s my background. I was born and raised, uh, in China near Shanghai. And I, uh, had a different childhood from most folks. I witnessed the culture revolution in my early childhood. It was a, uh, very dark period in China when the government let by chairman Mao tried to root out educators and intellectuals, intellectual meaning you, you know, you went to college and et cetera. And so both of my parents were the intellectuals. And so I remember they were sent to this labor camp by day where they did hard labor Oh. In the rice patties. And so we had a very modest living. Uh, I remember like drawing, drinking water from wells and cooking out of coal heated stoves and three generations cramping a little two bedroom condos. And our mean of means of transportation were like a bicycles. And my parents watched every <inaudible> until our family became, uh, a, a textile, uh, entrepreneurial when, when China transitioned from moral era to a market economy in 1976 and after. But despite, you know, the, the sufferings they had as intellectuals during the culture evolution, my parents always kind of placed, uh, high value education. So I was able to get very good education, uh, in the post miles era and, and, uh, had opportunity to study at a naka university, which was like ranked the number four in China at the time.

Enrique Alvarez (03:31):

Wow, that’s, wow, that’s an incredible story and thank you so much for sharing it. Um, it must have been pr even harder just being a, a, a woman back then, right? And it was, there was so many different challenges that you had to face at the same time. Uh, but is there some particular story that you’d remember from those early years that kind of shape who you are now and kind of gave you the tools, uh, that you needed further, further down the road to succeed?

Ying McGuire (03:59):

Yes. You know, I learned a lot from the childhood. Uh, one is you just, you know, put a mind to it and just get work done right? You work hard. But the one thing I’m gonna share with you is was my earlier days in us. Um, so following the TM and square incident in China in 1989, I packed up my life into one suitcase and arrived in Los Angeles with very little English and a $1,000 to my name. Um, but I had a promise that I held in my heart, and that is the American dream. Um, then, and I arrived in Los Angeles. Uh, I what would later manifest as a reality high education. Um, I, I received M B A respecting corporate America, uh, opportunities, uh, to be a entrepreneur, the freedom to vote and express myself and a representation on government, nonprofit boards and a greater community.

Ying McGuire (04:59):

And I have two beautiful children who’s finally off my payroll <laugh>. Um, and you, you asked question like what, you know, kind of did to what shape, you know, who I am and and what you, what I do now. Um, so in 2020 after witnessing the outcry of racial injustice, my, my vantage point of America’s socioeconomic, uh, state drastically changed. Unfortunately, the opportunities that helped me get here today, uh, are not a reality for far too many people of color in this country. So I, I’m honored to really have the opportunity to lead N M S D C, cuz today my renewed American dream is to help systemically excluded communities of color to actualize their American dream and to close the racial wealth gap.

Enrique Alvarez (05:55):

Wow.

Maureen Woolshlager (05:56):

Well, so, so you made it, you made it to the states and you got your M B A and then shortly after you finished your mba, a you started with Dell, right? And you seem to have a bunch of roles there, but you ended with the global supplier, diversity leader and worldwide procurement leader. Can you talk a little about your journey at Dell and how you got where you started there, and then how you ended up, um, with your final role there?

Ying McGuire (06:23):

Yeah, that’s a great question, Maureen. Um, professionally, I grew up at Dell Technologies, <laugh>, and, uh, that was my first corporate job, my first real job, uh, when I came to US and Dell was the best training grant. You know, I always tell people like, Hey, I’m really happy because they pay me to learn, right? <laugh>, because I knew nothing about Cop America. You know, when I joined Dell, and also, you know, I started as a MA marketing manager and a second year they gave me role as, as a brand manager of desktop. So I had to learn everything about the computer, knew nothing about the computer to be able to take the computer desktop a apart and put put back together. So it was like the best training around. And also Dell has like really great open door policies. You know, I was a new, but I was able to walk up to a chief procurement office, a senior vice president, say, Hey, you know, I know I was a marketing person, but I I, I know the essence of Dell at that time was supply chain.

