14 Feb DW’s 50 Diversity Champions
They’re smart, savvy, and thoroughly unstoppable. Meet our favorite agents of change.
The results of the 2012 presidential election confirmed what most of us have known all along: increasingly, in the United States, minorities and women are a powerful bunch. Not only do we make up a significant voting bloc, but we hold untold billions in purchasing power and are quickly rising up the corporate leadership ladder.
In this issue, Diversity Woman honors those who are leading the charge: the diversity champions.
These 50 executive diversity leaders have pushed to make their companies more inclusive, diverse, and equitable. They have also taken the gospel of diversity and inclusion on the road. Recognized leaders in their fields, they are always eager to speak at conferences and share their knowledge and experiences.
In the process, they are transforming the workplace, making it look more and more like the true face of the United States—diverse, motivated, and willing to learn, adapt, and grow.
In the pages that follow, meet 50 people who inspire us, empower us, challenge us, and are working hard to bring greater equality, dignity, and respect to their organizations.
Kimberly Admire Adams, Vice President, Diversity, Inclusion & Equal Opportunity Programs, Lockheed Martin Since Adams joined the global security and aerospace company in 1998, she has worked her way up. Now she is charged with making sure Lockheed Martin’s 123,000 employees feel they have a fair chance to succeed. One way to get there, she believes, is by tying executive performance reviews and compensation to diversity goals. Outside of work, Adams serves on the boards of Innovate+Educate and on the American Cancer Society National Capital Region Corporate Council.
Dr. Rohini Anand, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer, Sodexo Anand has the distinction of using her expertise to make Sodexo into a company recognized for diversity and inclusion. She oversaw and implemented sweeping changes that included attaching 35 percent of an executive’s compensation to diversity goals and launching employee resource groups. Signs of progress abound. The number of women of color in leadership positions, for example, jumped 211 percent between 2003 and 2010.
Belinda Grant Anderson, Vice President, Workforce Development & Diversity, AT&T Armed with an engineering degree and an MBA, Anderson has earned her way up from Procter & Gamble’s Research and Development department to VP at AT&T. The telecommunications giant boasts a remarkably diverse workforce and C-suite: African Americans and Latinos together comprise 31 percent of employees, and 31 percent of managers are people of color.
Ken Barrett, Chief Diversity Officer, General Motors When General Motors needed to fill its first CDO post in April 2012, it turned to this retired U.S. Navy captain. He was hired for a track record that includes increasing the levels of minority and female officers and introducing work-life balance initiatives as the U.S. Navy’s diversity director. Barrett’s focus will be on global diversity, as the international market represents a significant area of opportunity for GM. The company’s goal is to leverage the demographic shifts occurring globally to find the talent needed to expand GM’s corporate reach.
Daina Chiu, Senior Vice President, Talent Management and Diversity, McKesson In 2008 Chiu was promoted from assistant general counsel at McKesson to its first chief diversity officer. She quickly established a Chairman’s Diversity Council that left no doubt top executives supported the move to formally introduce diversity and inclusion policies. A year later, employee resource groups, which work closely with business units, were launched. Now the health-care services company is focused on making sure that its executive pipeline includes diverse candidates.
Elita Rosillo-Christiansen, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion and Talent Management, AARP Rosillo-Christiansen has been charged with leading the implementation of AARP’s diversity and cultural competence initiatives into all segments of the company’s operations, including marketing, product development, human resources, and public relations. A 25-year veteran of the diversity and inclusion field, she has been instrumental in setting up and facilitating the organization’s 11 wide-ranging resource groups, including Go Green, Life Transitions, and Teleworkers.
Sheila Clark, Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Federal Reserve Board Clark was head of the board’s equal opportunity programs before she was tapped as the director of diversity and inclusion in 2011. Her job is to make sure not only that diverse candidates are hired and promoted, but that contractors and subcontractors from a variety of backgrounds are also considered in the negotiation of billions of dollars’ worth of contracts.
