CNN's Soledad O'Brien to Headline Women's Business Enterprise National Council 12th Annual National Conference & Business Fair Las Vegas June 21-23

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Soledad O'Brien, Anchor and Special Correspondent for CNN, will headline the Women's Business Enterprise National Council's (WBENC) 12th Annual National Conference and Business Fair – The Opportunity Connection – in Las Vegas, NV, on June 21-23, 2011.

The three-day event – the largest of its kind in the nation – is expected to convene over 3,000 corporations and women business owners seeking to acquire cutting-edge knowledge about business trends and marketplace demands that affect their industries and their companies. In 2011, WBENC will focus on topics such as WBE capacity development and the evolution of corporate supply chains in the new economy, and the US Small Business Administration's Women Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program (8M Recovery Act).

Keynote speakers include:

• Soledad O'Brien Acclaimed Special Investigations Correspondent and Host of CNN's In America Documentaries
• Tony Hsieh, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos, the online shoe and apparel company
• Annie Duke, one of the leading personalities in professional poker today  
• Karen Hough, Founder & CEO of ImprovEdge, using improvisation as an engaging learning tool for business

"Our theme The Opportunity Connection is fitting for each and all of our outstanding speakers," said Pamela Prince-Eason, President and CEO of WBENC, the leading advocate for and authority on Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs) as suppliers to the nation's major corporations.

The Host Council is Women's Business Enterprise Council-West, one of WBENC's 14 Regional Partner Organizations providing WBENC certification and a robust calendar of business and skills-building events for WBENC-certified WBEs.  Headed by Executive Director Pamela S. Williamson, Ph.D. WBEC-West reaches Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Guam.  Its Host Committee of nine WBEs –each exemplary business leaders – is headed by Chair Laurie Travis, President of LTevention, and are together working to further enhance the event reach.

High profile corporate speakers include Conference Co-Chairs:

• Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California - Vice President, Strategic Sourcing Farryn Melton, CPM speaking;
• Zorch, the contracted supplier of branded merchandise for some of the largest corporations in the world - Founder and CEO Nicole Loftus
• The Act-1 Group, a global leader in human capital solutions -  Chairman and CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd

WBENC brings together its over 10,600 WBENC Certified WBEs and its more than 240 Corporate Members, representing many of the world's most prestigious brands with the goal of generating business together.  WBENC's 14 Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) deliver WBENC's world-class certification as well as skills-building and business-generating events throughout the U.S. 

More than 350 exhibitors, including procurement decision makers from the Fortune 500, are expected to participate in the Business Fair on June 22.  The National Conference & Business Fair will be held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center.  

www.wbenc.org

SOURCE Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)