Ying McGuire (07:28):

You know, Dell was known for the supply chain. And I said, I wanna come to procurement even though I knew nothing about a procurement, but I, but I know you are moving the, the, the supply chain management to China. I speak Chinese and let me help you. And so that led me to, uh, transition from marketing to, to procurement. And so I spent a few years in, in, we call it direct procurement. So direct procurement, procurement, you buy parts and going to our computer and sell to customer. And indirect procurement has morphed by things for internal consumption like marketing, like the travel, right, all that, and sell indirect procurement for few years. So I know procurement and supply diversity is all about integrate, uh, MBS in the supply chain, the value chain. And one of the greatest opportunities that was given to me, I was so blessed, was, uh, I was asked to work, uh, with the worldwide operations councils for Dell.

Ying McGuire (08:30):

And then what the, the, the council was made up. Everybody used to report a chief procurement officer, you know, so, right, uh, chief operating officer, actually. So you have the head of S V P of product group and manufacturing and procurement and services, you name it, you know, all the operational senior leaders at Dell, they formed a council when we didn’t have coo. So I was one of, I, I was a person, a program person, helped them get organized and, um, come up with like b we call it bha, big hairy, audacious goals. And, and really driving those big initiative across the, uh, the company. And one of the thing we achieved was like we drove out, like we, we drove about 7 billion cost save savings, uh, uh, across three year period. And some of the like, like life, uh, defining moment for me, uh, in that job was like, you know, I was sitting in the boardroom with Michael Dell and President Kevin Rowland then, and then all these EVPs.

Ying McGuire (09:41):

And they all have amazing experience in this industry. They shaped the industry. And I was a fly on the wall just learning from listening to them. I was like, this is American dream, right? And it’s like I was learning from these super experienced executive leaders who shaped industry. And so, uh, while I was doing that, having fun learning, um, one of the procurement leaders, his name was, uh, Dave Brown. I remember he sh uh, shot me email, said, Hey, I have offer you cannot refuse. I was like, what do you have? Like, I’m in the boardroom. And he said, Hey, um, you know, you have done direct procurement, you have not done indirect procurement. We have a role here for you, by the way. You know, we need to elevate supply diversity to the next level. And I said, what is supply diversity? Never heard about it <laugh>.

Enrique Alvarez (10:32):

That’s incredible.

Ying McGuire (10:33):

So, so he’s like, Hey, you know, there’s, uh, N M S DC National Conference happening. It was 2006, you should just go and and figure it out. Right? And so here, I knew nothing about supply diversity. Walked into the conference of 6,000 people Wow. In San Diego, 2006. And I met, uh, these passionate, very passionate, you know, president regional council presidents and, and then N M S D C president, then Harry Michelle and I met all these amazing entrepreneurs like you all, um, N M S D C certified mbs and these passionate corporate members. And I, I was hooked. And the interesting thing is, you know, fast forward 15 years later, I at, I’m at the helm of N M S D C, really leading the transformation to next 50 years. So it’s interesting highlight,

Enrique Alvarez (11:30):

It’s, it’s more than interesting. It’s incredibly successful and it’s such a, such a, an exciting journey, right? Because at the end of the day, you fully kind of validated your new renewed American dream, the way you call it, which was kind of helping others and, uh, breaching the income gap inequalities and all this other stuff. But because we, before we dive a little bit more into the N M M S D C, let me just ask you, after Dell, cuz you moved into the technology integration group as the VP of international operations. Uh, so you stayed in, uh, technology, right? That was your thing. And I think we all know that technology is incredibly fast changing and you have to adapt quickly. And what did you learn from kind of that time in your professional career about changing roles, being flexible, um, what has stick with you, uh, from that time as well?

