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Fall 2008

Wachovia Executive Derek CanteyContributes Context and Strategy to

Create Supplier Diversity ResultsBy Edward Cates

“Derek Cantey is a valued leader and resourceto our team. He has the wisdom that comesfrom laying the foundation of Wachovia’s ini-tial supplier diversity approach, the vision topush for continuous improvement, and passionto create results.” - Sonya Dukes, SVP Direc-tor of Corporate Supplier DiversityWhen the vision of equal access to career

opportunities in corporate America works,

leadership and passion are combined to create

leaders that impact change and long-term suc-

cess. Wachovia executive Derek Cantey repre-

sents the aforementioned unique combination

with supply chain expertise and a passion for

supplier diversity and development.

As Senior Vice President and Senior Business

Manager for Corporate Supplier Diversity

(CSD), Derek has been with Wachovia for 20

years based in Charlotte, NC. During his

career he has been through a field of mergers

and acquisitions as his predecessor employer

First Union grew into the national franchise

that is now known nationwide in 22 states as

the banking goliath Wachovia.

“Supplier diversity was initially a a grassroots

effort at the companythat was initially man-

aged by our Community Development Group.

As our bank continued to expand was growing

through acquisitions, the company developed a

business case for diversity and formalized its

efforts to strengthen the minority and women-

owned business efforts in the communities we

serve so was our realization that this had to be

more than a community effort and had to have

a business case,” said Derek.

Derek was a career supply chain and procure-

ment specialist and was tapped to get involved

in building the business case for supplier diver-

sity at Wachovia. His early work pushed to

gain the support of Corporate Real Estate, a

line of business that had viable procurement

opportunities for qualified suppliers. With

every merger and acquisition there were

rebranding projects and contract opportunities

available for qualified suppliers. After not get-

ting much traction initially, he found executive

sponsorship at the top of the house in Bob

Bertges, Director of Corporate Real Estate,

was very supportive of the company’s Supplier

Diversity efforts..

“Bob really understood why we needed to

include diverse suppliers as part of our pro-

curement effortsin these opportunities and

served as a primary champion that helped us

develop a comprehensive programform what it

would look like. With his support and leader-

ship, he helped us get CEO level engagement

and commitment to supplier diversity”

On July 9, 2008 Robert Steel was named the

new CEO of Wachovia and he has reinforced

the commitment to supplier diversity from the

top. Wachovia ’s has grown their annual spend-

ing with Minority and Women Business Enter-

prises from $10-15 million to over $350 mil-

lion in 2007. Wachovia’s evolution in supplier

diversity continues today with new leadership

and a centralized strategic approach toward

developing businesses. Earlier in the year

Wachovia combined the two teams to create a

centralized approach toward integrating suppli-

er diversity and development enterprise wide-

throughout the company.

“Derek Cantey is a valued leader and resource

to our team. He has the wisdom that comes

from laying the foundation of Wachovia’s ini-

tial supplier diversity approach, the vision to

push for continuous improvement, and passion

to create results,” said Sonya Dukes, Senior

Vice President and Director of Corporate Sup-

plier Diversity.

Derek leads the strategic management team

within CSD responsible for identifying

Wachovia sourcing opportunities by working

between the various lines of business and sup-

pliers. Under Derek’s leadership, a team of

strategic business managers consults with

Global Supply Chain commodity representa-

tives to match spending opportunities with

diverse suppliers.

“We also interface with various community

groups and organizations. We work with those

organizations to communicate where we are

going with our commitment to the growth of

the community and the relationship,” adds

Cantey.

There’s a saying in the financial service indus-

try that the only constant is change due to the

nature of the industry and history for mergers

and acquisitions. Derek’s passion and commit-

ment to diversity has been a constant through

change and has created a legacy that has

impacted affected countless diverse suppliers

and the diversity strategy at one of the largest

financial institutions in the country.

“Bringing the right supplier relationships to

Wachovia means a great deal to me. I’ve

worked to build relationships with suppliers by

telling them the truth and creating an open dia-

logue between them and Wachovia,” said

Derek humbly about his contributions. “Seeing

suppliers that I have worked with years ago

still doing business with us today as customers

and suppliers makes me feel good. When I

leave I will have helped suppliers create

longevity in this organization and that’s a lega-

cy I’m proud of.”

At Wachovia, we believe that the success of our organization — and our communities —

depends on providing opportunities for Minority/Women Business Enterprises (M/WBEs).

Since 2002, Wachovia has spent more than $1.5 billion in partnering with M/WBEs in

an array of areas and industries, and it is our pledge to increase our sourceable spend

with M/WBEs.

Our promise is to sponsor programs and share resources that enable M/WBEs to

grow through education and awareness, partnership development, and measurement

and accountability.

©2008 Wachovia Corporation 083948

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