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May, 16 2024

About NAMC's 2024 Symposium

This year’s Symposium will feature panel discussions on the largest regional construction projects, education, and one-on-one business matchmaker meetings between corporate leaders in the construction space and the region’s top general contractors and developers with the region’s top minority-owned firms in the construction industry.

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Gale Klappa

Executive Chairman, WEC Energy Group

NAMC WI's 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Gale Klappa is executive chairman of WEC Energy Group.

Based in Milwaukee, WEC Energy Group is one of the nation’s premier energy companies, serving nearly 4.7 million electric and natural gas customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

Klappa has more than 40 years of experience working in the public utility industry, and more than 25 years at the senior executive level. With his extensive experience, Klappa leads the company and board with a deep understanding of the investment decisions and public policy issues facing large public companies.

Klappa joined Wisconsin Energy as president in April 2003. He was elected to the company’s board of directors in December 2003. From May 2004, Klappa served as chairman and chief executive officer of Wisconsin Energy and We Energies. Under his leadership, the company successfully completed its 2015 acquisition of Integrys Energy Group, at which time he assumed those same roles for WEC Energy Group.

Klappa served as non-executive chairman of WEC Energy Group after retiring as CEO in May 2016. In October 2017, Klappa resumed the role of chairman and chief executive officer to provide leadership and continuity following a medical setback that sidelined his successor.

Prior to joining the company, Klappa held executive leadership roles at Southern Company, a public utility holding company based in Atlanta serving the southeastern United States. He served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Klappa also was chief strategic officer at Southern Company, North American group president of Southern Energy Inc., and president and CEO of South Western Electricity — Southern Company’s electric distribution utility in the United Kingdom. Before his assignment in the U.K., he was senior vice president of marketing for Georgia Power, Southern Company’s largest subsidiary.

Klappa is a 1972 graduate cum laude of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM), with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications.

Klappa is a member of the board of directors of Associated Banc-Corp. He is co-chair of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development initiative, and serves on the UWM School of Business Advisory Council. In addition, Klappa owns a minority interest in the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association franchise.

Klappa previously served as a member of the board of directors for Joy Global Inc. from 2006 to 2017 and Badger Meter Inc. from 2010 to 2023. He also was chairman of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) from 2007 to 2009 and continued to serve on the Executive Committee through 2023.

He served as a director of the Edison Electric Institute for more than a decade and was a trustee for the Electric Power Research Institute from 2008 to 2015. He served as chairman of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited from 2007 to 2010.

Klappa also has served in a number of leadership roles for organizations creating a brighter future for our communities. From 2006 to 2010, Klappa served on the board of directors of United Way of Greater Milwaukee and from 2010 to 2016, he was a director of the United Performing Arts Fund. He also was a member of the board of trustees of the Medical College of Wisconsin from 2006 to 2016.

Cavalier Johnson

Mayor of Milwaukee

Mayor Cavalier Johnson took office as Acting Mayor of the City of Milwaukee in late 2021 and set out immediately to build a safer city. He has prioritized violence reduction, economic development, and roadway safety. Before taking on his role as Acting Mayor, Johnson served as Common Council President while representing the city’s 2nd Aldermanic District.

In April of 2022, Mayor Johnson was elected as the forty-fifth chief executive of the City of Milwaukee, winning with more than seventy percent of the vote. He is the first Black Mayor elected in the city and only the fourth elected mayor in the past sixty-two years.

Mayor Johnson’s commitment to public service began at an early age when he was selected by the YMCA to participate in a pre-college program for low-income Milwaukee Public School students. That program, Sponsor-A-Scholar, instilled in him a passion to make Milwaukee better for future generations.

Mayor Johnson was born on November 5th, 1986, in the 53206 zip code of Milwaukee. Growing up, his family moved frequently until middle school. Mayor Johnson attended a different Milwaukee Public School almost every year. He has seen violence, evictions, and food insecurity — challenges common in urban poverty. He brings that lived experience to his work as Mayor.

After graduating from Bay View High School, Mayor Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and returned home to work for the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB), now Employ Milwaukee. His focus included working with at-risk youth, youth entering the workforce for the first time, and adults retooling to enter the workforce.

Before his election as Alderman, he served as a staff assistant in the Mayor’s Office, where he worked with community and faith leaders to find creative solutions to pressing issues facing families.

Mayor Johnson remains deeply committed to the community, having served on the boards of the Milwaukee YMCA, ACLU-Wisconsin and Milwaukee Community Brainstorming Conference.

He and his wife, Dominique, have one son and twin daughters and live in the Near West Side Neighborhood of Milwaukee.

David Crowley

Milwaukee County Executive

As a lifelong Milwaukee resident, County Executive David Crowley knows as well as anyone that Milwaukee County is truly a tale of two counties. He has lived the pain and struggle that many in our communities face every day, and he knows the joy of bringing people together to conquer those struggles. The fundamental tenet of Executive Crowley’s administration is to build bridges to bring people together, not walls that keep them apart.

