Somerset, June 1, 2023 – The Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce (AICC) concluded its eight-
part Supplier Diversity Breakfast event series with the "Supplier Diversity Showcase" Business
Opportunity Exchange, which was a great success. The event offered an array of impressive
highlights, such as engaging keynote speakers, enlightening MSP Forum sessions, productive
Business Opportunity Exchanges, insightful Fireside Chats, interactive Breakout sessions, and a
segment dedicated to Awards & Recognition.
Rajeev Krishna, AICC President, introduced his board and spoke about the unprecedented
transformation he is seeing in the Chamber. He credited that to increased awareness of the
Chamber’s programs and the many new corporate relationships that are being created because
of that. He reiterated his board’s commitment to make AICC the voice and the most influential
business advocacy organization for the Asian Indian business community in the nation.
The Hon'ble Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India in NY, graced the occasion as the
esteemed Chief Guest and talked about the incredible business potential between India and the
United States and the important role AICC can play in that arena. A captivating keynote speech
focused on the future challenges of procurement in a global economy was delivered by Len
DeCandia, former Global Chief Procurement Officer of J&J.
Sanofi received the Supplier Diversity Trailblazer award, and Bristol Myers Squibb was honored
with the Supplier Diversity Champion Award. Recipients of the Minority Business of the Year
awards were Innova Solutions (IT), CHUGH (Law) and A&J Consulting Engineering Services
(Engineering).
The MSP Forum was led by Sundari Pai Luts, Senior Manager Global Supplier Diversity at Bristol
Myers Squibb, and featured panelists Brian Soderholm, Chief Revenue Officer at Hiregenics,
Brianna Zielinski, North America Category Buyer at Sanofi, Kristin Clewes, VP of Workforce
Solutions at nextSource, and Tamara Rashid, SVP of the Enterprise Transformation Team at
Agile One.
The stage was graced by a lineup of speakers including Ciara Lilly, Vice President of Diversity
and Inclusion at Diversified Maintenance, Jermaine Pharmes, Director of Diversity and Business
Development at NJEDA, Michele Mehan, Director of Procurement at Aquarion Water Company,
Suresh Kumar, President of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE) NJ Chapter, Punish Malhotra,
Executive Vice President and Global Head of Strategic Sales & Partnerships, at Innova Solutions
and William Choi, Director of Supplier Diversity at NYPA.
Rakhi Agarwal, Supplier Diversity leader at Sanofi, hosted the Fireside Chat which included a
panel of experts. The panelists were Anne O'Malley, Sr. Supplier Diversity Specialist at NYPA;
Anjali Sidhu, Global Head at Innova Solutions; Adam Wexebaum, Global Supplier Diversity at
Lenovo; Gesny Val, Associate Procurement Manager Sustainability and Partnership at Unilever;
Sweta Patel, Supplier Diversity Program Lead at Teva Pharma; Tiffany Keaton, Senior Manager,
Business Diversity and Supply Chain Sustainability at TIAA; and Vivian Young, Global Head of
Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs at JPMC.
Rekha Sarathy, Vice President of AICC, delivered a vote of thanks to conclude the event. The
AICC Supplier Diversity Showcase Event brought together a diverse group of suppliers,
corporate executives, industry experts from MSPs, and others in a collaborative and inclusive
environment, resulting in a resounding success. The AICC remains committed to promoting
diversity and inclusion in the corporate sphere and eagerly anticipates future events that will
continue to drive progress in this vital area.
Rajeev Krishna, President of AICC, Rekha Sarathy, Vice President of AICC, and Komal Dangi,
Director of Supplier Diversity at AICC, served as the event's co-chairs. IIT WHEELS Foundation,
Akshaya Patra and TiE New Jersey, were strategic partners for this event.
