John W. Murray, Jr. President Southern California Minority Business Development Council, Inc.

John W. Murray, Jr. is president and chief executive officer of the Southern California Minority Business Development Council, Inc. The council, established in 1974 – is the largest nonprofit minority business advocacy organization in the region, serving more than 1,300 African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, and Native American owned business enterprises and over 200 corporate members throughout 13 counties.

The council’s mission is to support and develop minority business enterprises to compete and succeed in the open market. It is one of 40 regional councils in the National Minority Supplier Development Council network of 3,500 major corporations, including 400 Fortune 500 corporations, and over 15,000 certified minority-owned businesses.

Murray has enjoyed a successful career in both the private and public sectors. Prior to assuming the leadership of the council in 2002, he was a senior vice president of U.S. Public Technologies, Inc., the market leader in highway and traffic safety solutions, from 1996 to 2001. Following the company’s acquisition by Affiliated Computer Services in 2001, he continued to serve the organization by leading the Traffic Safety Systems marketing programs in the Western United States. “Those were exciting and gratifying years -- growing a business that saved countless lives by making our streets and highways safer,” said Murray.

Prior to joining USPT, Murray was vice president of Jenkins Gales & Martinez (JGM), a minority-owned construction management/program management professional services firm, from 1994 to 1996. Under his leadership, JGM was awarded a $15 million contract to reconstruct California State University Northridge following the 1994 earthquake. Murray also held several senior management posts with First Nationwide Savings Bank from 1981 to 1991.

In the public sector, he has served in various posts, including legislative deputy for State Senator Nate Holden and chief of staff to Los Angeles City Councilman Robert Farrell. In 1991, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed Murray commissioner on the City of Los Angeles’ Board of Public Works. As commissioner, Murray was a strong advocate on behalf of contract opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses on public sector capital projects and, for the recruitment, retention and promotion of minority employees in the Department of Public Works.

Murray’s civic involvement includes his appointment, by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, to the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California where he has been selected as vice chairman of the board. With more than 18 million customers, MWD is the largest water agency in the United States.

Murray is Chair of the Central City Association’s Government Relations Committee, and a member of the CCA’s Executive Committee.

He served, for more than twenty years, as a personnel commissioner for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and as its chairman, overseeing the Merit System that affects more than 40,000 classified district employees.

He was a member of the Rail Construction Corporation’s board of directors, where he oversaw construction of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro Red Line and Green Line.

Murray attended Pepperdine University and California State University Dominguez Hills. He has completed advanced studies in real estate at UCLA’s graduate extension program and a 2002 graduate of the University of Southern California’s Ross Minority Program in Real Estate Finance and Development.

He and his wife, Madelyn, who is a vice president and associate director of Mellon Institutional Asset Management, reside in Los Angeles. They are the proud parents of two adult sons.