The Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce welcomes you to this month’s Tercer Jueves (Third Thursday) networking event, hosted by DTE Energy. The event will take place on Thursday, October 16th, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at DTE headquarters, One Energy Plaza, Detroit, MI 48226 – parking is available to MHCC Tercer Jueves guests in the parking lot on 1st Street, north of Bagley.
We are excited to have two DTE Energy C-suite officers as our featured speakers and members from DTE Energy Supplier Diversity at this energetic business event. Join us and meet the DTE Energy Team and learn more about “Powering Procurement with Supplier Diversity”.
JoAnn Chavez, Vice President and Chief Tax Officer, DTE Energy will be giving the opening remarks. Chavez is vice president and chief tax officer for DTE Energy, a diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. She is responsible for overseeing the organization’s tax strategy, policy and compliance, including Federal, state and local income, sales and use, and property taxes. Chavez currently serves on the DTE Energy Foundation Board, the Inforum Center for Leadership Board, the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – Board of Directors and was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Hispanic/Latino Commission.
Tony Tomczak, Chief Procurement Officer, DTE Energy will be the Keynote Speaker. Tomczak is chief procurement officer and responsible for all non-fuel purchases, materials planning, contract development and performance and warehouse operations for DTE Energy. Service and material needs flow through this team entailing finding competitive, high quality supply, diversity supplier focus and understanding the global marketplace. He has been instrumental in leading a team of professionals toward reducing outside expenditures consistently from 4% to 6% annually.
DTE takes the commitment of diversity seriously – last year, DTE spent $302 millionwith certified diversity suppliers, a significant increase compared to 2012. DTE is commitment to growing and developing minority-owned enterprises. At DTE they have made a concerted effort to conduct business with Michigan-based suppliers as a participant in the Pure Michigan Business Connect Initiative. The company has taken its commitment one step further by also seeking out Michigansuppliers led by minorities, women and veteran owned companies. Independent research has shown that companies who focus on supplier diversity generate a 133% greater return on procurement investments than their counterparts and DTE has excelled in the supplier diversity arena.
Source: MHCC