Ying McGuire (12:23):

Yeah, good question. You know, I, I changed the roles a few times at Dell because, you know, I, when I get too comfortable at the role I want to move because when you comfortable, you’re not learning, right? And so let me, uh, share with you why, uh, I joined before I share with you, like, you know, what I learned from the role. So when I was at Dellwo Technologies, one of the things that I start to champion in the supply diversity industry beyond dellwo is, was to take M W B E, uh, golo go global to mirror their corporate customers global sourcing strategy. Cuz you know, as you know, large corporations, um, they have global operations that they wanna do business with, the suppliers who have multiple country, uh, presence. And so it’s very critical for MBS and m WBS go global. And so, so I was

Enrique Alvarez (13:19):

And you, sorry that I interrupt you abruptly, but, so for people that are listening us, and they might not understand the acronym that, uh, we’ve been using, what is the, uh, in

Ying McGuire (13:30):

MWBEs of minority? Yeah, so minority owned business enterprises, M B E and W B E is woman-owned businesses. Sorry for the acronym now everybody listening now learned a new acronym M wbe. Good, great question. And so, um, as I was hoping, uh, some of the scalable companies, uh, m bs to, uh, to go global, um, one of the companies, uh, actually a few of the companies including technology in integration group and came to me, said, Hey, you know, you uh, asked us to go global. We don’t know how to do this. Why don’t you come and help us to do this? Right? And so, so that was interesting moment when I thought, okay, so, um, I learned a lot from corporate America. Maybe it’s time to be entrepreneur again, right? And so, um, I joined t i g technology integration group based in San Diego.

Ying McGuire (14:29):

And, and t I G is N M S D C certified M Bs, and, and N M S D C has, uh, this program called a Corporate Plus that they’re the one, you know, demonstrate their capacity to do national global contract with the corporate America. And I ended up creating a lead, the international business of t I g, uh, the things I learned, you know? Yeah. One is you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it, and if you are willing to learn and put a hard work to it. Because when I took that role, I never managed p and l before. I did a, a piece of, you know, the p and o management, but never like in charge of the whole business. And I’ve never opened operation by myself in a foreign country before. So I had to really literally like learn while I’m doing it, you know, making mistakes and, and, and then, and fell, but, but got up and do something else or learn from it.

Ying McGuire (15:34):

So, um, the other thing is, you know, I learned, um, that only thing that is constant is changed. So, so that the world’s changing, the technology’s evolving, so our business model have to change. And so I remember, you know, we had to change from hardware sales driven company to service driven company. Cuz when, you know, Amazon launched a w s when Microsoft launched Azure, when Google launch Google Cloud, many customers no longer needed like their own data center, right? So we, we, if we, if we kept selling hardware, you know, we are not gonna grow our revenue. So we have to pivot to services. So that’s something that I, I learned many things, but those are the two kind of stood out.

Maureen Woolshlager (16:29):

You constantly impressed me with, you know, you went from Dell, which was a pretty structured organization it seemed, but it was growing. And then you went into this entrepreneurial role and you started and created something from scratch. I mean, you have a lot of really varied experience that you bring to the table. Uh, you were also have some experience in economics I read, where you were appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce to the US Investment Advisory Council. Can you talk a little bit about what that was and what you did there and your role there?

Ying McGuire (17:02):

Of course. Um, one thing I always tell, tell my two children is, you know, whatever you do, make sure you make impact, you know, on the community, in the community that you live. And so I always like doing things to help people. And one, one of the things that I was passionate about, uh, working in Austin community is bringing foreign investors to invest in us so they can create a jobs and they can teach us things, you know, that we need to learn. And so, um, as I was volunteering for, for the community, I had, uh, amazing opportunity. Uh, I was nominated, uh, to the, the US actually appointed by secretary, uh, of commerce, uh, penny Pritzker to the us um, investment and advisory council, where our goal was to, uh, advise the secretary and her team on bring more businesses to us to create jobs.

Ying McGuire (18:04):

And, um, I can cannot forget the day, uh, when I was sworn in at the White House with Secretary Pritzker. And I thought, wow, like, you know, when I came to, to us, uh, uh, you know, dreamed about Amer my American dream, but did not inc include that I was so sworn in the White House to, to serve the administration, to be advisor to Secretary Thomas. So that was amazing. And so, um, so we provide advisory, uh, guidance to the secretary. But, you know, I’m very action oriented. And so I actually organized, uh, during that timeframe, uh, with my, uh, a friend and a local economist, Angela Angelou. We organized a Texas China investment summit, and we brought in, um, during that time, there are a lot of money co coming from China. So we brought, um, investors to Texas and, uh, look at the different project opportunities. And so we practiced what we advised basically. So it was kind of voluntary work, but it’s a very fulfilling work.

