Carla Preston of Ford Motor Company Named Procurement Council Chair for United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Carla Preston of Ford Motor Company Named Procurement Council Chair for United
States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The United States Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) has appointed Carla Preston of the Ford Motor
Company as Chair of the Chamber's Procurement Council Advisory Board (PCAB).
 
Ms. Preston currently serves as Ford's Director for Supplier Diversity
Development, and is responsible for providing access, growth and development
to more than 400 minority-owned businesses. With Carla's help, Ford has
consistently exceeded its annual 10 percent sourcing goal with minority and
women-owned business enterprises. She is the 2007 recipient of the Society of
Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Junipero Serra Award - presented to a
person who has provided unique and outstanding contributions to the fields of
science and engineering.

Ford Motor Company is a longtime member and supporter of the USHCC and a
founding sponsor of the USHCC Foundation BizFest, an innovative and intensive
entrepreneurship program that empowers Latino youth with knowledge and insight
into the world of business. Ford is also recognized as a top-tier member of
the USHCC Million Dollar Club, which honors those corporations conducting
millions of dollars in business with Hispanic-owned businesses. It was one of
only three corporations acknowledged in 2012 for conducting more than $500
million with Hispanic Business Enterprises. The Ford Hispanic Network Employee
Resource Group (ERG) was also a finalist in the USHCC's 2012 ERG Summit &
Corporate Challenge.

In 2012, Ford Motor Company's supplier diversity development efforts were
awarded with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and
the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC) Corporation of the
Year, as well as the Women's Business Enterprise National Council's (WBENC)
listing of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises.

"Carla has been essential to USHCC's procurement efforts, and I am confident
that her skills and award-winning management record will add immeasurably to
our Advisory Board. She will be a central component in ensuring that the
diversity of our nation's workers, consumers and investors is reflected
appropriately in the supply chain of our corporate citizens and government
agencies", says Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of the USHCC.
 
Ms. Preston works closely with the USHCC's leadership to help guide the
organization's effective development and growth. She is instrumental in
identifying strategic collaborations among the Chamber's core constituencies,
which include local chambers of commerce, national business associations,
Fortune 500 corporations and over 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses.

The USHCC's PCAB works to educate, guide and develop strategies that advance
procurement opportunities for Hispanic businesses within the private and
public sectors, as well as the prime contractor/supplier community.

About the USHCC

Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and
development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of over 3
million Hispanic-owned businesses across the United States that contribute in
excess of $465 billion to the American economy each year. It also serves as
the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers and
business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more
information, visit www.ushcc.com.
 

CONTACT: Valentina Pereda, USHCC Communications Manager
         202-735-7729
         vpereda@ushcc.com