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PROVIDENCE, R.I., – On Thursday, Nov. 20^th, leaders from and joined ��ܽ����Ƶ to celebrate the conclusion of the CEO Master Series program and presented the program certificates to six diverse business owners for completing the curriculum.

The CEO Master Series is a unique program that trains diverse supply chain participants on essential skills for small business success. The program was created in partnership with the (PEC) at the University’s School of Continuing Studies to help diverse suppliers gain critical management skills and industry knowledge that better position them to competitively bid for contracts with companies like National Grid and CVS Health. Both National Grid and CVS Health selected and sponsored three diverse business organizations to participate in the program, which included sessions on purchasing and contracts, team building, sustainability training, performance management and social media marketing, among other areas.

Earlier this year, ��ܽ����Ƶ, CVS Health and National Grid joined together to create the CEO Master Series program to support diverse suppliers in enhancing their business skills as they work together with large organizations. The program was then announced at the "Power of Connections" event, a daylong conference designed to expand the number of opportunities at National Grid and CVS for diverse business owners.

Through the PEC, ��ܽ����Ƶ customized a specific professional development program that’s uniquely suited to meet the specific needs of diverse supply chain participants. The course offering is among a handful of unique educational programs that the PEC has customized based on the specific needs of its partner organization. With the Professional Education Center, local corporations, government agencies and community nonprofits can help design and develop an educational session or department training specifically catered to meet the organization’s goals.

“The Professional Education Center is uniquely positioned to tailor the knowledge base of its instructors and staff to design a customized curriculum that’s uniquely suited to meet the specific needs of our industry partners,” says Jamie Scurry, School of Continuing Studies Dean. “It is critical that investments in professional development are customized and contextualized to ensure that professionals gain useable, practical skills that add value to the organization.”

For National Grid and CVS Health, the collaboration with ��ܽ����Ƶ has proven to be a successful collaboration and professional development model that both organizations look forward to implementing further to engage their supply chain partners and support the development of a diverse pool of business leaders.

“The program was very successful in helping our vendors and potential vendors gain new skills and knowledge that will better position them to win contracts with large companies like National Grid,” says Carla Hunter Ramsey, director of supplier diversity, National Grid. “Based on this success, we are already planning to evaluate additional regional markets where we create a similar professional development program for our current and or potential supply chain participants, so that we can continue to cultivate new partnerships with diverse business leaders.”

Raul Suarez-Rodriguez, CVS Health manager of supplier diversity also shares his enthusiasm for expanding the collaboration with ��ܽ����Ƶ to offer additional academic enrichment opportunities for supply chain partners. “CVS Health understands how important it is to work with local women- and minority-owned businesses, not only for the success of our company, but also for the many communities we serve. We are committed to forging new relationships with these businesses, and look forward to working with our partners to develop additional educational and professional development opportunities for small business owners in Southern New England.”