Enrique Alvarez (19:18):

Well, it sounds, it sounds like you don’t have like a, like a second free, uh, or at least, uh, with your impressive curriculum and the experience that you’ve had, uh, it seems that you don’t get bored too often, that’s for sure.

Ying McGuire (19:31):

<laugh> never dull moment.

Enrique Alvarez (19:33):

Perfect. No, and as you, as you said, right, uh, only change, a constant change is the only, uh, what was it? Change is the only constant. And uh, if you’re not changing, you’re not learning. So you’re now, and we’ll deep dive into the organization that you’re leading. You’re the c e o and president of the National Minority Supply Admin Development Council, which is the N M S D C, uh, somewhat large acronym, but an incredible organization, very impactful, very successful. I believe it’s one of the nation’s largest helping minority owned businesses. We are actually a vector, uh, a proud member of the N M S D C. But, uh, for anyone that’s not too familiar with the work that you do, the organization, what you stand for, what, what is the organization about? What do you do, how would you define it and, uh, kind of explain it to people that might not know it.

Ying McGuire (20:25):

Yes. Um, so I’m really passionate about this organization and it’s mission. So N M S D C, uh, was created in 1972 as a direct result of President Nixon’s executive order to address racial equity. And the interesting thing is, you know, 50 years later, we still have the same issues. So work’s still there. Um, our mission, which is the why, the purpose of our existence, uh, we are here to serve as a growth engine for N M S D C certified minority businesses like you. And, uh, the second element is make sure that we enable our members, these are the corporate members to advance economic equity by doing more business with our MBEs and, um, our preferr the future, our vision is we wanna be the leading organization to drive true social economic equity and generational wealth for communities of color. And really the ultimate goal is to really end the racial wealth gap in this country, right? So some of the work we do is like, you know, connecting convenings, very critical. You know, we create connections between, uh, minority business enterprises. Now you learned, uh, ECR dam, M B E and corporations and connect M B E with other MBEs connecting MBE with the public sector to really help them benefit from each other, you know, promoting entrepreneurship and a growing wealth, uh, for systemically excluded the communities of color.

Maureen Woolshlager (22:10):

So what other things is the N M S C C doing to try and correct the unequal wealth, access to wealth building in, in underrepresented communities?

Ying McGuire (22:21):

Yeah, so, um, few things we do. So we have like a four pillars of excellence. Um, one is advocate. So we are the voice for minority owned businesses with the policy makers at the federal level, and, um, and also state local government level. And then the second one’s certify. I’m gonna go into detail little bit, and the third one’s develop, and then we have the connect I’m talking about, right? So let’s talk about certification first, and thank you for being certified with us. Um, N M S D certification was created 50 years ago, and many other NGOs start to follow. You know, our, our process and certification has been the gold standard for 50 years. And, um, despite, so basically we authenticate that’s minority owned and controlled and LED managed. And, um, and so that corporate dollar spent with MBS truly flowing into the community of color.

Ying McGuire (23:26):

Um, despite the previous success being the gold standard, we’re not really resting our lo ro laurels. We recognize the world has changed that the need of MBEs and the corporation have changed. So we’re in the process actually working to simplify and streamline certifications and while protecting the integrity through the use of modern technologies and tools like Six Sigma. So that’s on certification and we wanna make it, you know, ease in a simple while, have the integrity. And then the other pillar is it’s on development. Really focus on accelerating MB growth. Uh, for the first time in the N M SD C’S history, we are actually putting together a M B E growth department. We, we are putting m b growth front and center, and, uh, we brought in the first entrepreneur in residence, uh, Kurt tra, uh, from the Native American community. And he is, uh, leading the whole m b growth initiative.

