Hall of Fame
Michigan Business Hall of Fame
As a leading force in business development for over 45 years, MMSDC is proud to be the home of the Michigan Business Hall of Fame. We established this initiative to honor iconic Michiganders whose contributions have helped shape Michigan’s economy and empowered communities that have historically faced barriers to opportunity.
This prestigious honor recognizes individuals who have made a transformational impact on business growth and equity in the state. Honorees include visionary entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, public officials, and community champions whose work has created meaningful and lasting change.
The Hall of Fame accepts nominations annually and is open to any native or current resident of Michigan—living or deceased—who has made significant contributions to advancing equitable business opportunity in the state. Business and civic leaders across Michigan submit nominations, and a panel of judges selects each year’s inductees.
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James Bos
James Bos, before his retirement, most recently served as Vice President of Global Procurement, for Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. In this role, he was responsible for leading all purchasing activities on a global basis with a total spend of $7.5 billion. -
Jim Roberts
Jim is the CEO of Jim Roberts Enterprises LLC, a management consulting company, and the CEO of Jim Roberts Investment Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisory company. He is also co-owner of the Lake Company LLC, a commercial real estate company. Prior to starting his first company, Jim was a Managing Director for CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest commercial real estate company. At CB Richard Ellis he had over 3,000 people working for him in 52 countries and was responsible for an annual budget of $500 million. -
Sylvester L. Hester
Sylvester L. Hester is the President and CEO of LM Manufacturing, LLC and also currently serves as the Chairman of GAA Manufacturing. At LM-Manufacturing, Hester is responsible for leveraging his significant expertise and experience in logistics, supply chain management, operations and business development. He has a proven track record of successfully forming, leading and growing businesses in the demanding, exacting and most times punitive auto industry. -
Louis E. James
Louis E. James is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SEEL, LLC (Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics). He is renowned for his exceptional business acumen and transformative leadership. Born in Starkville, Mississippi, and a Vietnam War veteran, Louis holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Mississippi Valley State University. His entrepreneurial journey began in the 1970s when he established multiple grocery and convenience stores in Chicago. He later acquired Morrilton Plastic Products and TTO, Inc. In 2007, he founded MCL Jasco, Inc., which now comprises five subsidiary companies operating across various states and industries, including energy, automotive, supply chain management, and agriculture. His flagship company, SEEL, LLC, is a key part of this diverse portfolio. Louis is also a committed philanthropist and has been named the 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year for Michigan and Northwest Ohio by EY. He is also nominated for the 2024 Gandhi Award for Global Justice. Louis has been married to Dr. Pamela James for over 50 years, and they have two daughters and two grandchildren.
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David Burnley Sr.
David is President and CEO of the Devon Group which is comprised of Devon Contracting, a general contractor and precast installer and Devon Industrial Group, a specialist in construction management and special projects, and is co-owner of Tri-Tec a 100% minority owned engineering, project management and integration services company. For the last 18 years, Devon Group has been in partnership with Walbridge, one of the largest construction companies in the United States. Clients are inclusive of, but not limited to, Toyota, Ford, General Motors, FCA, Honda, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Detroit Public Schools. -
Gene Tabor
Gene Tabor is the Principal of Tabor Automotive Consulting, focusing on Supplier Development and Strategic Supply Chain Management. Tabor Automotive has focused on supporting Diverse Suppliers and their relationships with their customers and potential customers. Mr. Tabor was in Automotive Purchasing for 37 years. He joined Toyota in 1987. He was General Manager of Purchasing of Toyota North America Purchasing for 19 years. -
Carla Walker Miller
Carla Walker-Miller is the Founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services (Walker-Miller), a 22-year-old values driven, B Corp certified company that changes lives through energy. Her high performing firm’s efforts in energy efficiency and clean energy help decrease the energy burdens on local families and businesses, create sustainable jobs, diversify local energy workforces, and position small business owners to become sustainable suppliers in the clean energy economy. -
Leon Richardson
Leon C. Richardson is the Founder, President and CEO of The Chemico Group, the largest minority-owned, veteran-owned chemical management and distribution company in the U.S., which celebrated 33 years in business in 2022. A passionate champion for MBE development, Richardson serves as a NMSDC Board member and served on the MMSDC Board for 15+ years. He chaired MMSDC’s Minority Business Input Committee overseeing expansion initiatives for 1,200 MBEs in the state.
