Lisa Cahill – Croixstone

The Power of Women-Owned Companies and Supplier Diversity

The big picture: As a woman-owned and certified firm, two of Croixstone’s leaders (Patti Weber, CEO and Lisa Cahill, Senior Talent Leader) are joining more than 4,000 fellow participants at the annual WBENC National Conference taking place this week in Nashville. The conference is the largest event of its kind for women business owners, welcoming thousands of women entrepreneurs and corporate executives ready to make connections and do business.

A quick look back: In 2020, Croixstone celebrated a milestone moment in achieving national certification as a WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The power of women: According to Fundera, the USA has 12.3 million women-owned businesses, with 40% of all US businesses being owned by women. Businesses owned by women general $1.8 trillion a year to the US economy. Women are starting new businesses in droves – – they started a net total of 1,821 new businesses every day last year.

The benefits of supplier diversity: Croixstone actively promotes the benefits that come with robust supplier diversity programs. As Harvard Business Review shared in its August 2020 article entitled “Why You Need a Supplier Diversity Program”, there are sound commercial reasons for creating supplier diversity programs. These reasons include:

• Inclusiveness is great for innovation. Diverse suppliers bring diverse ideas, viewpoints, backgrounds and knowledge to companies.

• Inclusive procurement strategies widen the pool of potential suppliers and promotes competition in the supply base, which can improve product quality and drive down costs.

• By providing more sourcing options, inclusiveness can make supply chains more resilient and agile.

• Supplier diversity delivers numerous channels from which a business is able to acquire goods and services.

• Inclusiveness allows a business to benefit from new prospects from business growth with the rise of new customer requirements based upon shifting demographic certainties.

• The “feel good” factor associated with supplier diversity programs can also reflect positively on brands.

Yes, but: There are several common obstacles that challenge companies in building and sustaining robust supplier diversity programs. Common challenges include:

• Supplier diversity professionals find it challenging to secure cross-functional buy-in from managers and senior-level executives.

• Capacity. According to one study, 54% of corporations dedicate one staff person or less to supplier diversity.

• A lack of supplier diversity data and insights.

• Difficulties in identifying suppliers who also meet procurement criteria.

• Challenges and/or inability to verify supplier diversity claims.

Moving forward: Croixstone is committed to promoting the benefits of supplier diversity, and to helping corporate America navigate the ongoing challenges and obstacles that face corporate supplier diversity professionals.

Let’s talk: To learn more about the benefits of supplier diversity and how Croixstone can help, contact our CEO, Patti Weber, at pweber@croixstone.consulting.

Croixstone’s Lisa Cahill to Participate in ENCOUNTER Charlotte

One of Croixstone’s favorite hometown nonprofits is Leadership Charlotte. This great organization has a mission to develop and enhance volunteer community leadership by providing a diverse group of emerging and existing leaders with the opportunity to increase their community knowledge, civic network, and service to the community.

Leadership Charlotte offers two programs to fulfill its mission. The organization’s core program is “Leadership Charlotte”, a 10-month program where an average of 50 participants explore current issues with a variety of community leaders. Additionally, the organization offers a scaled-down version of its core program called “ENCOUNTER Charlotte.” This program serves as an orientation to Charlotte and to community leadership over a two-day period each spring and fall.

Croixstone’s very own Lisa Cahill (Senior Talent Leader) is participating in ENCOUNTER Charlotte’s spring 2023 program. She joins participants from a diverse portfolio of organizations across the Charlotte region including: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, Novant Health, Truist Financial, Microsoft, Grant Thornton, Bank of America, Second Harvest Food Bank, Dowd YMCA, and more.

Croixstone’s CEO, Patti Weber, and Managing Partner, Mark Weber, are past participants of ENCOUNTER Charlotte. Learn more about the organization here.

Croixstone Welcomes Lisa Cahill as Senior Talent Leader

Croixstone is excited to announce today that Lisa Cahill has joined the organization in a newly-created role as Senior Talent Leader. Cahill will design and execute recruiting strategies to attract experienced professionals for the firm’s consulting and executive search practices.

“Having known Lisa for over a decade, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome her to the Croixstone team,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “In her new role with the firm, Lisa will apply her advanced relationship-building skills to meet both our business and people objectives as Croixstone continues its national expansion.”

Cahill is an extraordinary connector who builds and nurtures long-lasting relationships that make a positive difference in the lives of people, organizations, and communities. In the early 1990s, she was among a few female pioneers recruited to join global pharmaceutical leader GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in a male-dominated sales organization. During her more than 15 years with GSK, Cahill excelled in building relationships with primary care and specialty physicians, and she served as a sales leader and district sales trainer for several divisions of the company including a new start-up division. Her success at GSK led to additional career opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry at both Abbott Laboratories and Avion Pharmaceuticals.

Additionally, Cahill spent nearly a decade in the specialty healthcare profession as a Physician Liaison for organizations including Southeast Pain and Spine Care, Carolinas Pain Institute, and Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center.

Read our Press Release here.