Since 2011, Richard Wise, Supplier Diversity Program Administrator, has advocated for business opportunities for local minority-, women- and veteran-owned enterprises. Read on to learn more about his role and Citizens Energy Group’s Supplier Diversity Program.
1. How would you describe Citizens’ Supplier Diversity Program?
At Citizens Energy Group, we are committed to making a positive impact in the communities we serve. We also are committed to increasing opportunities for local small businesses, including minority-, women- and veteran-owned business enterprises (M/W/VBE). Through our Supplier Diversity Program, we work to strengthen and utilize these businesses, thereby adding value to our supply chain and the communities we serve.
2. What are your main responsibilities as the administrator of Citizens’ Supplier Diversity Program?
I am responsible for executing an effective supplier diversity program, consistent with the company’s goals and objectives. When spending money to purchase goods and services and enter into contracts, Citizens’ goal is to spend 15 percent with minority-owned businesses, 8 percent with women-owned businesses and 3 percent with veteran-owned businesses. I also mentor diverse suppliers on how to conduct business with Citizens, and I deliver training both internally and externally on supplier diversity and spend reporting. I strive to make our Supplier Diversity Program a model for other companies across the country.
3. Why is supplier diversity important?
Supplier diversity enables and drives fair and equitable access to opportunities for M/W/VBE. I also believe that supplier diversity programs can help right the wrongs of the past, and that ensuring supplier diversity is morally and economically the right and best thing to do for the company and the country.
Richard Wise working with Max Hetrick, Supply Chain Category Lead.
4. What drives your passion for your role?
My passion for my role comes primarily from witnessing my parents, especially my father, endure racially charged obstructions and raw discriminatory practices with quiet and shrewd determination. They sought decent housing and neighbors, education for their children, employment and business opportunities as they raised their kids in a community hostile toward people of color. My parents will always be my heroes; I will always be their advocate and an advocate for others like them.
I’m also inspired by past and current leaders at Citizens who have made supplier diversity a priority, as well as interactions with advocacy stakeholder partners and members of the diverse business community. In addition, I admire my Citizens’ colleagues and friends (“supplier diversity champions”) who drive our commitment to supplier diversity every day.
5. What is the most challenging part of your job?
Supplier diversity professionals can’t be at the forefront of every sourcing and purchasing decision. That’s why it’s incumbent upon us that supplier diversity be a shared responsibility beginning with corporate leadership. Every employee who influences purchasing decisions in every business unit must be deputized as supplier diversity champions. Every purchasing opportunity, planned and unplanned, must leverage consideration for diverse supplier participation.
Left to right: Mary Owen; Ivan Baird Jr., Former Executive Vice President of Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC); Richard Wise; and Carolyn E. Mosby, President/CEO of Mid-States MSDC, pose for a photo after winning the 2016 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Total Spend Award and the 2016 Most MBE Growth Spend Award for improvement from 2015.