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Suzanne Shanks
Suzanne Shank is President, CEO and a co-founder of Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC, a full-service investment banking firm offering debt and equity origination services to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies and debt underwriting for municipal clients nationally. -
John A. James
John A. James has been a businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist in Detroit for over 50 years. Married to his wife of 43 years, Sharon James, he is father to John, Lorron, and Keri James and the proud grandfather of 5 boys. -
Jimmy Settles
As Vice-President Settles has worked in a myriad of responsibilities including leading negotiations at the State of Michigan, American Axle, Mitsubishi Motors North America in Bloomington, Ill., Boeing, Spirit Aerosystems, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Health Alliance Plan. In 2011 Settles led the negotiations with Ford Motor Company that had the potential to be a powder keg. Settles decision to use social media to help members have input and get information in a rapid manner turned out to be a bold and instrumental in getting to a deal. -
Frank Venegas
An MMSDC Luminary Award Recipient, NMSDC, and MMSDC selected Frank Venegas and Ideal Group companies for their national 2020 MBE of the Year Award and past MBE Supplier of the Year Awards.
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Hall of Fame Legends
This year’s Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame class is larger than the typical class and is focused on corporate titans who literally changed the game and created quantifiable, sustainable results. Now more than 20 years since some of these leaders have been in position, MMSDC still works with the MBEs they directly and indirectly created and sustained. This class also includes both new inductees as well as a few former Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame inductees that were re-introduced as MMSDC tells the larger story of these 10 individuals that literally created game-changing results in supplier diversity. -
Tony Brown
In August 2013, Tony retired as group vice president of purchasing at Ford Motor Co., where he was instrumental in the company’s turnaround on the brink of bankruptcy. In this position,Tony managed approximately $90 billion of production and non-production goods and services for operations worldwide. Tony is best known for his work during the auto crisis, when Ford mortgaged nearly everything, including the Blue Oval, to avoid bankruptcy. He launched a secret initiative called Project Quark, through which Ford worked with Toyota Motor Corp. to prop up the struggling supply base. -
Thomas Sidlik
Thomas Sidlik’s almost fifty-year career in the automotive industry began at Ford Motor Company and continued at Chrysler at the start of Lee Iacocca’s leadership there. He held various leadership positions in Finance, Engineering, Sales & Marketing, Quality, Procurement & Supply and became a Member of the Management Board of DaimlerChrysler AG. -
Renaldo (Ray) Jensen
Jensen has won every award given to individuals by the Minority Supplier Development Council. Jensen wants his legacy to be that he showed people that they can be effective while being creditable and honest. -
John Barth
John Barth also offered his extensive business and leadership experience as a member of several boards, including Adient, as well as Vice Chairman of the MMBDC Board of Directors, and Chairman of NMSDC. Among his many accolades, John has been named Best CEO, and received awards from Milwaukee NAACP, Milwaukee Urban League, and NMSDC. -
Jethro Joseph
Jethro Joseph is a familiar face in the industry as well as in local and national Supplier Diversity circles. Mr. Joseph served as a member of the Board of Directors of; National Minority Supplier Development Council, Diversity Information Resources, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC), The Business Consortium Fund (BCF), Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (MHCC), Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR), Chrysler’s African American Network (CAAN). Mr. Joseph currently serves as a member of the board of the Native American Business Alliance (NABA), Morris Brown College National Alumni Association, Health Alliance Plan and Hartford Memorial Baptist Church. He is a member of the Michigan Association of CPAs and Detroit Inter-Alumni Council – United Negro College Fund. -
J. David Allen
While at GM Mr. Allen championed joint ventures and strategic alliances between minority suppliers and GM’s Tier 1 suppliers. GM increased their spend with minority suppliers in 1999 from $2.2 Billion to an unprecedented $4.0 Billion in 2001. In the same year GM Tier 1 suppliers procured an additional $1.1 Billion from minority suppliers. He credits GM, Harold Kutner, Vice President, and his Purchasing Group as well as the Supplier Diversity Staff, for helping support, implement and achieve these record setting minority purchasing goals. -
Harold Kutner
Harold R. Kutner worked at General Motors as head of procurement departments in many GM locations. His last position was Group Vice President of Worldwide Purchasing and Production Control. In this position, Harold oversaw the procurement of goods and services over billions of dollars with a passion for helping minority and women businesses enter and succeed in supplying goods and services to General Motors. -
Carlos Mazzorin
His first job at Ford was as a purchasing procurement analyst. He climbed the ranks in a series of purchasing assignments, rising to vice president of global purchasing, a responsibility he retained when he later was named group vice president for South American Operations and subsequently Asia Pacific Operations in November 2001. -
Burt Jordan
Burt Jordan is Ford’s Vice President, Global Vehicle & Indirect Purchasing and Supply Chain Sustainability, effective October 1, 2017. He is responsible for global body exterior, body interior, chassis and electrical systems procurement, along with all global indirect purchasing and supplier diversity development. In this role he is responsible for approximately $90 Billion. Jordan reports to Hau Thai-Tang, Ford Executive Vice President, Product Development and Purchasing. -
Robert (Bob) Rossiter
Bob fostered a culture of industry leading customer service, continuous improvement, the highest level of integrity and support of the communities where Lear does business. These core values are the foundation of Lear’s rich culture that continue to guide Lear today.
