Ugo Nwagbaraocha points to his parents as the models for his eventual success in business and in life in general. His parents emigrated to Milwaukee from Nigeria more than 50 years ago, raising a family and earning nursing and doctorate of education degrees.
“My parents had a global perspective and demonstrated and established for me the importance of family, education, hard work ethic and paying it forward,” he said. “There is a civic and global business perspective imperative to pay it forward.”
Those goals are important pillars to Nwagbaraocha’s work as president of Diamond Discs International. Based in Milwaukee, Diamond Discs International is a national wholesaler of construction tools, handheld power tools and safety equipment, and it maintains one of the region’s largest inventories of professional-grade, concrete-cutting, diamond-edged cutting tools.
Nwagbaraocha said that from an early age he dedicated himself to becoming a business leader to make a positive impact on the community and beyond.
“I fully understood the journey of succeeding as equally and/or more important than simply the outcome of success as a destination,” he said. “When I earned mid-level managerial positions at small equipment distribution companies, I learned how to properly align the organization on a successful path with gradual and consistent successful progress.
“Success and money are the natural by-products of successful actions. Focus on the actions and achievement of progress. Once I honed the success as a journey, coupled with the values instilled with the upbringing of my parents, my entrepreneurial path was clear.”
Nwagbaraocha made a long-term investment in Milwaukee, purchasing and renovating a facility and setting up the new global headquarters of Diamond Discs International in the city. His community work extends to roles with other organizations in the region as well, including serving as president and vice president of the National Association of Minority Contractors-Wisconsin. Nwagbaraocha was the keynote speaker on the importance of supplier diversity at the third annual Advocate Aurora Health Planning, Design & Construction Supplier Diversity Symposium. He was a founding member of the executive committee and steering council for Scale Up Milwaukee, which helps companies grow.
Nwagbaraocha has received numerous awards through the years, including the following, within just the last five years2021 Newsmakers of the Year Award from The Daily Reporter; 2021 BizTimes Notable Minority Executive Award; 2020 U.S. Small Business Administration Business Champion Award; 2020 North Central Minority Supplier Development Council Supplier of the Year Award; 2020 U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Champion Award; 2018 Wisconsin Law Journal and The Daily Reporter’s Diversity in Business Award; 2018 Madison 365 Black Power List — State of Wisconsin’s Most Influential African Americans.
