DiversityPlus Magazine Names Ricoh Leader Among "Best of the Best" Champions of Diversity

DiversityPlus Magazine has named Christina Morrow, director, global procurement, Ricoh USA, among the "Best of the Best" for its 15th annual 2020 Best of the Best Champion of Diversity issue. The yearly list showcases "the most dynamic and effective supplier executives" who use their position to promote diversity. To celebrate 15 years, the DiversityPlus Editorial Board looked back at past winners to identify the "Best of the Best" among them, including Morrow.
 
"Christina Morrow is a champion for diversity in every way. She always goes out of her way to include Perfect Output, LLC on any Ricoh endeavor that requires diversity spend," says Asya Evans, COO, Perfect Output, LLC. "Not only does she understand the importance of working with small diverse businesses to increase their growth, but also works to ensures that the strategies pursued by our partnership provide the customer with the greatest value. Ricoh, diverse businesses, and customers win when Christina engages in new business opportunities. No one is more deserving of this acknowledgement than Christina; she truly is among the best of the best." 
 
Morrow has earned recognition from DiversityPlus five times, and this is her second consecutive year as a Champion of Diversity. For the "Best of the Best," DiversityPlus reached out to past Champions for updates on their strategies, initiatives and challenges. The editorial board selected 34 leaders from among hundreds of past winners.
 
"In the decade-and-a-half we have been doing this, we have seen a lot of truly impressive leaders go above and beyond to bring diverse small businesses into the fold, elevating their voices while materially supporting their businesses," said Paul Lachhu, Editor, DiversityPlus Magazine. "Christina Morrow at Ricoh has distinguished herself as a standout, even when compared with some of the most dedicated promoters of supplier diversity in the world. One reason she keeps making our list – and is now part of our 'Best of the Best' – is her dedication to building lasting, collaborative partnerships with suppliers, developing high-touch relationships where suppliers know they can work with Morrow and Ricoh to solve anything business throws at them."
 
Morrow relies on a variety of best practices, which include linking outcomes to business objectives and developing and maintaining a database of diverse suppliers, created through proactive outreach at industry networking events, both in person and virtual, making herself a resource for sales opportunities. Through her efforts, Ricoh formalized a policy that every request for proposals (RFP) process must include at least one diverse supplier, and she collaborates with business unit stakeholders to help ensure continued growth in customer contracting opportunities for diverse suppliers.
 
"At Ricoh, we appreciate the importance of diversity," said Donna Venable, Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Deputy General Manager, Shared Services, Ricoh Americas and Deputy General Manager, Human Resources Division, Ricoh Company, Ltd. "By bringing in more perspectives, being more inclusive and empowering more people to be part of the value we bring, we can address a wider array of issues and uncover new, innovative approaches. Christina Morrow understands the importance of diversity and inclusion, and Ricoh is fortunate to have such a passionate advocate in her role."
 
The "Best of the Best" list in the Champions of Diversity issue will be featured in DiversityPlus's print and digital editions for its September/October issue.