Jon Suber is the Supplier Diversity Manager at Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored private bank providing mortgage capital to lenders to make homeownership possible for millions of families and individuals. Jon has a BSBA in Marketing from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA in Supply Chain Management from Howard University. Before working in his current role Jon worked for international corporations that include Proctor & Gamble and Unilever. He has extensive experience in supply planning, contract manufacturing, logistics, and project management. 

In today’s episode, Jon joins us to discuss the Supplier Inclusion program with Freddie Mac, one of the biggest buyers of mortgages in the U.S. He discusses how the company works to promote opportunities to diverse suppliers in their pipeline system, how they outreach via national conferences and local events for their 30 Max Supplier diversity program, and how they spread the word on the types of opportunity available at Freddie Mac. Jon explains the Supplier Academy program launched by the company in 2016 and what it provides in terms of education on the company and also the opportunity for diverse suppliers to present their capabilities. He also shares his journey into Supplier Diversity, where he was first introduced to the practice while interning in his first summer of business school and seeded in him a passion for supplier diversity, he would fully realize 11 years later with Freddie Mac.

“You have to overcome the unconscious bias of using a diverse supplier versus the Big Four. Because the Big Four is a brand name. You know them. You trust them. They’ve done work but the reality is -who do you think the diverse supplier is? It’s not necessarily a small Mom & Pop operation.” – Jon Suber

This week on Breaking Barriers:

• The 3 pillars of the Freddie Macs Supplier Inclusion program
  
• How Freddie Mac utilized diverse suppliers instead of the Big Four
  
• The areas of opportunity the company offers for diverse suppliers
  
• How Freddie Mac operates differently from a regular high street bank
  
• Why it’s important for contract owners to have awareness of the skills and capabilities of diverse suppliers as showcased in Freddie Macs Capability Presentation day
  
• How you can reach out to Freddie Mac to begin building a Supplier Diverse relationship with them
  

Resource Mentioned:

• Freddie Mac’s Supplier Diversity Application
  

Connect with Jon Suber:

• Freddie Mac’s Website
  
• Freddie Mac on LinkedIn
  
• Freddie Mac on YouTube
  
• Freddie Mac on Twitter
  
• Freddie Mac on Facebook
  
• Jon Suber on LinkedIn
  

Connect with Hire Ground:

• Hire Ground’s Website
  
• Hire Ground on LinkedIn
  
• Hire Ground on Facebook
  
• Hire Ground on Twitter
  
• Cloe Guidry-Reed on LinkedIn
  
• Adam Moore on LinkedIn
  

This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground

Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations.

For more information on getting started please visit us @ hireground.io today!

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