By the time Adrienne C. Trimble became the president and chief executive officer for the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) in 2018, she had received numerous accolades for her work in diversity and inclusion over her nearly 20 years at Toyota Motor North America.
From human resources manager, and then manager of supplier diversity at the firm’s engineering and manufacturing division in Kentucky, she ultimately served as general manager for diversity and inclusion and social innovation at the headquarters in Texas.
She took the skills and insights acquired from these experiences to the NMSDC. “Gaining internal top leader support is always challenging, given the numerous corporate priorities that senior leaders have to manage.
Being able to build a diversity and inclusion (D&I) process from the beginning, to achieving corporation of the year for the NMSDC and recognition in the top 25 companies for D&I by DiversityInc, among many others, were significant achievements,” she states.
Given her view that supplier diversity is part of the larger goal of economic inclusion, Trimble’s move to the NMSDC was a logical career progression. Through its 23 regional councils, the Council links its member corporations to certified minority businesses enterprises (MBEs) capable of supplying them with goods and services they need.
According to Trimble, her leadership in this regard is as rewarding professionally as it is personally. “Advocating on behalf of stronger economic inclusion for all is rewarding and lasting work. Being able to witness the direct impact of job and wealth creation and how communities are made stronger, is extremely satisfying,” she asserts.
Trimble holds a bachelor’s degree in organization management from Wilberforce University and is a trustee of the university. She takes her D&I expertise into her local community as a member of the Visit Dallas D&I Committee and the Corporate Advisory Council of the Junior League of Collin County.
Source: TNJ
