Over the next few days I’ll be in Chicago for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo – the country’s premier business conference and networking event for African American entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and professionals. As Dell’s Entrepreneur in Residence, I’ll be taking in a host of informative sessions, high-powered speakers including broadcaster, author and The Smiley Group CEO Tavis Smiley, and chat with some of the 1,500 entrepreneurs in attendance. There will be a Dell booth on site with an exciting lineup of products to share, including our new Ultrabook, the XPS 13.
A number of our executives will be involved in panel sessions at the conference including:
- Dell’s Lauren Kramer-Dover, Global Executive Director, Strategy & Corporate Development, Dell Inc. who will be speaking on a panel titled, “Merger Ahead: The Art of Strategic Partnerships & Mergers and Acquisitions” on Thursday, May 24th from 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
- Dell Regional Sales Director Tommie McFerren will also be speaking at the conference on a panel titled, “No Store? No Problem! The Virtual Seller” on Friday, May 25th, from 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. where he’ll be talking about supplier diversity and selling through Dell.
And finally, our very own Mel Parker, Vice President and General Manager—Consumer, Small Office and Member Loyalty—North America, will also be providing remarks at the Dell Sponsored BE100’s Dinner where the Black Enterprise Companies of the Year will be announced.
We are thrilled to be partnering up with Black Enterprise for this event but our relationship extends beyond the conference. This spring, we launched Black Enterprise Small Business University Powered by Dell, an eight-week, online video course offering expert advice to entrepreneurs looking to start and grow profitable small businesses. It’s not too late to join – classes go through the end of June. Learn more here.
For those of you who will be joining us this week at the Black Enterprise Conference + Expo, I’ll be giving away a Dell Vostro laptop onsite so keep an eye on my Twitter handle @OntheroadwithIV for how to win! And if you aren’t able to join us in person, I’ll be posting updates and video content there throughout the event to keep you in the loop on all the excitement here in Chicago.