Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 - (Page 37)

Cook County than any other part of the country; we are the lead dogs,” notes Rogers, who also is the director of the Larry and Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “Obviously, we have the traditional services around landscaping and food services, but we are no longer confined to those areas. We are in every industry the Olympics touches.” But the great thing about the partnership with the Chicago Urban League, he says, is that the initiative supports firms that don’t have big-project experience. “The greatest opportunity is the construction,” he says. “We should be a part of the building of the Olympic Stadium, which will be right in the heart of the Black community.” In order to build the stadium, he says, bonds will have to be raised, and there are Black firms that can do that. The opportunities are endless. When it comes to understanding the influence an Olympics can have on a city, Chicago leaders need to look no further than Atlanta. Mike Ross, the president of MHR International, a program and construction management firm, was one of the individuals responsible for increasing the participation of minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He is proud of the final results under his watch: MWBEs received 42 percent of the architect and engineering contracts and 37 percent of the construction projects. “That had never been done before at an Olympics and has not been done since,” Ross says. “The Olympic Stadium built by H.J. Russell & Co. and C.D. Moody Construction allowed them to expand their businesses, and there’s nothing like having an Olympics for advertising your business. That gives you a tremendous amount of cache around the world. I will say our program was very successful.” Some of the Olympic structures that these Black-owned companies helped build are now used by the community, such as the new stadium for the Atlanta Braves baseball team, the football stadiums for Morris Brown College and Clark-Atlanta University and the basketball arena at Morehouse College. “There were tremendous opportunities in construction, design and engineering, but I will tell you that it is not an onthe-job training program,” Ross says. “Businesses with track records are usually the ones that are most competitive at getting the jobs in the Olympics. You have drop-dead deadlines in the Olympics. When the networks say they are going to go on the air, they will go on the air on that date.” H. Jerome Russell, president and COO of H.J. Russell, says firms need to start thinking ahead. “You have got to be prepared,” he says. “A lot of opportunities will be big opportunities.” Russell was one of the major contractors on the Centennial Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium projects. This experience paved the way for the company to build Phillips Arena, which is home to the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. “For us, it was a good experience,” Russell says. “We continued to build our résumé on experience and people with experience to be able to work on jobs.” Russell shares what paved the way for his firm’s successful Olympic experience. “We’ve got a large network here. We knew the right people early on, and it is important to know and have a relationship with the right people and make sure you are covering your basics politically so people know about your capabilities. We knew many of the decision makers who work with the Olympic committee, and we have a track record of delivering on services,” he says. Both Russell and Ross agree that Chicago’s success in securing opportunities for Black entrepreneurs will begin with Chicago 2016. “The first thing is, the organizing committee has to have diversity as an important element in the whole process,” Russell says. “I think it starts with the organizing committee of the games, which needs to have people who look like us. The whole process of bringing on suppliers and vendors for the game will be set by this Olympic Committee. The issue of diversity is one of the objectives. Get it on the ‘objectives’ list.” Adds Ross, “If the people at the top are committed, they will have it. We were fortunate to have Andrew Young on the management team and (current Mayor) Shirley Franklin serving as senior vice president. By having a commitment at the top, you are able to make sure there is a policy that encourages minorities and females and a committed staff and consultants who understand the complexity of minority and female programs and how to make sure projects are executed.” Jackson of the Chicago Urban League has secured a seat on Chicago 2016’s advocacy committee, taking the responsibility of being the advocate pushing the kinds of tools and policies that will ensure participation. “It is off to a slow start, but I am encouraged that 2016 is putting critical pieces in place and beginning to engage the community,” she says. Jackson adds that transparency is one of the critical pieces needed to encourage participation, but the challenge is that Chicago has not yet been awarded the game. She says there must be a balance of what you can do “to prepare for winning the games and how you strengthen the bid with how you can take an asset and have it be part of a winning bid. [These are] two components to ensuring benefits to the community and minority participation.” Though Jackson is juggling with this dilemma, she recognizes that the baton is in her hand, and she does not plan to drop it. Jackson will get some coaching from Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who will be the guest speaker at the Chicago Urban League’s Annual Report Luncheon Feb. 19, 2008. The topic of the luncheon is “How an Olympic Game Can Build the Urban Underserved.” Selection for the 2016 Olympics will be announced Oct. 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark. mba BlackMBA • Winter 2008/2009 37

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Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 Contents Preserving Dr. King’s Legacy: Harry E. Johnson is Six Years and $100 million into his First Fundraising Effort Online: www.nbmbaa.org and www.blackmbaonline.com Up Front: Inauguration Takes Over D.C. From the President: Connecting With the Basics The First 100 Days – Already in Progress Back to Basics: Finances 101 Is the Middle Class Disappearing? – Your View From Medals to MBA Conference Highlights Market Forces: The Job of Trying to Find a Job in a Tight Market Applying to an MBA Program?: Avoid Making these Five Critical Mistakes How They Did It: Catching up with the Winning Teams from NBMBAA’s 2008 National Case Competition Change It Up: If a New Job is at the Top of your New Year’s Resolutions, it’s Time for Careful Planning and Preparation Bull Market: Now is the Time to Take Advantage of Web 2.0 On the Move: Member News, Promotions and More Backstage at BET: NBMBAA’s Leadership Institute Takes on BET’s Case for Growth Toronto Rising: NBMBAA’s Toronto Chapter is on a Progressive Track, Building Strong Partnerships and Exposure as Membership Climbs NBMBAA® Chapters: Find Your Local Chapter Here Do What You Love: Turning Your Passion into a Successful Business Requires Patience, Planning and Plenty of Hard Work Above and Beyond: Meet the Winners of the 2008 Wells Fargo/NBMBAA Entrepreneurial Excellence Award Decorating by Design: Michelle Rider Leaves Corporate Life for Entrepreneurship Culture Shock: Black Museums Nationwide Appeal for Greater Support from the People whose Heritage they Strive to Preserve Gear Up for 2009: Books to Herald Success in the New Year Advertiser Index: Who’s Who in the Issue

Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009

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