24 CORPORATE DIVERSITY
Supplier Diversity is
“ extremely important”
Interview with
Peter Kelk, Merrill Lynch, First Vice President Global Sourcing and Procurement
Services, Europe, Middle
East Africa( EMEA)
& Pacific Rim( PAC RIM) region.
By Colette Machado
With more than 40 overseas offices across Europe, Africa, the US and further afield, Merrill Lynch is not only the world’ s leading financial management and advisory company, providing financial advice and investment banking services, it is also the first US company in the securities industry to establish a Supplier Diversity programme( 1987).
Through this programme, diverse-owned firms in the US of various sizes offering everything from professional services to technology products are able to register on the company’ s Supplier Diversity website page for an opportunity to provide the firm with goods and services.
Following the success of the US programme, a similar Supplier Diversity initiative was launched in the UK approximately three years ago. Peter Kelk, who is based at Merrill Lynch’ s London office, the regional headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told Engage magazine that Supplier Diversity is“ extremely important” to the company he has been working with for 27 years.