Chairman's Newsletter: August 2022
In this news
Greetings WWT family & friends,
I pray this Chairman's Newsletter finds everyone well and enjoying the summer. It is hard to believe the fall season is just a few weeks away!
I would like to congratulate all members of the Word Wide Technology family for once again being recognized as one of the top 100 Great Places To Work by FORTUNE magazine and by Great Place to Work®. Each of you continues to foster our commitment to having the best possible and inclusive culture for everyone.
Our commitment to our core values (THE PATH — trust, humility, embracing change, passion, attitude, team player, honesty, and integrity) remains at the heart of our success.
Scripture reminds us of the importance of grace ("My grace is sufficient for you," 2 Corinthians 12:9). Any organization with thousands of employees is bound to have many varying opinions among its ranks. WWT is no different in this regard, but what does make a huge difference is the grace and compassion we show to one another and the value we place on diversity of thought. We foster a culture that embraces and encourages the uniqueness of every individual.
Thank you for showing grace to your coworkers amidst our differences and for your dedication to making WWT a great place to work for all!
More racing in St. Louis
On August 20, World Wide Technology Raceway will welcome the sixth annual Bommarito Automotive Group 500 INDYCAR Series. In partnership with the raceway, WWT was pleased to present 195 raffle winners with a pair of tickets to the race!
Congratulations to all of the winners, and if your entry was not pulled for free tickets, you can purchase tickets here and receive a 20 percent discount using the code WWT20. This code is also valid for discount tickets to the NHRA Midwest Nationals, which is returning to World Wide Technology Raceway September 30 through October 2.
As part of our commitment to advancing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), we are excited to see STEM Lane return to the track, where WWT will once again demonstrate innovative augmented reality (AR) technology for attendees.
HITEC at GHQ
In July, WWT hosted the 2022 HITEC Summer Leadership Summit at our global headquarters. HITEC is the premier global executive leadership organization of senior Hispanic business and technology executives and the summit was its first in-person event since the beginning of the pandemic. I was honored to kick off the conference along with my good friend and HITEC Chairman Guillermo Diaz, Jr.
Together, we welcomed 150 Hispanic technology executives from across the country, with hundreds joining us virtually from around the world. WWT's own Rick Pina served as the emcee and the event included conversations with WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh, CTO Mike Taylor and various leaders from WWT and other sponsor organizations.
The summit focused on leadership, and sessions connected individuals and organizations for personal growth and business impact. One of the highlights for attendees was a visit to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, where everyone received a special Redbird jersey with Cardaneles in place of where the Cardinals name appears in the front. A special thank you to our Hispanic Employee Resource Group, HEARD, whose members played a key role in coordinating the summit.
WWT Championship at Mayakoba
Speaking of very special events, WWT is pleased to once again partner with the PGA Tour as the title sponsor for the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. This year's tournament will run from October 31 through November 6 at El Camaleón Golf Club in beautiful Riviera Maya, Mexico.
The tournament will feature a number of thought-provoking keynotes on topics most important to our partners and clients — diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability and working toward a cleaner planet, and cybersecurity and defense, just to name a few. Participants will be excited to hear from Jim Kavanaugh as he hosts a beach-side panel discussion with Sequoia Capital Partner Carl Eschenbach, Workday co-founder and CEO Aneel Bhusri and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. There will also be a series of dinners that will discuss strategies that can solve for critical industry challenges with technology.
Additionally, we are excited to support the local community through various outreach and educational activities as we continue the tradition of making a positive impact.
And of course, there will be world-class golf on display amid the stunning backdrop of the Riviera Maya.
Global Citizen Festival
I am thrilled to share that WWT is again acting as a campaign partner for Global Citizen and its Global Citizen Festival, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. The event will bring together some of the world's most popular musical artists, government leaders, philanthropists and corporate citizens to rally around defeating poverty, demanding equity and defending the planet.
Stay tuned for ways in which you can engage with Global Citizen and WWT content to win prizes.
Vendor diversity and supply chain
Happening the same week as the WWT Championship in Mayakoba is another very important event: the National Minority Supplier Development Council's (NMSDC) annual conference, which will be hosted in New Orleans and will celebrate the organization's 50th anniversary.
I am ecstatic to be serving as a keynote speaker at the conference as we celebrate a truly a remarkable milestone for a very important organization and partner.
The theme of this year's conference is "It's time to disrupt our own status quo." I am pleased that we recently caught up with NMSDC CEO Ying McGuire to talk about the importance of supplier diversity and what NMSDC has in store for the next 50 years. Give the Q&A article a read by clicking here.
Ying speaks about the need to convert thought leadership into action and I could not agree more, which is why I am so proud of WWT's Supplier Diversity program. We created the program long ago and it is rooted in the same foundation as the rest of our business (core values, vision and mission).
Supplier diversity not only enables WWT business growth, it is an engine for economic growth nationally and globally. Supplier diversity is of incredible importance to our future success and something the WWT Board addresses regularly.
We recently discussed the indispensable nature of having a diverse group of suppliers with WWT Board member Priscilla Hill-Ardoin. A true friend of mine and WWT's, Priscilla also discusses WWT's performance during the pandemic and what she sees taking place in the marketplace.
I am happy to present her Q&A in an article here.
Conclusion
As always, I am pleased to share with you the devotion from our July board meeting, Seeing Beyond. I continue to be filled with gratitude for each member of our board and their commitment to serve our WWT family, community and world.
As I close, I would like to share with you some exciting work my son, Dave II, is involved in. His award-winning studio, Lion Forge Animation, is partnering with HBO Max and Cartoon Network to bring to the screen Iyanu: Child of Wonder.
This new series will be an adaptation of the popular graphic novel and will follow the lead character as she uses her superpowers to save her people from a curse threatening to destroy humanity.
You can read more about this exciting new animated series here.
Lastly, I would like to thank the many tremendous guest artists and guest speakers who have honored us with inspirational music and messages on the WWT Family & Friends Prayer Calls.
Since January of this year, we have welcomed such outstanding musical guests as Cece Winans, Bebe Winans and Hope Darst, to name just a few. We have also been blessed by encouraging and thought-provoking messages by our very own Steven Bender and Rick Pina, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, world-renowned Bishop TD Jakes and so many other wonderful speakers.
If you have not yet taken the opportunity to join these optional bi-weekly calls, I invite you to take a break from your day and tune in at wwtprayer.com. You can also listen to any previously recorded messages here. Thank you to the incredible team who coordinates these very special times of fellowship!
In addition to the WWT Family & Friends Prayer Calls, please remember that you have incredible resources available to you through Biblical Business Training. For information on joining an existing Bible Study or starting a group of your own, please visit b-b-t.org.
If you have prayer requests, please submit them to prayer@wwt.com. We have a team of faithful prayer partners who consider it an honor and privilege to lift you in prayer.
I pray God will continue to bless and protect you and your precious families.
God bless,
Dave