Todd Corley, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer, Abercrombie & Fitch The apparel company has been enjoying a changing image since Corley joined as the first chief diversity officer in 2004. His job has been to ensure that Abercombie & Fitch is an inclusive workplace and that the company and its brands are associated with diversity. Store associates known as “models” of color have quadrupled, and the company’s Hollister apparel has become a favorite brand among African Americans between 8 and 15 years old.
Lois Cooper, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion, Adecco Cooper has been recognized as an influential African American leader many times in her 20-plus years in human resources. She counts among her former employers MTV Networks and Chase, where she held top HR posts. Today, the staff and recruiting agency Adecco counts on her expertise in organizational design and development, as well as recruitment, to keep the company competitive.
Pamela Culpepper, Senior Vice President and Chief Global Diversity Officer, PepsiCo PepsiCo sent a clear message that it was willing to name a skilled woman of color to a top post when Indra Nooyi became CEO in 2006. Culpepper is tasked with making sure that the momentum permeates all parts of the $66 billion company and its 285,000 employees around the world. To succeed, she draws from her experience at Quaker, Clorox, and Wells Fargo.
Deborah Dagit, President, Deb Dagit Diversity LLC Dagit has earned accolades throughout her career for creating inclusive workplaces. As CDO of the pharmaceutical company Merck, she implemented diversity and inclusion efforts that went beyond corporate changes and included ensuring diversity in clinical trials and in educational and philanthropic initiatives. Merck has been widely recognized for its exemplary diversity and inclusion efforts ever since she took over as CDO of the pharmaceutical company in 2001. In early 2013, she launched her own diversity training company.
Desiree Dancy, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President, Corporate Human Resources, New York Times Company In order to report fairly and accurately on our diverse nation and complex world, it is imperative that a newspaper reflects the demographics and values of diversity and inclusion. Dancy has been tasked with this challenging role for the New York Times Company. She is also responsible for the New York Times Foundation’s Neediest Cases Fund, which raises money for the underserved during the holiday season.
Shirley Davis, Global Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Society for Human Resource Management Davis, who has a PhD in business and organization management, has been hard at work establishing SHRM’s diversity and inclusion office and also setting standards for other practitioners. She led a massive study called The Current State of Workplace Diversity Management, which was published in 2008.
Ana Duarte, Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer, Citi Duarte’s path to chief diversity officer began in leadership positions in the educational arena, culminating in her role as assistant dean of Parsons the New School for Design. Naturally, at Citi, she considers education—in part through the company’s more than 50 employee resource networks across the world—one of the primary roles of her diversity team.
Sherrie Duncan, Manager, Supplier Diversity, Duke Energy Duke Energy has made a strong commitment to supplier diversity. Balancing the demographics of suppliers so that more women and minorities are included is Duncan’s job. She aims to take that mission further through her board membership at Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council, which pairs large enterprises with smaller ones owned by women and minorities.
Latoria Farmer, National Director of Diversity and Corporate Responsibility, KPMG Farmer’s previous experience in higher education, operations, and human resources caught the attention of the audit, tax, and advisory services firm. At KPMG, she supports employee resource groups, is in charge of external partnerships and sponsorships, and makes sure that there is a support system to retain and develop top talent.
Michael Ford, Vice President, Global Diversity, Hilton Worldwide Hilton hired Ford in 2010 to guarantee that the idea of hospitality also includes staffers from around the globe. A lawyer with a degree from Georgetown University, he once served as a senior labor attorney at Marriott International. Ford is working hard to shape diversity and inclusion policies at Hilton and is on the boards of several organizations, such as the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust.
Deborah Foster, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, United Way To say that Foster, who has a degree in early childhood education and human development, is committed to the United Way and promoting its mission is an understatement. She has spent more than 30 years at the nonprofit building key relationships, training affiliates in Western Africa countries and South Africa, and working on high-profile U.S. projects, including the $100 million Emergency Food and Shelter Program funded through FEMA.
Jackie Glenn, Global Chief Diversity Officer, EMC Glenn arrived in the United States from Jamaica when she was 21. Since then, she has steadily risen in her career from working as a hospital clerk in Boston to now overseeing diversity and inclusion policies at the IT technology and solutions firm. She founded EMC’s black employee resource group and also serves as a mentor to budding leaders.
