Curriculum Vitae
Elizabeth A. Vazquez is the President, CEO, and Co-Founder of WEConnect International, a corporate led non-profit that helps to empower women business owners to succeed in global markets. She is a serial social entrepreneur and world leader in women’s economic empowerment and global supplier diversity and inclusion.
Ms. Vazquez is the co-author of the book, Buying for Impact: How to Buy from Women and Change Our World. The book includes information on women business owners and ways to support and leverage their potential to create a more sustainable and inclusive global economy.
As the CEO of WEConnect International, Ms. Vazquez is responsible for mission delivery. WEConnect International identifies, educates, registers, and certifies women's business enterprises that are at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by one or more women, and then connects them with member buyers. The WEConnect International eNetwork supports and promotes women-owned businesses based in 100 countries, including local support in 17 countries--Australia, Brazil, Chile, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, Turkey, and the UK.
Ms. Vazquez works with many corporate leaders, including WEConnect International members with over US$1 trillion in annual purchasing power, such as: Accenture, ACT One, AIG, American Express, Anthem, Apple, Avis Budget, Barclays, BMW, BNY Mellon, Boeing, Boyner Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cargill, Chevron, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Inc., Citibank, Coca-Cola, Cummins, Inc., CRGlobal Law, Dell, Delta, Dun & Bradstreet, EcoLab, Enterprise Holdings, Estee Lauder Companies, ExxonMobil Corporation, EY, Garanti Bank, Goldman-Sachs, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hilton, IBM, Ingersoll-Rand, Intel, The Inter-America Development Bank, Interpublic Group, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson Controls, JP Morgan Chase, Knoll, Marriott, MasterCard, Merck, MetLife, Microsoft, Monsanto, Morgan Stanley, Nokia, Pacific Gas and Electric, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Roche, Royal Bank of Scotland, SAP, SDI International, Sodexo, TD Bank, TransCanada, Turkish Economy Bank, UPS, Verizon, Walmart, The Walt Disney Company, Wells Fargo, Westpac Bank and Wyndham.
Ms. Vazquez is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment along with other world leaders such as the President of the World Bank Group, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the President of Costa Rica, and the CEO of IKEA. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Cornerstone Capital Group and the Board of Trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships. She is an Advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative, a member of the International Council on Women’s Business Leadership, a W20 Representative to advance G20 commitments and the B20 SME Development Taskforce, and sits on the International Advisory Council for the Walmart Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative.
Ms. Vazquez was born in Mexico, has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Arizona State University, and in 2013 the Barrett Honors College honored her as an Inspiring Alumni for making significant contributions in her career and community. She has a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University where she studied development economics and international negotiation as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She also completed graduate seminars at Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government, the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, and Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea.