The CU Grow Vendor Development program hosted its third procurement event of 2019, convening the programs’ alumni and vendor participants, other procurement staff, and partner organizations to discuss potential contracting opportunities. Procurement events provide a space for minority-, women- and locally owned (MWL) businesses to network with representatives from Columbia University Facilities & Operations leadership and to discuss business opportunities.
Presenters at this event included:
- Allan Suarez, CU Grow Alumni, discussed the opportunities that Columbia University has given his company after graduating from CU Grow. He enrolled in the Columbia Community Business Program, a two-year MBA program for entrepreneurs.
- Rich Bova, director of residential services, Tak Eng, senior engineer of Plant Engineering and Utilities Operations, and Tom O’Donnell, executive director of Manhattanville Operations, gave an overview of their departments and the contracting and procurement opportunities they oversee.
- Jocelyn Nager, Esq., president of Frank, Frank, Goldstein, & Nager, presented on debt management and managing the collection of debt, as well as provided the vendors with excellent tips on how to build processes to sustain a healthy cash flow for their business.
