Carla Hunter Ramsey, National Grid

Director of Supplier Diversity

National Grid Director of Supplier Diversity Carla Hunter Ramsey has been named a national Champion of Diversity by DiversityPlus Magazine for demonstrating great leadership and skill in driving supplier diversity within the company.

The 2010 DiversityPlus awards represent the fourth year that the magazine has named Champions of Diversity. The awards are a unique effort to reach out to minority suppliers of all sizes, products and service backgrounds to determine which executive individuals are perceived as doing the most to promote the benefits of diversity within their organizations. Hunter Ramsey is one of only 25 individuals honored this year.

"National Grid is committed to providing minority, women-owned, diverse businesses, and small businesses with an opportunity to work with the company," said Ray Hill, National Grid's Vice President for Global Procurement Strategy. "Carla's leadership in driving our supplier diversity efforts is a key to our success, and this recognition is a tribute to our efforts to create an inclusive supply chain that represents the diverse communities we serve."

Hunter Ramsey helped facilitate $277 million in diverse spend at National Grid in 2009. In addition to large wins by women and minority-owned businesses, she also linked primary contractors to subcontractors, providing more opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses.

In addition, Hunter Ramsey coordinated "The Power of Connections," a one-day business matchmaker opportunity event to provide training, opportunities and information on the tools necessary for minority and women-owned business to secure contracts in the energy industry. It was the first such event sponsored jointly by National Grid and the Long Island Power Authority and it attracted more than 300 minority and women-owned businesses.

"It is an honor to be recognized by women and minority suppliers from across the country," said Hunter Ramsey. "I worked for my father's family printing business and understand first-hand the demanding path of all entrepreneurs. I am happy to be a part of the National Grid team and creating opportunities for small, minority and women-owned companies."

More than 15,000 women and minority suppliers across the country participated in the 2010 Champions of Diversity evaluation and selection process.

Each of the 15,000 plus women and minority-owned businesses contacted were asked to complete a survey to nominate a supplier diversity executive as a Champion of Diversity. Nominees needed to serve in a managerial or director capacity and demonstrate great leadership and skill in driving supplier diversity at their firm. Ultimately, there were 102 candidates nominated for the 2010 awards.

The Top 25 Champion of Diversity award winners stand out from their colleagues due to their demonstrated leadership abilities and roles as good mentors to diverse suppliers. Award winners also went above and beyond in championing diversity within their organizations, increasing their firm's diversity spend year over year, being responsive to the needs of diverse suppliers, and implementing important best practices and bench marking standards to help drive their firm's supplier diversity programs.

An additional consideration for the selection committee was how diligently the 2010 Champions of Diversity worked to help minority and women-owned business owners get their foot in the door at their organizations to bid on contracts. Many of the 2010 Award winners were actively involved in matching suppliers to internal opportunities to help build capacity and increase their outreach efforts.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

National Grid

National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a path to a more affordable, reliable clean energy future through our fossil-free vision. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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