Diversity in Baseball

In the world of professional sports, where performance matters most, Don Esposito is a top performer when it comes to developing and utilizing minority suppliers.  Don Esposito is a 21 year veteran of procurement who has been the Director of Purchasing, Construction and Maintenance for the Chicago White Sox since 1983.

Last October, Major League Baseball announced its Diverse Business Partners Program, the first comprehensive supplier diversity program within professional sports.  Many look to the Chicago White Sox as leaders in supplier diversity because of the club's success in contracting minorities for game-sensitive goods and services.  White Sox chairman,  Jerry Reinsdorf , co-chairs the Equal Opportunity Committee of the Owners, which oversees diversity within Baseball.  Although Reinsdorf is a major proponent of supplier diversity,  the job of making supplier diversity work within the White Sox organization rests largely with Don Esposito.  

Esposito has been awarding high-profile contracts to minority suppliers since 1992.  His professionalism and determination have earned him a level of success few within professional sports can match.  Minority suppliers service White Sox uniforms, provide electrical and plumbing services, supply printed materials, and much more.  

Don Esposito agreed to share his winning philosophy and approach to supplier diversity in five surprisingly simple steps.  To learn more, click on the steps in the graphic below. 

The following comments by Don Esposito have been edited.

It’s our job to go out and hire contractors to help us maintain our facility during the season and throughout the year. When we moved into the new ballpark, we had contractors who were willing to service the new facility, but we first wanted to evaluate our situation.  We wanted to see if we needed to bring in contractors who were more in tune with maintaining a modern facility.

We did some soul searching, and determined that we needed to bring everyone up to speed, both people-wise and contractor-wise.  We looked at different contractors, and brought in Hill Mechanical Corporation (a majority firm) to handle the engineering at the new ballpark.  Hill Mechanical was first among our new contractors, and our first outside engineering company.  They have done a very good job for us.  

While we were evaluating our need for contractors, we also wanted to respond to Baseball's desire to work with minority contractors.  We asked the contractor who built our new facility, Gust K. Newberg of Chicago, IL, if he knew of any minority subcontractors that might be able to help maintain the facility. We ended up talking with a few, but the fit wasn't right.

So, initially, we didn’t have any minority contractors.  For me, supplier diversity isn't just about finding minorities, it's about finding the right people who happen to be minorities.

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The following are edited comments by Don Esposito.

After a year in our new facility, we began having problems with our electrical contractor.  At the time, bidding was beginning on the new Chicago Stadium, which is now the United Center (and home of the Chicago Bulls).  I asked Terry Savarise, who is VP of Stadium Operations, to give me a list of any minority contractors he used at the Stadium who could possibly be used at our facility.  There wasn’t anyone who fit the bill, but through the process of asking, I was turned on to a gentleman who was very active in minority contracting.  That gentleman introduced me to a man by the name of Rufus Taylor, who owned Taylor Electric Company.  

I met Rufus Taylor at a dinner party in 1992, and we talked extensively.  I wanted to learn more about his company, his ideals, personal motivations, and how long he had been in the business.  I wanted to determine what he knew about electrical work, and who he had done business with.  From our discussion, I learned that Rufus Taylor was a well versed electrician, and a good person in the community.  He was exactly what I was looking for.  

I invited Taylor to bid on a contract to provide us with electrical service at Comiskey Park, not only throughout the year, but also during games.  He said he’d love to, and we continued our negotiations for a while.  

What turned the tide in Taylor Electric’s favor was the way he responded when I told him my expectations.  I said, “Rufus, you’re going to need to be better than anyone else; cost-wise, better than anyone else; and work-wise, you’re going to have to be excellent.” Rufus responded, “I would not be here if I didn’t think we could do that, and do it in a way that far exceeds your expectations.”  That was all I needed to hear.  I awarded Rufus Taylor the contract that day.        

Taylor Electric was the first minority contractor to service our new stadium.  They came on board at the end of 1992, and have serviced us ever since.  

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The following are edited comments by Don Esposito.

Our plumbing contractor had been with us for 35 years.  We felt some allegiance to him and his outfit, but they were not servicing the account the way we felt they should.  So, in 1995, I had a conversation with a fellow by the name of Jerry Roberts, who is co-owner of JSR Plumbing.  

