NATIONAL VETERAN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (NVBDC) WELCOMES FORMER SAS SUPPLIER DIVERSITY MANAGER TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Veteran and Minority Women Business Owner Annette H. Stevenson joins NVBDC Board


Detroit, MI, March 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leadership is a foundation of the National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC). The Board of Directors is elected to help the organization set broad goals, support executive duties and ensure representation is indicative of Veterans helping Veterans.  NVBDC was established in 2013 to addresses the growing need to identify and certify both Service Disabled and Veteran Owned Businesses (SD/VOBs) in the corporate marketplace.  Keith King, US Army 1969-1971, and an honorably discharged, in-country Vietnam Veteran, Founder and CEO of NVBDC from the start recruited Veterans. 

 NVBDC is proud to welcome Annette Hibbert Stevenson, CPSD, C.P.M., to their Board of Directors.  Annette is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of work experience in the personnel/administrative management, procurement and supplier diversity profession.  She has worked in various sectors of industry, including Federal and State Government, Corporate America and Non-Profits.  NVBDC knows adding Annette to our Board of Directors will have a direct influence on the state of NVBDC (SEE RELATED LINK: "State of NVBDC") and helping Veterans.

 Annette graduated from Methodist College, in 1982, with a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Military Science. As a rising college senior, Annette received an early reserve officer commission as a Quartermaster Officer. Upon graduation, she received a Regular Army commission in the Adjutant General Corps and served ten years on active duty in various leadership positions.  Once retired from the U.S. Army Reserves, Annette went on to work in corporate procurement at SAS for 18 years.

 SAS Institute is an American multinational developer of analytics software based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS develops and markets a Suite of Analytic Software (SAS), which helps access, manage, analyze and report on data to aid in decision-making. The company is the world’s largest privately held software business, and its software is used by most of the Fortune 500.  Annette was the Supplier Diversity Manager at SAS for 13 years.  She evolved the SAS Supplier Diversity Program to uphold a proactive business process that embraced the inclusion of “diverse suppliers” in the supply chain. 

 Unbeknownst to NVBDC, starting in 2015, Annette was already creating a path to increase awareness of corporate supplier diversity. Annette has proven her leadership and passion for evangelizing supplier diversity with her involvement with growing the SAS supplier diversity program. She led the effort to add Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSB) to the SAS supplier diversity program.  A VOSB company must be at least 51% owned and daily operated by an individual who is a Veteran (SEE RELATED LINK: "NVBDC Recognized as the Authority on Veteran Identification"). “It’s about Economics and expanding access to opportunities,” Annette wrote, and then goes on to explain why Diversity Certification (LINK 3: NVBDC Certification Page (SEE RELATED LINK: NVBDC Certification) is so critical to a corporate purchaser. 

 All of Annette’s dedication during her employment with SAS earned her several awards, appointments, and the insight to validate her education in purchasing with earning designations from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM).  Included in her accomplishments, she received the prestigious SAS CEO Award of Excellence and the North Carolina Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year, awarded by the U.S. SBA. She was also appointed to serve on the North Carolina Governor’s Working Group for Veterans, Service Members and their Families. Annette earned a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD) and Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) designation, both recognized as an elite status in the supplier diversity world.  All of these accomplishments are directly in line with NVBDC goals and mission, for SD/VOB opportunities, leading to just one of the reasons Annette is the perfect choice for our Board of Directors.

After a successful career with SAS Annette went on to explore additional endeavors and opened her own business in 2017: Stevenson Consulting Group, A WOSB and a SDVOSB firm.  Stevenson Consulting Group (SVG) focuses on delivering value to customers in the area of Advocacy (promoting inclusion of diverse businesses), Connection (navigating supply chain opportunities) and Empowerment (addressing barriers for diverse businesses). 

“Annette has been a member of the NVBDC Advisory board since 2018 and her business is NVBDC Certified. Annette’s involvement with Supplier Diversity Professionals is extensive and her commitment to help Veterans with opportunities to achieve their business goals is exactly the addition NVBDC’s Board of Directors needs to fulfil our mission. Our goal is to put together the best-qualified team to advance our initiatives in helping Veterans,” said Keith King, CEO, NVBDC.

Please join NVBDC in welcoming Annette H. Stevenson to our Board of Directors.  

NVBDC Mission:

The NVBDC is the only Veteran Owned Business Certification organization developed by Veterans, for Veterans. The purpose is to provide a credible and reliable certifying authority for all size businesses ensuring that valid documentation exists of Veteran ownership and control.

Any questions or to find out more information on how to get your business certified go to: www.nvbdc.org or contact us at (888)-CERTIFIED

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Annette H. Stevenson, NVBDC Board of Directors Keith King, Founder & CEO, NVBDC

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