Laura Taylor Named New Chair of the Board of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council

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Apr 05, 2011, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Laura Taylor, Vice President, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Operations at Pitney Bowes, has been elected Chair of the Board of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the leading advocate for and authority on women's business enterprises (WBEs) as suppliers to the nation's corporations. WBENC's 240 Corporate Members include the most prestigious brands across services and manufacturing industries that advance supplier diversity programs enabling WBEs to fairly compete for and win corporate business.

"WBENC is extremely proud that Laura Taylor brings her strategic leadership and unerring professional judgment to our Board of Directors," said Pamela Prince-Eason, former Board Chair and newly elected President and CEO of WBENC. "Her contributions have positioned the organization for its next phase of growth, and we are honored to have her lead us to greater reach and influence."

Taylor was elected as Board Chair at WBENC's 2011 Summit & Salute to Women's Business Enterprises, convening nearly 1,000 corporate procurement and supplier diversity executives and women's businesses for thought leadership sessions and business networking opportunities.

Taylor's successful track record of creating innovative, business enhancing programs has been evident in her roles at both WBENC and at Pitney Bowes. She previously served as Vice Chair of WBENC, where she champions and drives a key initiative of the organization, the WBENC Ambassador Program that expands WBENC's quality corporate membership.

Taylor's award-winning accomplishments are reflected in her 25-year career at Pitney Bowes, where she has held management positions of increasing responsibility with multiple business units and at the corporate level. In her current position, Taylor has accountability for indirect strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, procurement solutions, supplier diversity, the supplier contract management process, and business controls and compliance.

She twice received the company's One Standard Excellence Award for results in business process improvement. As Vice President of Global Procurement Strategy and Operations, Taylor led the development and implementation of global procurement processes and solutions. Recently, she led the phase 1 procurement work stream for a critical company-wide strategic transformation program. These and other contributions have helped to enable Pitney Bowes' strategic sourcing savings initiatives, which have realized over $300 million in benefits over the last six years.

In 2010, she was presented with the William J. Alcorn Leadership Award, the highest honor given to an individual at WBENC. Building strength from within the WBENC organization has been a theme of her contribution to WBENC over the years. As a member and then Vice Chair of the Development Committee, she worked with a team to develop an innovative dashboard for measuring goals and tracking progress for membership and sponsorship growth. She has also been instrumental in expanding membership, providing planning and guidance on membership recruiting events.

Taylor holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Business Administration from Western Connecticut State University. She is an active volunteer in her local school system, has served on the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Connecticut Girl Scout Council.

About WBENC: Founded in 1997, WBENC is also the nation's leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with over 10,000 WBENC-Certified WBEs and WBENC certification accepted by more than 1,000 corporations, representing America's most prestigious brands. Throughout the year, WBENC and its RPOs provide opportunities for interactions between 240 member corporations and certified WBEs at business building events and other forums. WBENC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. www.wbenc.org.

SOURCE WBENC