Ying McGuire (24:28):

It’s really focusing on increasing access to capital for M B E, uh, focusing on understand the corporate demand way ahead of time so we can build a pipeline for MB so they have the necessary know-how in the relationship and a capital, so when off p hit the street, they’re ready to go. Right? And so, um, on the development side, we have a lot practical steps we are doing besides the classroom, um, activities, um, some of the classroom activities, we also provide, like, you know, we launched N M S D C Learning Center really provide, uh, guidance and training for minority owned businesses and also, uh, corporate supply diversity professionals on how to, uh, gain traction on their business or on their supply diversity program. We have things like, uh, a advanced black entrepreneur program, which is a, a collection of a practical resources to help black business owner grow and scale their business.

Ying McGuire (25:31):

We have things like, uh, cyber ready, M B E, it’s a training program, you know, helping MBEs, uh, with cybersecurity infrastructure. As you know, it’s super critical these days to to be successful. Yeah, to work with a top corporations. We have Black Farm Equity Initiative. So those are like a developmental, as you can see, you know, we have a lots of things going on the national office, and we have 23 affiliate councils across United States, and then we have five international partners. We’re about to add more. So all of us have these developmental programs for MBEs that you can take advantage of it. The the third thing I wanna talk about, you know, how do we correct the lack of access is the connect. So we’re correcting the lack of access that so many M b have historically face. We do this by providing m b access to relationship opportunities with corporate members, with themselves, with the government.

Ying McGuire (26:32):

Uh, for example, we have a business connection matchmaking events. For example, you may have attended our annual conference, uh, 50 year anniversary conference in New Orleans. We had a, a mini, um, you know, curated, uh, connecting events for MB and corporations. And, um, and as you know, you know, the federal government recently made unprecedented investment into the US economy through laws like bipartisan infrastructure bill, chips act, the CARES act. There, there are trillions of dollars, um, being injected into the economy. So we are working with M B D A, another acronym, minority Business Development Agency, <laugh>, and, uh, which is inside the US department, commerce and a Department of Transportation to ensure the MBS can capitalize on these wealth building opportunities. So that’s another element of, of

Enrique Alvarez (27:29):

There’s

Ying McGuire (27:30):

Connection.

Enrique Alvarez (27:30):

No, and there, there’s plenty, right? I mean, I was just going to talk a little bit about our experience and we would probably need a couple more episodes to go through all the different development programs that you have and the, uh, organization has. So it’s very important. That’s why we wanted to have a little time today with you so that people that are listening to us, uh, minority owned businesses out there that actually need all these different resources to continue growing successfully and changing the world for the better, just reach out to you, reach out to your organization and deep dive into all this development programs and participate, right? Most of these programs are, um, useful and practical and they’re year round, so it’s very easy to join them. I was in particular, uh, interested in one, one of them, uh, ying the, uh, the emerging young entrepreneurs for the e y e for another acronym. Uh, can you tell us a little bit more? Cuz I know that for you, changing the mindset from the beginning and just really changing the next generation must be critical part of your strategy, correct?

Ying McGuire (28:34):

Absolutely. So therefore, we have this emerging young entrepreneur and called I program, that’s another acronym the I program. It’s kind of nine month program. Um, it’s really designed to provide the, the next generation people, my children’s age, uh, of, of minority entrepreneur participants with support to enhance their growing business. And during the program, um, business owners receive like guidance from like a corporate sponsors their fellow M B E may, you know, have scaled to a different stage and additional stakeholders. And so, um, they, the, the participant utilize a, um, interactive pre and post conference, you know, courses along with five days of hands-on training and practical application applications. So they provide necessary skill and tools, connections, strategy, either to start or grow their businesses and start, but

Enrique Alvarez (29:35):

They don’t have to have a business up and running yet. It could be,

Ying McGuire (29:38):

It

Enrique Alvarez (29:39):

Can be a business idea, it could be a startup, it could be anything.

Ying McGuire (29:42):

Exactly. Wow. And it’s actually application are not open. And so if anybody’s listening to this podcast, um, and you are a young minority business owner, I really encourage you to apply. It’s a great timing right now.

