Hispanic Business Conference And Trade Show, The ‘Premiere Venue’ For Hispanic Businesses, Takes Place Tomorrow

NEW ORLEANS – The Hispanic Business Conference and Trade Show is the premiere venue for Hispanic businesses to market their goods and services, and it is the perfect opportunity for those reaching out to the Hispanic business community for inclusion in the sourcing process, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana reps said.
         The event takes place Wednesday, Aug. 9, at Harrah's New Orleans, 228 Poydras St., from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
         Small business owners, corporate supply chain executives and nonprofit resource partners are expected to attend and participate in this free event.
         Speakers at the Hispanic Business Conference and Trade Show include:
 
Jay Barros – ThreeSixtyEight, director of partnerships
Presented by Hispanic Young Professionals of Louisiana
         Barros is an advertising executive from Lima, Peru. He started his career in 2011 when he was hired by LSU Student Media’s sales team, a place where students are encouraged to learn by doing and forging their own path to success, with the guidance of professional staff.
         Six years later, Barros is now the director of partnerships at ThreeSixtyEight – a creative agency in Baton Rouge that helps clients like Epson, Quantcast, and CenturyLink embrace their creative confidence.
         ThreeSixtyEight is currently on track to hit $2 million in revenue this year thanks to their ability to network and forge strong partnerships both locally and nationally.
 
Cherie Herbert – BBR Creative, CEO and brand strategist
         Versatility, strategic thinking and lasting relationships are all hallmarks of Herbert’s more than 20 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industries. A founding member of BBR who has helped more than 600 clients throughout her career in design, branding and marketing, Herbert is instrumental in cultivating, motivating and managing the agency’s client relationships, and serves as a strategic guide and functional liaison between the brand and creative strategy.
         Herbert is a hands-on brand strategist who believes trust, clarity and total immersion are critical to truly understanding every client’s unique needs. Notable clients she's helped to develop and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns for are: Louisiana Economic Development, Cox Communications, TABASCO®, CC's Coffeehouse and Lourdes Regional Medical Center.
         Her topics of expertise include:
 
• Branding
• Online Marketing
• Positioning
• Marketing Management
• Campaign Development
• Brand Standards
 
Melissa Daigrepont – Capital One, VP business banking
         Daigrepont, vice president in business banking with Capital One, manages a large portfolio of successful businesses and serves customers throughout the Greater New Orleans area.
         Daigrepont began her job at Capital One in early 2016 and serves as a leader of Capital One’s Louisiana Salute Military Network and is also a board member of the bank’s Community Corps Council, which coordinates volunteer events for Capital One associates across Southeast Louisiana.
         Prior to Capital One, Daigrepont was the public information officer, economic development specialist, and district international trade officer for the Louisiana district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. She was the project officer and grant manager for the Louisiana Small Business Development Center network and program manager for both the emerging leaders training and development program for CEOs and the Boots to Business entrepreneurship training course for transitioning military.
         Daigrepont is a licensed attorney and served as a U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) from 2002 to 2012. During her time in the military, she completed a hardship tour of duty in Diego Garcia and a deployment on the aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She also served in Baghdad, Iraq in during Operation Iraqi Freedom and is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
         Daigrepont holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Indiana University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and a Master of Laws in military law with a specialty in International and Operational Law from the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia. She also earned a Master of Business Administration at Tulane University – A.B. Freeman School of Business in May 2016.
         Daigrepont was born in Baton Rouge, and her family is from Pointe Coupee and Avoyelles Parish. She and her husband, Lieutenant Commander Jay Powell, reside in the Algiers Point neighborhood of New Orleans where Jay is a pilot in the U.S. Navy. She is an active member of the Preservation Resource Center, Algiers Point Association, American Business Women’s Association’s Crescent City chapter, Tulane University’s Aldrich Society, NOLA Showgirls dancing group, and the Nola VFW Post 8973 in the Irish Channel.
 
Rivers Frederick – Entergy, supplier diversity manager
         Frederick has an extensive background in business, which has facilitated his understanding of supplier diversity. As a former business owner, he understands the challenges faced by suppliers. From lack of access to opportunities to access to capital, he not only understands but is able to listen, empathize and guide suppliers along the correct path. Frederick decided to use his experiences as a business owner to further assist small, diverse businesses.
         When the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency decided to open a center in Louisiana, Frederick was tapped to lead the organization. As the project director of the Louisiana Minority Business Opportunity Center, he led a team that was responsible for assisting MBEs in securing over $200,000,000 in contracts. This was achieved through collaboration with public and private procurement entities and intense counseling with the targeted suppliers. One of the companies that he worked very closely with was Entergy Corporation. When a position in Entergy’s supplier diversity program became available, he was recruited to fill the position. He now brings his experiences as a former business owner and governmental leader to his role at Entergy. As the supplier diversity manager, he is responsible for the identification, pre-qualification and advocacy of minority, women, veteran disabled veteran and HUBzone owned businesses for inclusion in Entergy’s supply chain process. Furthermore he has grown Entergy’s second tier initiative by over 30 percent and currently leads the Edison Electric Institute’s Supplier Diversity Task force’s Tier II initiative. 
         Recent accomplishments include advocate of the year (LAMSDC 2011), champion award (WBEC South) and the AEO microbusiness champion – corporate supplier diversity award (AEO) to name a few. 
         His commitment to diverse suppliers are further demonstrated through his work with other agencies that are committed to the growth and expansion of small businesses. Some of the organizations that Frederick is affiliated with are:
 
• South Regions Minority Supplier Development Council, Board of Directors, director
• Goodwork Network, Board of Directors, secretary
• Edison Electric Institute, supplier diversity executive leadership task force
• Regional Loan Corporation, Board of Directors, secretary
• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors
 
Caitlin Cain – World Trade Center, CEO
         Cain is a certified economic developer and urban planner. She has more than 15 years of experience in governmental/organizational leadership and in working with nonprofits and public-private partnerships on a variety of policy, economic development and complex project management initiatives.
         Cain currently serves as the CEO of the World Trade Center of New Orleans, where she works to champion international trade and economic development initiatives throughout Louisiana.
         Her previous experience includes a federal appointed term as the regional advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, covering Region VI, which includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Throughout this tenure, Cain worked to amplify the voice of small businesses and advocate for policy and regulatory change to federal agencies and the White House; she also works on forging numerous public-private partnerships in a variety of economic sectors.
 

Register to attend the Hispanic Business Conference And Trade Show here

 

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