Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance’s (MFHA) Cultural Intelligence Symposium is a one day conference to be held on April 9th, 2013, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. It is designed for MFHA members and supporters who want to advance their company’s culture and inclusion initiatives. This event will help participants learn how to build and increase their cultural intelligence and apply it in the workplace.

Cultural Intelligence is defined as having the knowledge, skills and insights necessary to effectively engage people from different cultural backgrounds to deliver better business results. Real life scenarios will be explored and relevant best practice solutions will be shared by the industry’s top performing companies, including: Darden, McDonald’s, Sodexo and General Mills. Attendees will also have an opportunity to actively engage best in class diversity leaders in problem solving dialogs. Program highlights will include the launch of MFHA’s newly developed Cultural Intelligence E-learning products.

Presenters include:

• Kenneth Charles, vice president of Diversity & Inclusion, General Mills
• Lourdes Diaz, vice president, Diversity Relations, Sodexo
• Gerald Fernandez, president, MFHA
• Jose Gomez, principal, Multicultural Solutions, LLC
• Shawne Howell, senior consultant, Marketing Strategies
• Gus Viano, director of Diversity Outreach & Brand Management, McDonald's
• Isaias Zamarripa, director of Diversity & Inclusion, Darden

Register Today! Symposium attendees will receive a discount to the second and third day of the Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity (April 10 & 11). MFHA’s Cultural Intelligence Experience will help attendees better understand their multicultural audiences and how to effectively engage them to maximize results. The event will be hosted by MFHA and Johnson & Wales University on Friday, April 19, 2013 from 9:00AM to 3:30PM on the Johnson & Wales University North Miami Campus.

Leadership and management teams, in today’s markets, must build their “Cultural IQ” if they want to grow and lead diverse teams while delivering great business results. Multicultural employees respond to leadership that respects and understands their unique cultural needs. Consequently, companies and organizations who develop culturally proficient talent will gain competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.

MFHA’s Cultural Intelligence Experience will help attendees:

• Coach and develop multicultural employees
• Increase cross-cultural communication within the workplace
• Improve team results among cross-cultural groups

Presenters include:

• Pepper Miller, president, The Hunter Miller Group, Author of What’s Black About it? Insights to, Increase Your Share of A Changing African-American Market
• Jose Gomez, founder and President, Multicultural Solutions, LLC
• Claire L. Tse, M.A., principal and senior consultant, Tse Solutions, LLC, Author of The SOLVE Communication Method: Working Out of the Bamboo Box