Enrique Alvarez (29:56):

We will, uh, definitely include all the links to everything that you’ve been saying when we post this episode. And, um, so what’s qualified as young these days, I guess is there like a, is there like a limit in terms of the age or

Maureen Woolshlager (30:09):

Enrique wants to apply, he’s just not sure if he

Enrique Alvarez (30:11):

Clearly not

Ying McGuire (30:13):

<laugh>. Hey, I consider you as young compared to me, so you’re good <laugh>.

Enrique Alvarez (30:17):

I don’t think that’s the case, but, um,

Maureen Woolshlager (30:20):

That’s a, it’s a great segue into just talking about how minority owned businesses generate a lot of, you know, economic growth. We read a study where you had commissioned a group to look and it seemed as though they came up with 400 billion in annual income output annually, which is not an, an insignificant number, you know, so, you know, tell us, tell our audiences why should people invest in minority owned businesses or especially, you know, in their supply chain.

Ying McGuire (30:53):

Yeah. So, um, you’re definitely reading what we are doing. Uh, may of 2022, we re released our economic impact study and it showed, you know, aggregate certified MB revenues, uh, reached about 261 billion annual revenue that generated 400 billion, but precisely 396 billion economic output annually in the 1.75 million jobs. So if you look at the pure number, seems very impressive. But if you look at relative to A G D P, it’s kind of depressing, right? 261 billing annual revenue, that’s like 1% of our US G D P and, and a minority population’s already 40% and it’s gonna be a new majority for the country. So, so there’s no equity there, right? So, um, one of our regional counselors in Michigan and, and, uh, our partner supply io did a study and they said, Hey, if you don’t do anything different, corporate America, it’s gonna take us 333 years to close racial wealth gap.

Ying McGuire (32:02):

And obviously it’s not acceptable. And so, so that means like we need to do more and faster, like what we did last 50 years, 261 billion, and we need to accelerate that. So therefore you’ve heard me talking about 1 trillion goal. And so that’s kind of aspirational goal. Well like, hey, you know, we need to triple, we need to quad triple this in coming years and to really move the needle forward, right? And so, um, that’s why we need everyone, whether it’s m b doing business business with m b, whether it’s corporate corporation, be more intentional, create more opportunities. It’s not just check a box and whether it’s moving from supplier diversity to business diversity. And so here’s a difference here. Supply diversity is, okay, this is CPO’s job. It’s in the supply chain. You utilize MB in the supply chain, the business diversity, meaning it’s everyone’s job, C E O C M O C F O C I L.

Ying McGuire (33:08):

Anytime you spend anything at all, you should consider utilize mdes, you should consider, try to develop M b so they can’t, um, grow their capacity to be able to compete for your contract. So we’re talking about, you know, supply diversity to business diversity. And one of the earlier champions fourth, uh, transitioning from supply diversity to business diversity is the greatest. John Rogers, the, the founder and c e o of, uh, a investments. And so they’re doing a lot of work in Chicago in this area to make sure other C-suites leaders other than C P O are part of this movement.

Enrique Alvarez (33:50):

It’s, um, it’s, it is incredible. Not only the amount of support and impact that your organization has generated, but also kind of the attitude that you have kind of leading it. You’re like, no, that’s not enough. I mean, 400 billion, it’s a lot of money. But that’s clearly relatively speaking to the other things that you pointed out, not enough. And you also mentioned it’s everyone’s job, right? It’s not only the mbs, it’s also the corporate sponsors, and it’s everyone really listening whether you are a minority or not. Um, I’m sure you, throughout the 50 years of, uh, this organization, you’ve, you’ve experienced, uh, amazing success stories from maybe both sides of, uh, the equation, maybe the corporate, uh, members, and then also the mbs. Could you share a couple of those with our audience today?

