Five
Forward is a strategic initiative that enlists the commitment of
CEOs of mid- to large-sized corporations in the Chicago metropolitan
area to establish or expand business relationships with five current
and/or new local minority firms. The initiative is designed to build
a stronger regional economy and minority businesses of scale.
Empirical
evidence indicates that MBEs disproportionately tend to locate within
and hire from areas with higher percentages of minority residents.
The enhanced flow of money to the region improves the property tax
base, increases employment and earnings, ignites business activity
and creates the multiplier effects of local firms and residents
spending dollars with other local firms.
Five Forward will feature MBe-Source
, a web-based resource to provide major
corporations access to information on the top 100+ minority firms
located in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and
Will. Conversely, it will provide minority firms of scale the opportunity
to illustrate capacity, core competencies, industries served and
success stories.
Professional
Services Model
Supporting
Five Forward, Chicago United’s Professional Services Model (PSM):
A Business Management Tool for Large Corporations to Address the
Problem of Limited Utilization of Minority Professional Service
Firms is designed for companies who have minority supplier
development programs currently in place and expert staff that can
easily adapt our practices to their existing program to aid in expanding
their current initiatives to include minority professional service
firms.
Chicago
United’s Five Forward and Members Skogsbergh, DeSantiago and Wedgeworth
featured on Chicago Tonight on WTTW
WTTW’s Chicago Tonight show featured Chicago United,
the Five Forward Initiative and Chicago United members Mike DeSantiago
of Primera Engineers, Chicago United Chairman Jim Skogsbergh of
Advocate Health Care and Pam Wedgeworth of Wedgeworth Communications
on Wednesday, June 18, 2008.
WLS-TV
ABC 7 News Views Show
Broadcast Date: May 18, 2008
The momentum around the Chicago United Five Forward Initiative continues
as M. Bridget Reidy, Chief Supply Officer of Exelon's Business Services
Company, and Al Grace, Jr., co-founder and President of Loop Capital
Markets, discuss Five Forward. Five Forward is a strategic initiative
that enlists the commitment of CEOs of mid- to large-sized corporations
in the Chicago metropolitan area to establish or expand business
relationships with five current and/or new local minority firms.
The initiative is designed to build a stronger regional economy
and minority businesses of scale.