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Tony Brown
In August 2013, Tony retired as group vice president of purchasing at Ford Motor Co., where he was instrumental in the company’s turnaround on the brink of bankruptcy. In this position,Tony managed approximately $90 billion of production and non-production goods and services for operations worldwide. -
Burt Jordan
Burt Jordan is Ford’s Vice President, Global Vehicle & Indirect Purchasing and Supply Chain Sustainability, effective October 1, 2017. He is responsible for global body exterior, body interior, chassis and electrical systems procurement, along with all global indirect purchasing and supplier diversity development. In this role he is responsible for approximately $90 Billion. Jordan reports to Hau Thai-Tang, Ford Executive Vice President, Product Development and Purchasing. -
Scott Kunselman
Mr. Kunselman’s automotive career lead him through increasingly responsible positions in Powertrain, Chassis, Interior, and Vehicle Development leading to one of his most satisfying roles as the Chief Engineer of Ram trucks in 2004 where he started the design process of the award winning new Ram, which he launched in 2008 as the Vice President – Jeep And Truck Product Team. -
Dan Knott
Dan Knott was a champion for the minority supplier and pushed for opportunities for them. This was considered a bold move, one that was heralded and echoed throughout other manufacturing suppliers. He did it all while facing terminal cancer. Check out His video to get a full understanding of the impact he truly had on minority suppliers. Scott Kunselman was considered a futurist and ahead of his time when it came to diversity in a product driven world. To get a full grasp of why Scott won an Ace award check out his video as well.
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Carmen Munoz
Carmen Munoz never took no as an answer. She started her own manufacturing company earning $40 million in sales. She as a minority changed her neighborhood by hiring at risk kids and gang members. She was a trailblazer for women, Hispanics, and minorities alike. Hear Carmen’s whole story when you check out her Ace award video. -
Jethro Joseph
Jethro Jospeh learned at a young age how to overcome failure when he watched carefully how his father conducted his wood fuel business. He later joined the Chrysler Corporation and things began to take off from there. See and hear Jethro’s story of why he became a Ace award hall of fame inductee. -
Joe Anderson
Joseph B. Anderson, Jr. has been claimed to be one of the most humblest but yet accomplished individuals in his field. His mission statement and legacy statement has been minority, entrepreneur, business development. Starting Tag Holdings, LLC. Joseph has been able to help other minority business owners build their companies by selling off some of his. Watch His video to getting a full understanding of this Ace award inductees story.
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Dr. William F. Pickard
Dr. William Pickard, Chairman of the Global Automotive Alliance, is the epitome of an entrepreneur. With his blend of business acumen, ingenuity, and charisma, Dr. Pickard cemented himself as a visionary and as one of the most connected men in Michigan. Through his many business ventures, Dr. Pickard opened new gateways for minority entrepreneurs and helped lay the groundwork for MBEs in the automotive industry. The Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council is proud to induct Dr. William F. Pickard into the Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame. -
Andra Rush
Over the course of 33 years, Ms. Rush has grown her company to be one of the largest and most successful minority- and woman-owned businesses in the country, spanning multiple enterprises and joint ventures that generate over $2 billion in annual revenue. In acknowledgment of her significant contributions to minority entrepreneurship and local communities, the MMSDC is honored to induct Ms. Rush into the Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame.
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Ron Hall, Sr.
The Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC) is proud to induct Mr. Ronald Hall, Sr. into the Minority Business Hall of Fame. The MMSDC would not be as renowned of an organization as it is today without Mr. Hall’s unfailing dedication to the success of the Council and the minority business community. -
Hank Aguirre
Because he was an extraordinary community and business leader who leveraged his diverse talents to benefit the community he loved, it is fitting that Mr. Aguirre is remembered and honored by being inducted into the Michigan Minority Business Hall of Fame. The MMSDC’s induction ceremony will be held during its annual ACE Awards on Oct. 6th at the Detroit Marriott in the Renaissance Center.
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