As the Procurement Outreach Partner at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY) for over four years Navin Persaud has been responsible for procurement, supplier diversity and facilities management in the Corporate Real Estate department.
Navin’s primary role is to support the procurement function, which includes supplier diversity initiatives under the pillars of governance, internal and external outreach, and education. In this role, Navin serves as a trusted adviser to the various business areas to ensure that policy requirements are met and procurement opportunities are provided to diverse suppliers whenever possible. Navin also partners with external organizations to promote the FHLBNY Supplier Diversity Program.
In addition to Navin’s role at FHLBNY, he has served as the President of the Institute for Supply Management in New York and as the Director of Supplier Diversity. Navin was awarded the “Champion for Industry” award by Thomas Net in 2020 for his work in Supplier Diversity.
Previously, Navin worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also in the procurement department, where he developed his passion for promoting Supplier Diversity.
What does AAPI Heritage Month mean to Navin?
It is commendable to be able to celebrate AAPI Heritage month as part of the larger Supplier Diversity initiative. It is also equally important to be able to recognize the contributions of AAPI businesses and the positive impact on organizations and the American economy as a whole.
AAPI businesses have been making great strides in bringing diverse perspectives, different cultures and business practices to organizations to enhance efficiency, promote cultural tolerance and acceptance, and to drive overall progress in advancing Supplier Diversity.
It is in this spirit that I would like to encourage AAPI businesses to continue to deliver on commitments, be innovative and to prove to organizations that Supplier Diversity is a true success, as Lamar Alexander puts it: “We are the only country in the world that has taken people from so many different backgrounds, which is a great achievement by itself, but an even greater achievement is that we have turned all of that variety and diversity into unity.”