The MATLET Group CEO Speaks at Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council Event

Gary Stiffler, president and CEO of The MATLET Group, discussed "Winning Insights on How to do Business with Large Corporations" during a panel discussion in Purchase, N.Y. on March 26. The event was part of a series developed by the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council's (GNEMSDC), a non-profit agency of national and local major corporations.

The event was hosted at the corporate headquarters of PepsiCo, a corporate member of the GNEMSDC, as part of the company's ongoing efforts to expand its supplier diversity initiatives. The GNEMSDC speaker series is designed to provide minority businesses with essential information to successfully compete for business at corporate member companies of the council. Stiffler is currently serving a two-year term as chair on the Council's Minority Business Input committee.

Stiffler was selected to speak on the panel for the unique perspective he has acquired as a 30-year printing industry veteran and former executive at World Color and Quebecor World. The MATLET Group, which he has led since 2005, is a mid-sized company that serves many large corporations and owns companies Central Florida Press and Packaging Graphics. His experience of what these companies require of their suppliers, coupled with his keen understanding of the decision making process at large companies, made him an ideal panel contributor.

"I thought it was a lively and knowledgeable session on how small, minority-owned companies can develop and nurture relationships with Fortune 100 companies," Stiffler said. "It's important to focus on specialty when presenting to large companies, especially when you take into consideration the long sales cycle and a larger company's risk tolerance.

"Our panel provided solid insight on a number of topics. Besides the risk management and risk mitigation issues, the panel talked about the use of participating on corporate advisory boards to help with relationship building. Developing creative partnerships with other companies helps increase capacity to take on large bids, and effective sales strategies are absolutely critical in order to maintain cash flow while working through those long sales cycles. We also urged the audience to focus communications around their company's specialty—what they do best—and the need for a strong Internet presence that includes social media," he explained.