La-Z-Boy Joins Ascend National Cohort as a Partner, in Collaboration with The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, and the University of Washington Foster School of Business
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2023
La-Z-Boy is the newest partner supporting the National Cohort. Ascend's National Cohort is engaging businesses owned by people of color in a seven-month program to help accelerate their growth. The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, the University of Washington Foster School of Business in Seattle, and two other business schools lead this work in unity. This support means that twenty (20) more businesses will be selected for this program which includes:
Consulting services from EY and RSM
MBA student engagement
The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington offer executive education.
For business owners interested in learning more about this program, see the website: ascendcities.com/cohort. The application will open on May 31, 2023.
Dave Bergman, VP of Procurement & Global Sourcing, said, “At La-Z-Boy, we live by our values and believe in the transformational power of comfort. Our partnership with Ascend, its leading business education institutions, and corporate supporters are key elements of our comprehensive supplier inclusion program, which enables us to offer meaningful supplier development tools to promising diverse suppliers.”
“We’re excited to partner with La-Z-Boy as we share a common commitment to increasing opportunities for businesses owned by people of color to be successful in performing as trusted and valued suppliers and contractors. The partnership that we announce today, will benefit small and mid-sized businesses and La-Z-Boy through the growth of businesses that deliver sustainable comfort and the highest quality,” said Michael Verchot, Ascend National Lead and Director of the Consulting and Business Development Center at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
“At The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, we believe that building and maintaining a diverse supply base both stimulates innovative thinking and encourages the exchange of ideas. Through management education and cooperation with our internal and external partners, such as La-Z-Boy, we develop and grow our diverse suppliers by building capabilities and expanding procurement channels. These partnerships support positive economic impact in the communities we live and serve,” says Dr. James Hill, Chair of the Department of Operations and Business Analytics and Associate Professor of Operations.
Ascend's network has worked across 13 cities to support businesses owned by people of color through contracting opportunities with local corporations, universities, and hospitals. Now, Ascend is turning its attention to contracting opportunities in the national and global corporate sector by launching the Ascend National Cohort to grow the competitiveness of people of color-owned businesses that are suppliers to corporations, including JPMorgan Chase, EY, The Boeing Company, T-Mobile, and others.
Press Contact:
Martha Flores Perez
Marketing & Communications at Ascend
About La-Z-Boy
La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the world’s leading residential furniture producers, marketing furniture for every room of the home. The Wholesale segment includes England, La-Z-Boy, American Drew®, Hammary®, and Kincaid®. The company-owned Retail segment includes 167 of the 346 La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores. Joybird is an e-commerce retailer and manufacturer of upholstered furniture.
The corporation’s branded distribution network is dedicated to selling La-Z-Boy Incorporated products and brands, and includes 346 stand-alone La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores and 519 independent Comfort Studio® locations, in addition to in-store gallery programs for the company’s Kincaid and England operating units. Additional information is available at http://www.la-z-boy.com/.
About Ascend:
Ascend began in Seattle in 2016 as an initiative from the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business' Center for Business Development & Consulting. Businesses owned by people of color have used Ascend's program to add $2.3 billion in new contract revenue in the last two years. JPMorgan Chase has provided financial, strategic, and implementation assistance to grow Ascend's impact.
The program has expanded thanks to funding from JP Morgan Chase. It continues working in cities nationally, adding the next phase with the Ascend National Cohort. Ascend is a national network of local ecosystems joining forces to best support businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color. Ascend comprises 13 cities plus the Ascend National Cohort and supports businesses through its M3 Model. This model helps enterprises increase their access to markets through contracting opportunities, management skills through mentoring, and access to money through loans and investments. Through June 2022, Ascend has supported 1,153 businesses and helped businesses acquire 319 contracts. Between 2019 and 2021, Ascend has helped more than 80 minority-owned businesses grow beyond the $1 million revenue level, 20 beyond the $5 million level, and eight beyond the $10 million level.
