General Mills Named to BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine’s 40 Best Companies for Diversity

BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine recently named General Mills to the 40 Best Companies for Diversity list for the third consecutive year.

“We’re thrilled to be honored by BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity,” said Ken Charles, General Mills vice president of Diversity and Inclusion. “This award reflects our commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives. to strengthen our global competiveness, drive innovation, and recruit and retain the best talent.”

To select the 40 Best Companies for Diversity, BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine surveyed CEOs and diversity executives of the top-grossing 1,000 publicly traded companies and the 50 leading global companies with significant U.S. operations. The survey focused on participation of African-Americans and other ethnic minority groups in four key areas: supplier diversity, senior management, board involvement and employee base.

General Mills received high marks from BLACK ENTERPRISE for its strong supplier diversity.

“A diverse roster of suppliers brings us new ideas and opportunities, resulting in tremendous value for our company,” said James Momon, manager of Supplier Diversity at General Mills. “As our Supplier Diversity efforts approach half a billion dollars in minority contracts, we can see our program translate into employment and economic development in communities of color all across the country.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE also applauded the strong representation of minorities in General Mills’ senior management.

General Mills is the only Minnesota company to be named to the list.

The full list appears in the July 2009 edition of BLACK ENTERPRISE and on the magazine’s Web site.

About General Mills
One of the world’s leading food companies, General Mills operates in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had fiscal 2009 global net sales of US$15.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales. Visit www.generalmills.com.