SPECIAL REPORT MAKING STRIDES IN DIVERSITY
Mel Parker Vice President and General Manager, North America
small business and home office di- vision for North America, Mel Parker takes his role with Dell very seriously. Since joining the compa- ny in 2009, Parker has worked on changing the message and dynam- ics about small business, “We de- cided to put the customer as the center of everything, to stop treat- ing the customer as a transaction and start treating the customer as a relationship.” By establishing inti- mate relationships with these cus- tomers, the company has not only returned to growth with this key business segment but also started receiving some of the highest cus- tomer satisfactions scores in recent years.
A Prior to joining Dell, Mel Parker
served as Vice President of North American Sales and Marketing with the Newell Rubbermaid Office Products Division. With over 19 year of experience in operations, sales and marketing, with companies such Corporate Express/ Staples, Bristol Myers-Squibb and PepsiCo, Parker quickly re- focused Dell’s business initiative. “Customers demand that you understand and talk to them in the manner they wish, as well as, understand their business model,” states Parker about working with diverse customers, “When discussing small business, you have a significant part of small businesses that are an important part of demographics that play into diversity. Tapping into the power of Diversity is how we develop our strategy and initiatives for small business. We want to be able to deliver knowledge, products and services to our core cus- tomers that connects to the spectrum they do business in.” As part of Mel Parker’s goals with Dell, he is working dili-
gently on establishing intimate relationships along diverse channels to make sure that they are in the right places that businesses find important, “I want them to know that we are focused on the diversity demographics so that we become an IT company for them.” Dell is changing and accelerating their footprint in the diverse community; The Supplier Diversity program has been elevated to the senior executive level and receives a lot of visibility. “Our shareholders require us to
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Consumer, Small and Home Office, DELL, Inc. make good business decisions and be good stewards of their shares and of their investment in us,” says Parker about Dell being a publically traded company. He adds, “We can do that and still do the right thing when it comes to diversity because there is a very solid, clear and evi- dent business case when you are ap- proaching the business in the right way.” Parker’s focus on keeping the customer as the center of Dell’s fo- cus has helped the company achieve new heights. His focus has been to better understand and be able to talk to the customer in a very direct manner which diversely correlates to them.
s Vice President and General Manager of the consumer
Dell is a fast paced environment,
Parker credits his team to making the job a fascinating and exciting workplace, “They are all very ener- gized, talented and committed peo- ple who are willing to deliver re- sults that focus on helping our customers Grow and Thrive.” Mel Parker belongs to an employee re-
source group called BRIDGE, a program within Dell’s overall Global Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Within this group, Parker enjoys participating in the Boys and Girls Club and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Apart from work, Parker and his wife volunteer at food kitchens and with Meals on Wheels. Parker enjoys taking time to support organiza- tions because he feels that he can “never do enough and give enough time to leave a footprint and impact the community.” Mel Parker is a decorated combat veteran and graduate of
the U.S. Army Ranger and Airborne School. He served with distinction in the 82nd Airborne division at Ft. Bragg N.C. Parker has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Minor in Electrical Engineering from U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
About Dell: As the visionary outcome of a true entrepre-
neur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. For more information, visit
www.dell.com.
www.blackeoejournal.com The Black E.O.E. Journal
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