Schedule of Events | Buyers Forum Information | Keynote Speaker | Honorary Chairman | Lodging | Parking
Event Refund Policy

The Iowa Minority Business Exchange is a business networking activity designed to create new markets for suppliers and new sources for buyers.  It is a corporate and minority business exchange.

Designed to enable Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) the opportunity to identify current marketplace needs and appropriate personnel within the area's leading corporations and government agencies, the 2012 Iowa Minority Business Exchange also focuses on providing buyers and procurement decision makers the opportunity to identify new competitive sources of services and supplies.

Through a series of focus-group discussions, MBEs are efficiently able to market their capabilities and capacities to major corporations and government agencies and buyers are able to inform MBEs of their procurement processes in a relaxed, personable setting - in one location - in one day.

Schedule of Events
Tuesday, 4 May 2012

7:00 a.m. - Registration Begins
7:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast Begins
8:30 a.m. - Awards Ceremony/Keynote Presentations
9:00 a.m. - Buyers Forum*
11:30 a.m. - Conclusion

*Buyers Forum Information

The purpose of this event is to substantially match current purchasing needs with qualified Minority Owned Companies. The following outline details the format for this event.

By 20 April 2012, each registered corporation and government buying organization is requested to submit a list of commodities/services that they plan to purchase within the next 6 to 12 months.

In response to the provided list of commodities/services, the Iowa Business to Business Symposium staff will compile a list of minority businesses that could meet the buying organization's needs.  After thoroughly reviewing each minority business and determining if the business is a match, minority businesses will be scheduled to participate in the 4 May Forum.

At the Forum, each buying organization/designated buyers will be assigned to an engagement table to meet with a pre-selected group of up to 5 different minority businesses for a 40-minute interval.

The buying representative will initiate the discussion by sharing his/her company's procurement focus and the "rules of engagement" for his/her respective procurement process for approximately 5-8 minutes.

After the remarks from the buying representative, each minority business owner/representative will have approximately 5-6 minutes to discuss his/her business' capabilities, capacities and value proposition.  NOTE:  Due to the targeted nature of this event, it is appropriate that Buyers as well as Supplier Diversity professional participate, if possible.

After 40 minutes, the minority business participants will rotate to the next scheduled engagement table.  Each corporate/government engagement table will have approximately 4, 40-minute sessions throughout the Forum.  This format should afford the opportunity for buying organizations to engage a host of potential suppliers and exchange information for future discussions.

NOTE:  Minority Business Owners and Representatives will only be matched with buying groups that specify a need for their goods or services.

Keynote Speaker

Gary P. Scholten, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Principal Financial Group

Gary Scholten is responsible for overseeing Principal Financial Group's use of Information Technology and also leads the company’s use of offshore resourcing and oversees sourcing and supplier management. Scholten joined the company in 1980 as an assistant planning analyst. He was elected an officer and named assistant director in 1989, director of Information Systems in 1992, second vice president – Information Services in 1994, vice president – Retail Information Services in 1998, and to his present position in 2002. A native of Larchwood, Iowa, Scholten received his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

In his first year as CIO, Scholten was named to Insurance & Technology magazine's "2003 Elite 8" list, given annually to eight CIOs from across the country who are identified as making significant, measurable contributions to their organizations. Under Scholten’s leadership, The Principal has consistently been ranked in the top half of Computerworld magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work in IT,” and InformationWeek magazine’s “Top 500 Most Innovative Users of Information Technology,” ranking as the number one company in 2006. Scholten received the University of Northern Iowa’s 2011 Alumni Achievement Award for his overall professional accomplishments. 

Honorary Chairman

David Furman, Executive Vice President of Human Resources
Wells Fargo Consumer Lending Group

David Furman has more than 20 years of experience in human resources leadership. Prior to assuming his current role in January 2009, David served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources Director – General Bank for Wachovia Corporation. The General Bank for Wachovia included Card Services, Mortgage, Retail and Small Business Banking, General Bank Distribution, Education Finance, Small Business Capital and Wholesale Banking. David and his team supported these businesses through talent acquisition, talent management, learning, leadership development, compensation, employee relations and employee engagement. He also led major business reorganizations and co-led the General Bank Diversity Council. Prior to this role, he served as a leader in human resources roles for Wachovia Bank, Dominion Bankshares Corporation and First Eastern Bank.
 
Mr. Furman also has been involved in the community as a board member of the United Way of Central Carolinas, as a volunteer for the Carolina Raptor Center, and a board member for the Council of Children. David has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a computer science minor from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed graduate studies in Labor Law, Economics, Quantitative Methods and Marketing at Wilkes College.  

Lodging

Suites of 800 Locust
800 Locust
(515) 288-5800
Distance from Wells Fargo: 396 feet

Hotel Fort Des Moines
100 Walnut
(515) 243-1161
Distance from Wells Fargo: 0.1 miles

Marriott Hotel
700 Grand
(515) 245-5500
Distance from Wells Fargo: 0.2 miles

Hyatt Place
418 6th Avenue
(800) 491-3093
Distance from Wells Fargo: 0.2 miles

Renaissance Savery Hotel
401 Locust
(515) 244-2151
Distance from Wells Fargo: 0.3 miles 

Parking

Recommended Parking Ramp: 8th & Mulberry City Parking Ramp

Map

Click the above Map link to see how the recommended parking ramp connects to the Skywalk system, how the Skywalk system connects to the 800 Walnut Street Wells Fargo campus, and how to find the Guard Desk on the Wells Fargo campus, where you need to check in upon arrival.

Event Refund Policy

Registration fees are nonrefundable seven (7) days prior to the start of the event.