Group O Hosts National Deputy Director of Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

MILAN, Ill., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Group O, the optimization company that specializes in marketing operations, supply-chain and packaging solutions, is pleased to announce its sponsorship and participation in the White House Bi-State Minority Business Development Roundtable, organized by the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GQCHCC).

The event held yesterday at the i Wireless center featured keynote speaker Alejandra Castillo, national deputy director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and involved the business community, including local, state, and federal government officials and agency representatives; Small Business Technical Assistance providers; Supplier Diversity & Procurement Officers; and other representatives.

With continued national economic uncertainty, the event represented a welcome opportunity for attendees to collaborate on growth strategies and partnership opportunities concerning minority- and women-owned businesses which leverage support from agencies like the MBDA. In her remarks, Castillo linked the importance of minority business development and supplier diversity programs to overall efforts of the Administration – including a federal procurement goal of 23 percent from small businesses – to create entrepreneurial, innovative job growth.

Following the program, Ms. Castillo toured the Group O headquarters and discussed with management how the company sees its continued leadership in the area of minority business development as a key contributor to not just its own continued growth – as evidenced by the addition of over 475 jobs in the last 24 months – but also a reflection of the growing diversity of customers, employees, investors and suppliers in regional and national markets.

"Growing the scale and scope of women and minority owned businesses has moved from a social issue to a critical global business imperative," remarked Alejandra Castillo, "[Founder] Bob Ontiveros is a role model — [Group O] is a success story we want to replicate."

"Our commitment to diversity – through both procurement strategies and employment goals – is foundational to who we are, at all levels in our organization," stated Gregg Ontiveros, CEO of Group O. "Our diversity is fundamental to how we approach creating sustainable value for our clients such as AT&T and Caterpillar. We see exciting growth opportunities in all of our divisions – from high-volume mobile device logistics to direct mail campaign management – and we will continue to invest in and offer solutions to those markets where we can create value for ourselves and our clients."

About Group O

Group O is a diversified business services provider with solutions that optimize its clients' marketing service execution, supply chain operations, and strategic packaging procurement. The Marketing Solutions group offers a full range of relevant loyalty and incentive programs; the O2 technology platform for high-volume, personalized print and direct marketing messages; and efficient consumer and trade fulfillment services. The Supply Chain Operations group serves the heavy equipment and high-tech sectors with serialized, high-velocity and scalable forward- and reverse-logistics services, as well as strategic sourcing and procurement solutions. The Packaging Solutions group provides an extensive, smart, nationwide network of packaging materials, equipment and service value. Group O is ISO 9001:2008 and TL 9000-certified, and SAS 70 Type II-compliant. Headquartered in Milan, Illinois, Group O is the ninth-largest Hispanic-owned company in the United States with over 1,350 employees. To learn more, visit www.groupo.com.

SOURCE Group O