WASHINGTON and NORTH SMITHFIELD – Cheryl W. Snead, the president and CEO of North Smithfield-based Banneker Industries Inc., will receive top honors from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the D.C.-based group said today.

She is one of 14 individuals the trade group will honor as its 2009 Women’s Business Enterprise Stars – a designation the WBENC describes as “the nation’s premier award for excellence among women’s business enterprises (WBEs).”

“Cheryl illustrates this country’s vital ability to build successful businesses,” said Linda Denny, the WBENC’s president and CEO. “Her strategic vision, business acumen and sheer talent combine to meet the complex needs of corporate clients and propel our economy forward.”

Snead was selected by the nonprofit Center for Women & Enterprise, a skill-building and business-development organization that also conducts certification of WBEs in the six-state New England region on behalf of the Washington-based trade group.

“I am honored to be recognized by CWE and to serve on WBENC’s National Leadership Forum, giving a voice to woman-owned businesses here in the Northeast regarding policies and programs that will allow our businesses to not only sustain but thrive as we move forward into the future,” Snead said in a statement.

The founder of Banneker Industries – which she established in 1991 to fill the gap left by the collapse of Lincoln-based defense contractor Peerless Precision Inc. – Snead has garnered numerous awards for her transformation of the company from a machine shop to a supply-chain management specialist. Last year, her company was honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as its National Subcontractor of the Year. (READ MORE)

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she was the the first black woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, she worked for General Electric Co. for six years before returning to school to earn her master’s degree in business at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. She since has been awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration from Bryant University and earned a “green belt” as a Six-Sigma specialist.

Snead also serves as a corporate director of both Amica Mutual Insurance Co. and the Providence-based Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. (Nasdaq: BARI).

She and the other WBE Stars will be honored on March 26 – during a black-tie dinner and reception at the WBNEC’s annual Salute to Women’s Business Enterprises – before an audience of about 1,000 leaders from other WBEs and the corporate, government and nonprofit communities. The ceremony also will honor America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises for 2008, the group said.

Besides the Salute to WBEs, this year’s gathering also will include a summit featuring workshops and industry meetings about the current and future needs of WBEs.

Banneker Industries Inc. – founded in 1991 – is a supply-chain management and logistics specialist based in North Smithfield, with operations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Indiana, California and Texas. To learn more about the company and its operations, visit www.banneker.com.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council – founded in 1997 – describes itself as the leading advocate for and authority on women’s business enterprises (WBEs). Besides acting as a trade group for businesses owned and operated by women, it also serves as the nation’s leading third-party certifier of WBEs. To learn more about the WBENC, or its annual Salute to Women’s Business Enterprises, visit www.wbenc.com.