Diageo : Supplier Diversity Program looks back on the International Women's Month with a highlight on key wins with women owned businesses

Our Supplier Diversity Program turns four years old in June and we are proud of the progress we have made. International Women's Month in March (2019) provided a great opportunity to reflect on the progress we've made with women-owned businesses.

Not only have we have doubled our spend with women-owned businesses since our program's inception, but half of our diverse suppliers are owned and operated by women.

We are proud of this progress and would like to highlight two of our Woman Business Enterprises (WBEs): The Spearhead Group, headed by CEO Heather Fritzsche, and Enthuse Marketing Group, headed by Kim Lawton & Kristy Snyder.

The Spearhead Group, is a new supplier to Diageo North America, providing our world-famous Crown Royal Purple bags. We selected The Spearhead Group for their focus on superior quality, cost and service, as well as great leadership and aligned values. Heather herself has earned numerous distinctions working with some of the world's best-known brands to reimagine the visual identity for countless products across multiple market sectors. Their core values (listed below) also align with ours and provide a foundation for a great partnership.

• Drive value and excellence in the marketplace
• Provide leadership opportunities for women and work policies that support families
• Buy from other diversely-owned companies
• Do the right thing
• Act with equal respect for clients, colleagues and suppliers
• Always go the extra mile with entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking

Learn more about the Spearhead Group here.

Our second highlighted WBE is Enthuse Marketing Group, headed by Kim Lawton & Kristy Snyder.

Enthuse an experiential marketing consultancy that places brand education at the center of its strategy.

In 2016, Enthuse partnered with Diageo North America to reinvent the business-to-business strategy for our Reserve brand portfolio: Developing a game-changing program to connect with stakeholders - through customized, hands-on experiential activation and educational brand content.

Enthuse was built on a foundation of philanthropy and in 2018, Lawton and Snyder launched the Enthuse Foundation, a non-profit organization investing in a new generation of female entrepreneurs through educational content, mentorship, networking events, and monetary grants.

To date, the Enthuse Foundation has hosted pitch night events, launched an app to connect mentors and mentees, and offered financial support and business guidance to four female entrepreneurs. In November, they will host their first investor-led pitch night where entrepreneurs will compete for a $10,000 business grant! (Learn more about the Enthuse Foundation).

As Diageo North America continues to evolve our Supplier Diversity Program, we will seek out and celebrate partners that exemplify and enable us to live our Values of Diversity and Inclusion in service of delving our Performance Ambition. Stay tuned for more!

If you are a supplier interested in learning more about our program, please visit our Supplier Diversity Portal where you can read more about the program and register.

If you are interested in learning more about our program, please reach out to our Supplier Diversity Lead, Kimberly Williams ([e-mail]).