Patriarch Partners' Portfolio Company Rand McNally Receives Women's Business Enterprise National Certification

SKOKIE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rand McNally, the iconic map, direction and travel content provider has received national certification as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women's Business Development Center-Chicago Certification Committee, a regional certifying partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

“We are pleased to receive this important certification by WBENC and we are honored to be a part of this great organization that promotes and fosters growth for women-owned businesses”

"We are pleased to receive this important certification by WBENC and we are honored to be a part of this great organization that promotes and fosters growth for women-owned businesses," said Lynn Tilton, founder and CEO of Patriarch Partners, whose investment funds are majority owners of Rand McNally. "We look forward to building a more expansive relationship with WBENC as we certify more of our portfolio companies and build our own diversity programs within our businesses, creating a network of depth and breadth."

“The Women’s Business Development Center is thrilled that Rand McNally, under the leadership of Lynn Tilton, is now a certified Women’s Business Enterprise,” said Hedy Ratner, Co-President of the Women’s Business Development Center. “We know that the many Fortune 500 corporations committed to providing opportunities for women-owned businesses will benefit from Rand McNally receiving this important designation.”

WBENC's national standard of certification implemented by the Women’s Business Development Center-Chicago Certification Committee is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and a site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women. According to the WBENC, by including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.

About Rand McNally:

Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally's products and services include: Interactive travel service, Tripology; America’s #1 Road Atlas; IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; TruckPC mobile communication solutions for transportation; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today’s world. www.RandMcNally.com

About Patriarch Partners, LLC:

Patriarch Partners, LLC, is a private equity firm and holding company managing 74 companies with annual revenues of more than $8 billion. Founded by Wall Street veteran Lynn Tilton in 2000, Patriarch is dedicated to saving American manufacturing jobs by saving American companies that have fallen from economic favor. Since its inception, Patriarch has bought more than 150 companies, and in so doing has saved over 250,000 jobs. Patriarch’s portfolio includes a broad range of industrial concerns including Dura Automotive, American LaFrance, Denali, and MD Helicopters, in addition to iconic American brands such as Rand McNally, Spiegel Catalogs and Stila Cosmetics. Under Ms. Tilton's leadership, Patriarch has become the largest woman-owned business in America employing more than 120,000 employees. For more information, please visit: www.patriarchpartners.com.

About WBENC:

The Women's Business Enterprise National Council is the nation's largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC's certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs. www.wbenc.org/.