Ying McGuire (34:41):

Sure. Um, I, you know, we all, I, when I came on, uh, to this role, I said, I said, we are the best untold story. We have the Bo best untold story stories like yours. And, um, yeah, a couple of story. One story you may have heard the story about, um, Rosa Santana and the form Automotive, automotive and Toyota partnership in the New York Times. That came out in August last year. And it’s really very inspiring story about how Toyota showed intentionality in diversifying their supply chain by creating, uh, new businesses, by building long-term relationship with this Hispanic owned woman, business owner who was in staffing business, but gave her opportunity to learn to make products in us and providing jobs in her muting the Hispanic community. And so she, she transitioned, she expanded her business from only doing the staffing to manufacturing because Toyota’s intentionality and they, they taught her how to do it. And so this relationship, um, to eventually lead to Toyota, you know, bring her on to lead a company that built truck beds, uh, for Toyotas, like, unbelievable. So check out the story on, uh, New York Times. We’ll,

Enrique Alvarez (36:15):

We’ll post it, we’ll post it on the episode as well. That’s definitely an inspiring story and something that not only validates, uh, your organization and what you’re doing, but it also recognizes those corporate members that realize the potential, uh, and power of having, uh, diverse, uh, supplier network and having diverse partners more than suppliers, business diversity in their companies.

Ying McGuire (36:41):

Exactly. Like, you know, I encourage corporations like, don’t do this. Just check a box. Right? But give and be extra little lift and they can rise to the, some of the best partners that corporation can ever ask for. So you wanna hear another story?

Enrique Alvarez (36:59):

Yeah. Of,

Ying McGuire (36:59):

Of course. Are you waiting for ok, I

Enrique Alvarez (37:02):

I thought you had at least two or three more, so

Ying McGuire (37:05):

We don’t wanna

Maureen Woolshlager (37:05):

Oh, so we didn’t wanna interrupt you. Yeah, you have some great stories. Yeah.

Ying McGuire (37:08):

So, so I don’t know, did you attend, uh, the 50 anniversary annual conference in New Orleans? Did

Enrique Alvarez (37:14):

You have a chance? No, not this year. I couldn’t. No,

Maureen Woolshlager (37:16):

I wanted to, but it was over Halloween and so I couldn’t make it cuz it was, I think it’s the last Halloween my kids are gonna celebrate,

Ying McGuire (37:22):

So I Oh, I’m so, I’m so sorry. Yeah. You know, uh, so 2023 we moved for that concern we moved to before Halloween, so I’m gonna see you all there. We

Enrique Alvarez (37:33):

Will be there for sure. Yes.

Maureen Woolshlager (37:35):

Yeah, for sure. And I’m participating in the matchmaking event later this month as well.

Ying McGuire (37:40):

Oh, perfect. Perfect. But, um, the reason I mentioned that was, you know, the, the participants, we had a five, 6,000 people there and they, I received so many people’s feedback say, Hey, this is really the best conference we got. So many opportunity came out of it. And, um, interesting thing is this year, the last year we actually outsourced the production to a i program alum, uh, a certified M B E. Wow. And, and the company called A B C D N A company, and they’re based in Maryland, and they put together this amazing experience conference for N M S D C. And I think it’s a great example of what certified M B R capable of and the really importance of providing, you know, increased developmental opportunities and, um, uh, procurement opportunity for them. And they really shined. And so many corporate members said, oh my gosh, who, who did this job? I was like, Hey, it’s M B E, you know, see, M B E can be the, you know, the world class, uh, event production company. So that’s another example.

Enrique Alvarez (38:54):

And I think, uh, you’re right, it’s, it’s become evident to, to me, well it has for a while, but I think for other people out there and some other corporations out there that this is a, a competitive advantage, like hiring and working with MBAs is not, as you said, something that you just check the box. It’s something that if you don’t do it, you will probably be relegated down the road because the new generations and the future is definitely diverse and it’s definitely more equal and it’s definitely more sustainable. So if you don’t get onto this train early enough, then you’ll probably just be left out.

Ying McGuire (39:28):

Absolutely.

Maureen Woolshlager (39:30):

So, ying, to close it up here a little. We have talked about supply chain and logistics and entrepreneurs and your experience at Dell and with the us uh, department of Commerce. Can you share with us your thoughts on what does logistics with purpose mean to you?

