Jorge Gomez - He is his father’s son.
His dad swept floors and cut paper. Now they own the company.
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Raise your hand if you get excited about supplier diversity. No hands? I get it. I felt the same way -- until hearing Jorge Gomez’s story.
Prior to 1970, Jorge’s father, Jose, and his family lived a financially comfortable life as owners of sugar plantations in Cuba. When Fidel Castro rose to power, everything was taken from them, leaving them no choice but to build a new life for themselves.
The American dream.
Starting over in a new country is daunting, especially with a wife and a 2-year old baby to feed. After two months, Jose landed a job sweeping floors and cutting paper at Colonial Press International. He asked lots of questions and offered his help with different tasks to learn the business from the inside out. In time, he was promoted to General Manager. Eventually, he and two partners bought the company.
After graduating from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Jorge followed in his father’s footsteps. He worked in every department and learned everything he could about Colonial Press and the printing industry — just like his dad.
Eventually, Jose bought out his two partners and became the sole owner and CEO of the company before handing over the reigns to the current CEO, his son Jorge. Although he’s no longer CEO, Jose still shows up to work seven days a week. This father and son team is 100% committed to their customers.
They earned it.
Jorge and his father could not be prouder about earning the right to do business with Verizon as one of our premium printers of advertising materials. Colonial Press is a certified National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) company — the global leader in advancing business opportunities for 51% minority owned and operated U.S. businesses. The selection process requires extensive screening, interviews and site visits. Once validated, the accreditation allows smaller companies the opportunity to do business with larger corporations.
Colonial Press continued to demonstrate their passion and success by participating in Verizon's Supplier Diversity pilot mentorship program E.D.G.E. (educate, develop, enrich, grow). In the one year program, Colonial Press was mentored by Verizon executives, and completed a Verizon sponsored business management program at Tuck University for our suppliers. He graduated in September from the program and proudly states that with Verizon, his business grew over the course of twelve months more than it has ever grown before.
Sponsored success.
To ensure Colonial Press continues to meet our requirements for excellence, they are mentored by leaders in our business. Verizon sponsored Jorge’s participation in a business management program at Tuck University for our suppliers, because if our suppliers succeed, we succeed.
One day, Jorge’s children will be a part of the business. For now, they’ll focus on enjoying quality family time together. For Jorge Gomez, life’s good.
