Byron Witherspoon

Byron Witherspoon is director of Supplier Diversity where he oversees the inclusion of diverse suppliers across the enterprise.

Witherspoon came to Ameren with more than 12 years of experience, developing and executing Civil Rights/Supplier Diversity programs designed to provide meaningful contract opportunity for diverse vendors. Witherspoon directed the Supplier Diversity Program of the St. Louis Regional Public Transit Provider, Metro. He was also responsible for implementing the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program for Metro and has worked in similar capacity with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the St. Louis Lambert Airport Authority (SLAA). Byron has trained other agencies' staff in the successful implementation of its DBE program components.

Believing in the importance of supporting a diverse workforce, he has provided life skill coaching to individuals enrolled in pre-apprenticeship programs who were interested in the construction trades. Witherspoon is also directly responsible for the implementation of the local “Construction Career Day,” where 500 high school juniors and seniors are exposed to hands-on demonstrations of many construction trades. To date, more than 1,500 high school juniors and seniors have participated in this event. Witherspoon has also served as a business leader for the St. Louis Public Schools “Career Pathfinders” and the “Men of Tomorrow’s” program and on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Board.

Witherspoon, a St. Louis native, earned a bachelor of science degree from Southeast Missouri State University and a master's in public policy administration from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Witherspoon is the recipient of the Diversity Excellence and Advocacy Diversity Champion Award by the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers (SLCCC).

Currently, Witherspoon is actively involved in the Edison Electrical Institute's Supplier Diversity Taskforce, the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. He is also a member of the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers Diversity Committee.