Executive Speeches

Remarks of Eugene W. Zeltmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority, at the NYPA Purchasing Exchange for Minority- and Women-owned Businesses, White Plains, New York

June 17, 2004

It’s a pleasure to be here at this year’s purchasing exchange.

This is the 14th consecutive year that the Power Authority has played host to this event. John Robinson and the National Minority Business Council helped us get it off the ground—and, John, it’s great to see you here again today.

I think it’s clear that the exchange has been beneficial for everyone.

The way I see it, celebrating diversity means creating a culture of inclusion. That, of course, is in keeping with our country’s highest principles. And—on a less lofty level—it makes good business sense for those looking to expand their options for dealing with some highly qualified suppliers.

At the Power Authority, we’ve found that minority- and women-owned business enterprises—or MWBEs—often bring new ideas and insights that larger companies may overlook. These suppliers also tend to exert a laser-like focus on meeting our needs. For an organization as demanding as ours, that’s no easy task.

This annual purchasing exchange is a key part of the Authority’s Supplier Diversity Program. And the accomplishments of just the past year underscore the program’s impact.

In 2003, nearly 10 percent of the Power Authority’s total expenditures for goods and services went to minority- and women-owned firms—either directly or to those serving as subcontractors. That represented nearly $23 million for items ranging from computer equipment to chemicals to consulting services.

A large part of this business was tied to the new 500-megawatt power plant we’re building on the site of our existing Poletti project in New York City. This will be one of the cleanest and most-efficient power plants in the city’s history. Beyond that—it’s created some great new opportunities for minority- and women-owned companies.

The Authority includes subcontracting goals for MWBEs in primary contracts that exceed certain amounts. And the new power plant is just about the biggest thing we have going right now. We’re hoping that the total value of MWBE subcontracts will come to about $30 million by the time construction is completed next year.

We also have some positive news on the financial services front. Last year, two minority-owned investment banking firms—Blaylock and Partners and the Redwood Security Group—bought and sold nearly $520 million worth of securities for the Power Authority. That accounted for nearly 30 percent of our total securities transactions for the year.

Our recent successes continue a longstanding Power Authority commitment to creating and expanding opportunities for MWBEs to do business with us. And I know that for many of you, the woman who personifies that commitment is Debra White, who runs our supplier diversity program.

Last month, Professional Women in Construction presented Debby its Public Service Award for her crucial role in spearheading more than $380 million worth of business dealings between NYPA and minority- and women-owned firms over the past 20 years. All of us at the Power Authority shared the pride in this award. But—like others we’ve won for our Supplier Diversity Program—it’s reminded us of how much more we want to do.

We’re always looking for ways to make more minority and women business owners aware of the program, to let them know what our needs are, to learn about their capabilities and to facilitate their participation.

These exchanges—as we’ve long since found—are great means of doing that. They’ve been so effective that we’ve conducted upstate versions in Utica and Buffalo for the past two years. We hope to make the upstate exchange an annual event and to bring it to different cities.

There’s no question, though, that the White Plains event will continue as a vital centerpiece of our supplier diversity efforts.

At one time or another today, we expect that representatives of more than 200 MWBEs will be in this room—along with people from the Power Authority and other government agencies and businesses who can make excellent use of their products and services. This has all the makings of a dynamic marketplace—of free enterprise at its best.

I wish all of you a very successful and rewarding afternoon.  And thanks very much for being with us.