Ying McGuire (39:49):

Yeah, so before we started, you are talking about, you know, what you are doing, um, helping other underserved communities. Um, so you are kind of the role model for this, but, uh, from my perspective, it’s about logistics that are more sustainable. I think this industry have, as you know, have some of the, you know, negative impact on the climate. You’re moving things wrong. Um, as we participate in this industry, we just need to be mindful of protecting the earth and utilize underserved communities like MBEs, uh, uh, to do. So. Uh, we have a plenty of, you know, N M S D C certified three pls, you know, logistic company like you with great, you know, solutions, even security solutions. And then we need to connect, the companies are doing this work in a sustainable way with the corporations who have a very large logistical needs and, um, by extension impacts impacts on the environment. So I would love to create like long lasting partnership between RMB and the logistics side of the economy to help really expand, uh, environmental sustainability for the industry. So to me it’s sustainability.

Maureen Woolshlager (41:10):

It has been wonderful to talk with you today. In addition to, we need to post a bit of, uh, glossary of all of the acronyms we use in our podcast. So all of our listeners are aware of all the terms we’re using. We also want to let them know how can they connect with you, how can they connect and learn more about N M S T C. Please, please share with us, you know, so we wanna share that info with our listeners.

Ying McGuire (41:36):

Yes. Um, well you can visit mdc.org, uh, to learn about N M S D C and a sign up for email list so you can get regular updates about what we are working on. And you can also find us on LinkedIn. You know, search my name, you’ll get to N M S T C, ying McGuire. I don’t think there’s another Ying McGuire on this world, so it’s gonna be very easy to find, find me the Chinese Irish name. And we have Facebook, Twitter, and in, uh, Instagram. So I encourage also, you all follow my personal account on LinkedIn as I give updates every often. And, um, I want everyone listening to this podcast to really connect with me on LinkedIn. So I know that you are listening. And, um, I also wanna make sure that you all know we have 23 affiliate regional councilors and a five international partners who serve as our local boots on the ground and, uh, regional council have signature events and programming throughout the year besides our, uh, annual conference that I mentioned.

Ying McGuire (42:43):

And so you can go to our website to find your regional affiliate council and then learn how you can get involved at the local level. And I know you are in Atlanta, so we have one in Atlanta, uh, Georgia Minority Supply Development Council, and we talked about our conference gonna be in Baltimore in October. And, uh, we have a matchmaking events that you can take advantage of the virtual one throughout the year. And I just don’t wanna finish by emphasizing that our mission to close racial wealth gap is a bigger than any one of us. It’s a bigger than any individual that’s, it’s a bigger than any one organization. It’s a bigger than 23 regional council and N M S D C. So I encourage everyone listening to this podcast, take a larger role in this work. If you are a corporate member, um, be more intentional, like, you know, um, make sure we take a bold step to include MBEs in every purchasing decision you have.

Ying McGuire (43:49):

And if you, if you corporate leader, you’re not corporate member, become a corporate member by, by visiting our website. And if you are a policymaker, you know, uh, look at the policies like those listed on policy agenda on website that’s aimed at creating greater opportunities for minority owned businesses. And if you employees, uh, if you’re not certified, get certified like you know, you are said, let’s get involved and, and engage in these developmental programs and, and, and help support other mbs. Every one of us spend money. So every time you spend every dollar, think about who you’re spending money with, right? And so, um, if you are someone who’s just passionate about the cause and donate to N M S D C so we can expand our work so together, we can really create a future with a very strong and resilient US and a global economy, uh, economy where everyone, regardless your color and the background, has a fair shot of achieving the American dream. I really enjoyed this podcast. Thank you so much for the opportunity,

Enrique Alvarez (44:58):

Ying. The pleasure was all ours. And I’m sure our listeners as well, thank, thank you so much for spending some of your time with us today to talk about something that’s so important, so critical, and we’re very passionate about, which is just ending this racial wealth gap that you mentioned. I enjoy the conversation a lot. We’re a proud minority certified company and of course we look forward to continue working with you other MBS and maybe other corporate members, members as well. So thank you so much and for everyone else that’s listening to this episode, thank you so much for joining. If you enjoy conversations like the one we had with Jing McGuire today, well don’t forget to, uh, subscribe and we’ll see you on the next episode. Thank you so.