St. Louis, Missouri, USA
February 9, 2016
Monsanto Company will continue its supply chain diversity efforts and has started planning for a second iteration of the Monsanto Supplier Diversity Mentoring Program. The MSDMP is an extensive mentoring program for certified diverse business owners, creating opportunity for businesses owned by minorities, women, persons with disabilities, veterans or disabled veterans, as well as persons who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT).
The inaugural class graduated in November 2015. During the ceremony, each of the mentees shared the value of their participation in the MSDMP, now considered a best-in-class program based on feedback from diversity supplier organizations and recognition by the editors of FORTUNE magazine.
“From a participant’s perspective, Monsanto’s genuine dedication to strengthening the community of diverse suppliers through their newly created mentorship program left me speechless,” said Cassandra Sanford of the KellyMitchell Group. “Their executive team and endless amounts of Monsanto subject matter experts shared their vast knowledge and walked us through applying their best practices and lessons learned to our business. Most impactful was the outcome – they assisted each one of us personally in formulating our roadmap to heightened success.”
Six members of the Monsanto Diversity and Inclusion Council, which consists of senior-level management from all functions of the business, served as executive sponsors for the suppliers. The program focused on the areas of change management, finance, human resources, process improvement, procurement, sales, social media and more. Suppliers leaned on one another as strategic thought partners while investing in one another’s development as they continued through the program.
“This program was hands-on with subject matters experts of a world-class company sharing their knowledge,” said Gloria Carter-Hicks, a MSDMP mentee and President & CEO of Hicks-Carters-Hicks. “This is what makes the difference; you use real world knowledge and apply it to creating a great future in your business.”
Working with diverse suppliers both in the U.S. and abroad is important for Monsanto, a multinational company on the leading edge in the global agriculture marketplace. Monsanto has continually been recognized by leading third-party organizations as a diverse employer of choice for its diversity and inclusion efforts, including recognition on the Top 50 Companies for Diversity® list by DiversityInc , acknowledgement as one of the World’s Best Multinational Workplaces by a Great Place To Work®, and inclusion on the Human Rights Campaign™ 100% Corporate Equality Index.
“Monsanto is focused on reflecting a diverse supply chain while connecting to the values, ideas and principles of our company’s inclusive culture. Working proactively to partner with our diverse suppliers brings endless opportunities to meet the needs of our customers,” said Peter Stoynoff, Global Procurement Lead for Monsanto.
The 2015 MSDMP graduates/diverse business owners included: Glen Franklin, CEO Franklin Graphics, LLC (St. Louis, MO); Gloria Carter-Hicks, President & CEO Hicks-Carter-Hicks, LLC (St. Louis, MO); Cassandra Sanford, Co-Founder & CEO KellyMitchell Group (St. Louis, MO); Justin Bennett, President Ongweoweh Corp (Ithaca, NY); Stephanie Point, CEO/Founder Point 2 Point Global Security (Addison, TX); and Tommy Davis, President TD4 Electrical, LLC (St. Louis, MO).
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