Developing professional skills is crucial to getting ahead in the workforce.
Perhaps just as important? Fostering relationships and meaningfully participating in the industry.
Only by being meaningfully in the mix not just with your company, but with the broader industry, can you get a full perspective on industry trends, opportunities, and limitations.
This is why I decided to head to New York City, for my third City & State New York Diversity Summit - a full-day conference dedicated to fostering business partnerships between the State and local government, prime contractors, and MWBEs.
If you’re looking for an event that includes education with a high networking component, it’s a diversity summit.
Most of the major players in New York’s competitive procurement arena attended, from large businesses and Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms in the New York metro area to government agencies, prime contractors and state & local representatives.
As an employee of a private organization, I found the insights from executives, public sector leaders, and academics to be relevant for a global organization the size of Cubic to take home.
It became clear to me that the State of New York and local government officials of New York City are very serious in their expectations that the large prime contractors hired by the City of New York and the State of New York engage and hire certified MBE/WBE/DBE firms.
In addition, the state and local government officials are constantly updating the rules and regulations that govern the use of small and diverse suppliers and subcontractors. It is to our benefit that we understand the ever-changing landscape of regulations of supplier diversity in the government and public areas of business.
The most encouraging part was the chance to watch New York’s Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul speak passionately about the long-term benefits of growing the supplier diversity community.
Looking around the Jewish Heritage Museum of New York, heads were nodding, and faces were smiling as the audience heard the story of overcoming major impediments of growing a small or diverse business.
The new generation of attendees was also well-represented. This generation stands just as traditionally involved as mine. They were encouraged by various government agency executives to start a business, leverage the resources, continue learning, and lean on an industry mentor to help them grow their business with training and capital.
Cubic’s mission is to support the small and diverse business community.
We are always looking for the small and diverse supplier that can support Cubic in its daily operations as we strive to satisfy our customers.
Why we attend, participate and stay engaged is two-fold:
- First, by attending these events, we as an organization, gain exposure to those subcontractors and suppliers that seek to do business with Cubic and other prime contractors.
- Second, Cubic is public with its intentions to find small and diverse suppliers and subcontractors and by doing so our major customers (transportation and defense) are aware that Cubic is committed to the small and diverse business community and we want to engage these suppliers and begin to build long-lasting business relationships.
While New York continues to get closer to its goal of awarding 30% of contracts to MWBEs, both the city and state still have work to do.
Because of our historic and current investment in the state of New York’s infrastructure, as Cubic’s Supplier Diversity Officer, I will ensure that diversity is top-of-mind in all future endeavors with New York] City & State.
Thuston A. Britt is Cubic’s Supplier Diversity Officer and a Small Business Liaison Officer. He has over 25 years’ experience in purchasing, inventory management, contract management, and supplier diversity.
As the Small Business Liaison Officer and Supplier Diversity Officer, he is responsible for the participation and reporting of DBE/MBE/WBE firms for the various contracts with Cubic’s Defense customers (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, etc.) and the customers (Chicago Transit Authority, New York City Transit, etc.) of the transportation business.
Thuston received his Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University Southeast, and he has also secured the Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) certification. He and his wife Stephanie have four adult children and six grandchildren. They enjoy working the family farm, raising grapes, traveling and hanging out with friends and family.
