The Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC) named FCA North America Head of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Scott Thiele as Chairman of the Board for the next two years, leading the group’s efforts to advance opportunities for minority-owned businesses. He replaces DTE Chief Procurement Officer Tony Tomczak.
“Our commitment to diversity and inclusion at FCA extends far beyond our walls,” said Scott Thiele, Head of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management, FCA – North America. “I’m proud to serve the MMSDC as they continue supporting minority business owners in creative ways. Diversity drives innovation and innovation drives growth for all of us. I am excited about this opportunity to contribute to the future success of minority suppliers and our communities.”
Growing Supplier Diversity Together: FCA and MMSDC
FCA recently joined a partnership formed between MMSDC and Plug and Play, the largest global innovation platform for startups and corporations, to bring a new innovation hub to Detroit by June 2020. Plug and Play Detroit Powered by AmplifyD (Amplify:Diversity) will provide streamlined access to all technology startups, with an emphasis on those owned by women and minorities. The partnership underpins FCA’s approach to the rapid advancement of select technologies through smart and strategic collaborations that promote a culture of innovation and safety.
In 2019, FCA and MMSDC also launched the Collaborative Growth Initiative, which includes nine automakers and suppliers working together with 18 minority-owned businesses to define, measure and facilitate sustainable sourcing opportunities in the indirect/non-production commodity space. The goal is to ensure strategic business growth.
“Over the past two years, Scott has served as Vice Chair of our organization and I’m sincerely excited to have such an action-oriented, knowledgeable leader at the helm of our organization during a significant time of growth and opportunity,” said Michelle Sourie Robinson, President/CEO of MMSDC. “Scott is decisive, smart and forward thinking. He’s not afraid to step outside the box, which is critical as we experience and embrace a season of exponential growth.”
Supplier Diversity at FCA
Since 1983, the Company has purchased more than $88.2 billion from minority-, women- and veteran-owned suppliers. In 2019, FCA was honored with the following award for the Company’s innovative approaches and programs to expand opportunities for diverse suppliers:
- Corporation of the Year for 2018, Class 4 from the National Minority Supplier Development Council
- Best-in-Class for Excellence in Supplier Diversity from the Great Lakes Women Business Council
- Benchmark Award from Rainbow PUSH
- President’s Award from the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council
- America’s Top Corporation for Women’s Business Enterprises from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
The Company celebrated the 20th annual MatchMaker event through a series of high-impact engagements with more than 250 diverse businesses. MatchMaker has generated more than $4 billion in new business opportunities for exhibitors since inception in 1999.
Nearly 10 years ago, FCA established its High Focus Program with an aim to take suppliers with greater potential for diverse spend and equip them with the tools and support to achieve their diversity targets. The diversity spend status of each supplier is monitored monthly and reviewed with the supplier quarterly. In 2019, 25 suppliers remain in this program.
FCA has a long-standing, enterprise-wide commitment to diversity and inclusion, which includes supporting 10 business resource groups representing a range of affinity communities that pursue initiatives that celebrate multicultural differences and provide developmental opportunities for employees. Thiele also serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Middle Eastern Employees Together business resource group.
In 2019, FCA was named among the country’s leading companies for diversity by Diversityinc magazine and among the country’s leading companies supporting Hispanic women by Latina Style magazine, among other diversity honors.