Sworn into office in May of 2020, David became the youngest county executive in the history of Milwaukee County and the first Black leader elected to serve in the role. Since being sworn in, County Executive David Crowley led the implementation of the first county-wide strategic plan in 20 years, focusing the County on a vision of achieving racial equity and by doing so becoming the healthiest county in the state. Under his leadership, Milwaukee County has diversified positions at the cabinet department level as well as boards and commissions. In addition, he has also streamlined government to improve access and quality of services for residents.

Growing up in a working-class family in Milwaukee’s 53206 neighborhood, David was no stranger to hardship. As a child, David’s family moved frequently, often as a result of evictions. He lived in a home with multiple family members who suffered from mental illness and drug addiction, and saw first-hand the impact that these issues have on our community. This is personal to David.

David credits the Milwaukee youth organization Urban Underground for saving his life. He found a support network and a community of people that cared about him, and helped guide him to public service.

While still in high school, David served as a community justice coordinator with Urban Underground, giving him his start in community organizing. He joined AmeriCorps when he turned 18, and worked with several other community organizations including Project Return, Safe & Sound Inc., and COA Youth and Family Centers.

His passion for service and supporting community organization continued as an adult. David is a member of numerous community organizations including the ACLU, Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals and the Milwaukee NAACP. He attended Bay View High School, UW-Milwaukee, and currently lives in Milwaukee with his wife, Ericka, and his three young daughters.

Ugo Nwagbaraocha

President - Diamond Discs International

President of Diamond Discs International, a premiere Accredited supplier of construction tools specializing in quality diamond-edged cutting blades, core bits and small power tool items.

A local graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee majoring in Political Science with a Law Studies Option. Executively managed in the construction industry for over 14 years as Division Sales Manager, General Manager and Director of Sales for several national wholesalers of industrial tools.

Demonstrated track record of rapid growth in the total volume of sales with nationwide wholesalers of industrial tooling. Identified and facilitated the compilation of larger customer bases through the integration of diverse marketing strategies which allowed the companies to form long-term mutually beneficial business relationships with different aspects of the industry. Exhibited unique ability to motivate, train and develop new and existing business units comprised of sales representatives, due to acclaimed diligence and integrity.

Director of Sales for Diamond Discs for several years before becoming the President of the organization. Diamond Discs is proud to be the largest, fully certified minority-owned wholesaler of construction tools in the local area. Our goal is to continue our company motto of providing "Value - Trust - No Headaches" to all of our business relationships in the construction industry, internationally, nationally and to now continue our success here in the local market.

Specialties: New Market Business Development, P & L Budget Responsibility, Management/ Corporate Strategic Planning, Key Account Development, Turnaround/ Growth Management Mandate, Training Sales Representatives, Market Research, Product Education, Marketing Strategy, Implementation of Sales Techniques,

Diamond Discs International is the premiere supplier of quality diamond-edged cutting tools. We offer a comprehensive line of diamond products including masonry saw blades, concrete saw blades, tile saw blades, core bits, and granite fabrication tools. Our experienced account executives, complimented with technical support and customer service staff, are well trained to provide instant follow up support. We also provide nationwide next day delivery options and same day delivery options to local job sites.

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Symposium Sponsors

Sponsor The Event

Thank you for your interest in sponsoring NAMC WI's 2024 Symposium. Below you can select your sponsorship level and join our incredibly diverse team of contracting industry experts as we move forward together.

Utility Sponsor $5,000:

• Logo on all Speaker and Panel Backgrounds

• Fourteen (14) Tickets for attendees

• Logo displayed on all marketing materials throughout the Event

• Company Promotional Video Marketing option circulating throughout breaks

• Full Page digital PowerPoint advertisement during the program

• Electronic marketing with approved company logo on Registration platform

• Brief Company Welcome or Introduction from the podium

• Exhibitor Table

• Matchmaker Table (Company Title only)

High Energy Networking Sponsor $3,500:

• As a Networking Sponsor- Logo on all materials promoting and during the Steel Networking Reception

• Eight (8) Tickets for attendees

• Logo displayed on Run-of-Show Program

• Half Page Digital PowerPoint Advertisement to be aired during afternoon program

• Electronic marketing with approved company logo on Registration platform

• Exhibitor Table

• Matchmaker Table (Company Title only)

Electric Sponsor $2,500:

• Logo displayed on screen throughout the event
• Six (6) Tickets for attendees

• Electronic marketing with approved company logo on Registration platform

• Exhibitor Table
• Matchmaker Table (Company Title only)

Gas Sponsor $1,500:

• Four (4) Tickets for attendees

• Electronic marketing with approved company logo on Registration platform

• Exhibitor Table
• Matchmaker Table (Company Title only)

DBE / MBE Exhibitor $500: (Sign up BELOW in the Exhibitor Sign Up Section)

• Exhibitor Table

• (2) Registrations

Select your sponsorship level below:

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May 16, 2024

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Become an Exhibitor

Thank you for your interest in sponsoring NAMC WI's 2024 Symposium! As an Exhibitor, you can promote your business, learn about business opportunities, or share resources with attendees. Below you can select your exhibitor level below and share your expertise with our incredibly diverse team of contracting experts in attendance.

DBE / MBE Exhibitor $500:

• Exhibitor Table

• (2) Registrations

Become an Exhibitor Today!

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