The Tuck School of Business recently announced the appointment of Fred McKinney as the managing director of its minority business programs. McKinney has worked for the past four years as the president and chief executive officer of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, a non-profit organization that dedicates itself to advancing business opportunities for certified Asian, black, Hispanic and Native American businesses.
The minority business program works to consult with minority, Native American and female entrepreneurs and business owners about how to improve, capitalize on and expand their business ventures. By completing the program, minority business owners can receive certification that helps them connect with larger corporations and investors. The program, which has been running for 35 years, has over 7,000 accredited graduates, Tuck professor and director of programs for minority-, women- and Native American-owned businesses Leonard Greenhalgh said.
“A lot of people at the College and at Tuck don’t even know about this program,” Greenhalgh said. “But it’s expanded so much throughout the years, and it’s helped so many people.”
In 2011, Greenhalgh and co-author James Lowry published a book titled “Minority Business Success: Refocusing on the American Dream,” which highlights the importance of training minority businesses owners to help them contribute to the national economy.
McKinney said that his work at GNEMSDC included both expanding minority businesses’ access to capital and increasing crucial leadership training opportunities for minority entrepreneurs.
He said that historically, there has been a trend toward minorities, especially black and Hispanic workers, leaving the labor work force to pursue their own businesses in search of better wages and conditions.
“We still see what I would say is a fairly significant lack of training and management,” McKinney said. “We want these people to have the tools and training to compete on a global sphere, and Tuck is good at providing that training.”
Greenhalgh said that he has known McKinney for more than a decade and is excited to work with someone so knowledgeable in how to train and assist minority business owners.
“When I heard he was leaving the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, I knew we had to get him,” Greenhalgh said. “We didn’t want to lose him to a place like Yale [School of Management] or any other institution.”
Minority business program development manager Paula Graves said that she is also enthusiastic about McKinney’s arrival on campus next year.
“I’m really looking forward to him bringing his perspective and his dynamic personality to our team,” she said.
Graves also said that she thinks McKinney is the ideal fit for the position due to his strong leadership skills, extensive experience and engaging personality.
“I’ve been here since the beginning of the program, and we’re always looking to move our program forward,” she said. “He can help us do that.”
According to a press release by Tuck, McKinney expanded GNEMSDC from three to 16 people during his time working at the organization.
McKinney said that he believes Tuck’s minority business program is well-run, but that it could be expanded.
“I think the program can grow in terms of the number of participants in the programs, and in the type of support from businesses and corporations, who see this program as important in the growth of minority business owners,” he said.
McKinney holds a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University, and has taught at several Northeastern colleges including Brandeis University and the University of Connecticut.
This article originally ran in print under the headline: "Tuck Schoolminority programs head appointed."
