WPEO Announces Award Winning Done Deals™ Completed This Year With Women Business Enterprises

NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 13,448 contracts worth over $433 million, completed with certified women's business enterprises (WBEs) in the New York region, were announced at the Breakthrough Breakfast today by the Women Presidents' Educational Organization (WPEO). This annual event showcases winners of the Done Deals^™ challenge (representing deals completed from April 2017 through March 2018) and helps measure the impact WPEO has achieved in increasing business opportunities and contracting activity --between WBEs doing business with each other, as well as with WBEs and WPEO's Corporate Members.

Being officially certified as a woman-owned diverse supplier can result in opportunities previously inaccessible to women's business enterprises. WPEO provides WBENC certification, the most widely-recognized and respected third-party national certification for WBEs in the U.S. WPEO serves two northeast regions: WPEO-NY (New York State, Northern and Central New Jersey -- through Trenton -- and counties on the Southern Connecticut shoreline – including Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London) and WPEO-DC (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia).

WPEO corporate members who received this year's awards underscored the importance of supply chain diversity in their business strategies.

"When PepsiCo's supplier diversity program began in 1982, it reported $5 million of diverse spend. Since then, PepsiCo has spent over $22 billion dollars cumulatively with diverse-owned suppliers. PepsiCo has an unwavering commitment to woman-owned businesses. It is proud of its long-term relationships with WBENC-certified companies from the WPEO region who have been able to grow with PepsiCo as the company has evolved. Last year, PepsiCo expanded its portfolio to include several new offerings; increased its growth in various markets; and continued the refresh of multiple office spaces. These changes were supported in no small part by capable and efficient WBENC-certified suppliers from the WPEO. By sharing the WBE successes garnered across all categories and geographies, the team encouraged stakeholders to grow their relationships with existing suppliers in new areas," said Paige Adams, Senior Manager, Supplier Diversity, PepsiCo.

WPEO Board Chair Eliseo Rojas, CEO, ETR Business Solutions, Inc., and WPEO Board Chair, said "The theme of this year's Breakthrough Breakfast is about Looking Beyond the Trends to achieve sustainable growth. And while it is tempting to jump on what is predicted to be the next big thing, diverse women-owned companies need to balance short-term innovation with investing in solid, long-term relationships that will enable them to achieve growth objectives for their businesses."

The 2018 WPEO Done Deals Award Winners are:

• Corporate Opportunity Award – New York Life Insurance Company
• Corporate Champion Award - PepsiCo
• WBE Connection Award – Stackable Sensations
• WBE Done Deals Champion Award – Coranet Corp.
• Access New York City Award – Coranet Corp.
• Access New York State Award – Copy Graphics, DBA Mrs. Paper

Dr. Marsha Firestone, WPEO President and Founder, said "This year we are seeing continued growth in the number of contracts executed with certified women business enterprises – a 7.2% increase over last year. While these WBEs are embracing marketplace changes, their success is anchored in achieving partner goals through long-term relationship building. The increase in the dollar amount is satisfying, as is the total dollar value of the WBE contracts," she said.

WPEO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following companies:

Dominion Energy; Ampcus; Avis Budget Group; Capital One; Microsoft Corporation; Wells Fargo; Guggenheim Partners; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Pfizer Inc.; Atlas; Artech Information Systems; Meadows Office Interiors; Broadleaf Results Inc.; Eriksen Translations; TCGI; The Booth for Business; Highroad Press; The Studio.

About The Women Presidents' Educational Organization:
The Women Presidents' Educational Organization (WPEO) is a regional affiliate of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation's premier third-party certification organization for women-owned businesses. The mission of the WPEO is to create increased access to business opportunities for WBEs. Its programs develop skills and knowledge for WBEs, advocate in the public and private sectors, foster relationships between WBEs, corporations and the government, and provide certification services.

WPEO provides full service third-party certification to women entrepreneurs in the New York, Northern New Jersey, Southern Connecticut and the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas.  WPEO is incorporated in the state of New York and is recognized as a 501(c) (3) organization. For more information please visit www.wpeo.us. Follow us on Twitter@WPEONYDC; like us on Facebook@TheWPEO.

SOURCE Women Presidents' Educational Organization

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