After more than seven years as CEO of Freeland Construction Co. in North Charleston, South Carolina, Kenneth Canty was concerned about continuing to grow his business.

A general contractor and civil engineer, Canty says, “Running a successful business comes with a lot of pressure and, as we’ve grown, the pressure and competition have rapidly increased. I have a lot of people depending on me, and I didn’t want to handcuff my company.”

So Canty turned to the CEO Academy, a yearlong intensive executive leadership program for minority business owners entirely sponsored by Wells Fargo.

The Wells Fargo program, created with the Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council in 2015, brought together executives from small and medium-sized minority-owned businesses for meetings and coaching sessions with business experts and consultants to address common challenges, establish strategic readiness plans, and identify growth opportunities.

Wells Fargo supported the CEO Academy as part of the company’s commitment to building relationships within diverse communities; developing certified minority-owned business enterprises; and supporting growing businesses. The company supports similar programs in six other states in support of more than 70 minority business leaders. As part of Wells Fargo’s Corporate Social Responsibility goals, the company plans to increase the percentage of Wells Fargo’s procurable budget spent with certified diverse suppliers to 15 percent. In 2015, Wells Fargo spent 12.2 percent, or $1.2 billion, with certified diverse suppliers.

“Our support for capacity-building initiatives within the diverse business community will help us reach our goal and ensure that

diverse suppliers can deliver the products and services needed by corporate purchasers like Wells Fargo,” says Regina Heyward, head of Supplier Diversity.

Helping everyone grow together

The CEO Academy, led by executive coach Melissa Nixon, included sessions on company culture, building the right team, competing for contracts, and preparing for new contracts.

Nixon says, “Many small or diverse businesses don’t win contracts and never know why. Wells Fargo’s investment provides direction to help them successfully compete for those contracts.”

The Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, a nonprofit that promotes and supports certified minority-owned businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, held a ceremony for the program’s six graduates earlier this year. Carolinas West Regional President Kendall Alley joined the ceremony to discuss Wells Fargo’s support for small business.

“We are proud to support the council and the great work they are doing,” noted Alley. “We know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, both at the local and national levels. When small businesses succeed, we all succeed.”

Kevin Thomas, who leads Thomas Enterprises, a transportation and logistics company with nearly 50 employees, says the CEO Academy provided an opportunity to learn from others and think strategically about the future of his company. “We may work in different industries, but minority CEOs have many of the same problems,” Thomas says. “Through the CEO Academy, I’ve learned the importance of taking a step back to implement change with a focus on the big picture — and I believe that we’ll see real gains for our customers and their customers because of it.”

He concludes, “We’re all trying to return value to the marketplace, and this is about helping everyone grow together.”

At CEO Academy, minority executives get down to business

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At the CEO Academy graduation: Surendra Vemugunta (left) of an information technology firm; Ryan Burkett of a marketing firm; Ana Sai of a training firm; Thomas; and Canty.

Supplier Diversity