When I first met Jerry, I wasn’t sure there would be a fit.  So, we continued with our existing contractor through 1996, even though we definitely needed to make a change.  Following our initial meeting, Jerry and I had various conversations, which eventually led to several jobs around the Stadium. We had no problems with his work, in fact, he did very well.  So I told him I thought it was time to talk about servicing the entire stadium. 

Jerry prepared some numbers, which were a little high for routine maintenance of our facility, and I told him so.  I couldn’t make a change and end up spending more money. His bid remained on my desk for a while. 

Some time later, I hosted a game night for vendors at our stadium suite, and invited Jerry Roberts. Jerry brought his wife, Sharon, and I quickly learned that she was the one who handled the contracts and the bidding.  I invited Sharon to re-submit the bid.  

Sharon matched our existing contract and I told the Roberts the contract was theirs.  The Roberts have been servicing the White Sox ever since the end of 1996.  They’ve done a very good job, and I would now recommend them to anyone in the city.  

We are fortunate.  The Roberts are community-oriented people.  They are very pro-active, and that’s what I like.  They’re the kind of people we can help, and they in turn, help us as an organization.

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The following are edited comments by Don Esposito.

New businesses are very difficult, but I’m a big advocate on giving someone a chance.  I probably take more risks than normal people would take, only because I think its good for business and good for industry.  

Most people would look at a new business and say, "Boy, they’ve got to be around for a while before I’ll give them a chance."  But my philosophy is, Why not give them a chance?  I’d rather have a new business earn their bones here, and feel as sense of obligation to the Chicago White Sox for having the opportunity to prove themselves, than to have someone come in just because they’ve been around for thirty years.  It might be just another job for the guy who’s been around for thirty years, but, someone who is given a chance to succeed, and does well, will never forget the Chicago White Sox simply because we gave them an opportunity. 

I’m willing to learn about a guy who is just starting out, and willing to let him learn with us, as long as he doesn’t hurt us in any way.  I’m willing to take those risks, because I think they are minimal.  With any contract you sign, the contractor is obligated in terms of their performance.  Most people are willing to redo anything that isn't done right the first time. To me, it’s the comfort level that one has with a contractor that really matters.

Some situations don’t work out the way you want, but you’re going to have occasional problems, even with contractors who have been in business for thirty, forty years.  

I think it’s very worthwhile to work with start-ups.

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The following are edited comments by Don Esposito.

A while back, I was trying to bring on board a minority paint contractor.  I had casually mentioned to a majority contractor that I was looking for a minority paint contractor, and he told me of one he uses.  When I met the contractor, I learned that he was a former accountant who got into the painting business because, as he says, he knew the numbers. I decided to give him a try.  He did some wallpapering for us while we were shut down between Christmas and New Years.  Unfortunately, it did not go very well. But what they did when they returned to fix the problems exceeded my expectations.  

When the contractor called to apologize, he explained that his best paper hanger and his assistant, who happens to be his second best paper hanger, were both on vacation.  He didn’t want to tell me no, so he went ahead and did the work without them.  I explained to him that those are the kinds of things he needs to communicate. I told him, "If you really don’t feel comfortable doing a job, I’d rather you tell me.  I’d rather have you not do a job, and look great in my eyes, than have you do a job, screw it up, and have you come back and do it over."  He understood.  

I really think they were trying too hard to impress me, to get something done for us.  I was willing to give them another chance based on what they did when they fixed the problems.

Developing great relationships takes time.  It's a process. The two big minority contracts at Comiskey Park, (Taylor Electric and J&S Plumbing), took time.  It took almost eight months of discussions with Rufus Taylor and, about a year and a half with Jerry Roberts.  It was a continuous, on-and-off type of situation that allowed me to feel them out, and them to feel me out.  It gave them the chance to learn our organization, and us the opportunity to learn why they wanted to be with us.

By the way, the paint contractor is Continental Painter and they are now our resident painter.  They maintain the ballpark year-round and bid on special projects.  Continental is currently painting the main concourse.  That job is part of Phase 2 Construction of Comiskey Park.  Phase 2 involves renovation of the main concourse, the club level and center field. Our relationship with Continental Painter has worked out very nicely. It just goes to prove my point about finding the right people. When you have the right people, the process is worthwhile.