Margaret Gordon Manager, Inclusion and Diversity, National Grid The gas and electricity utility that serves the northeastern United States and Great Britain is intent on embedding a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the company. A quarterly orientation program for new employees includes a presentation on diversity and inclusion to set the tone on its importance at National Grid. Gordon is charged with ensuring that the company is recruiting diverse candidates and that it is partnering with community organizations that promote diversity and inclusion.
Sharleen Gutierrez, Vice President and Co-Head, Global Leadership & Diversity Americas Region, Goldman Sachs
Since joining Goldman Sachs in 1999, Gutierrez has worn many hats and quickly risen through the ranks. Today, as co-head of leadership and diversity, she oversees diversity talent management, recruiting, training, and client advisory initiatives. In addition, she is responsible for cultivating strategic relationships with external organizations, through which the firm supports diversity in the broader community.
Pamela Hardy, Senior Associate of People Services, Booz Allen Hamilton Working as a consultant gave Hardy the opportunity to develop leadership programs, play a role in solid succession planning, and help organizations attract and retain diverse talent. This expertise comes in handy at technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where her job entails acting as the company spokesperson in government committee hearings as well as finding skilled diverse employees.
Dot Harris Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, Department of Energy The former GE executive was nominated to the director post at the DOE by President Obama in 2011 and was formally confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2012. Harris holds an electrical engineering degree and has almost 30 years of experience at large and small businesses building partnerships and promoting innovation. She oversees the Department’s corporate funding strategy for minority institutions, develops the current and future Departmental workforce, works closely to develop small business contracting opportunities, and works to protect the civil rights of Departmental employees and recipients of funding from the DOE.
Pat Harris, Global Chief Diversity Officer, McDonald’s When Harris started at the Golden Arches’ headquarters as an administrative assistant more than 30 years ago, there were few people who looked like her. Over the course of her career, she has used her talent to move up from a support function to a high-ranking executive who has garnered numerous awards (Fortune magazine’s “Top 50 Places for Minorities to Work”) for her diversity accomplishments. Diversity and inclusion are critical for McDonald’s as a majority of its employees and customer base, spread across 118 countries, are diverse. In fact, 70% of its workers in the United States are women and minorities, including more than 25% in leadership positions.
William Hawthorne, Vice President, Diversity Strategies and Legal Affairs, Macy’s Hawwthorne oversees all diversity strategies for Macy’s department stores. Macy’s has long been a stronghold for women in leadership positions. According to their reports, women represent more than 75 percent of the company’s workforce and 65 percent of its managers. Additionally, minorities are nearly 50 percent of the workforce and nearly 28 percent of the management ranks. This is good for business, particularly given that more than 50 percent of Macy’s customers in its largest markets are racially diverse.
Gwen Houston, General Manager, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Microsoft Houston held high-ranking positions in the diversity and inclusion field at a number of large corporations—Aetna, Campbell Soup, Nike, and FedEx—before joining Microsoft in 2008. Microsoft’s inclusive culture has been widely recognized by a variety of groups, including LGBT and women. In her tenure at the software giant, the company has won numerous awards, including being honored as the Number One Employer of Choice by the National Society of Black Engineers. The company has also made a commitment to developing women technologists and engineers, by launching its DigiGirlz program, which offers various forms of technology programming for female high school students.
Rosalind Hudnell, Chief Diversity Officer, Global Director of Education and External Relations, Intel Hudnell makes sure not only that diverse employees are hired at the semiconductor giant, but that they feel accepted and stay. Intel has 20 employee resource groups and leadership training programs for African Americans, Latinos, and women. Hudnell serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Center for Work-Life Policy. Under her watch, Intel has developed 23 employee resource groups, with more than 100 chapters. As Hudnell likes to say, “Driving diversity isn’t rocket science. It’s harder.”
Clarence Johnson, Principal Director and Director for Civilian Equal Employment Opportunity, Department of Defense Once an active-duty U.S. Air Force colonel, Johnson has been responsible for programs that have led to a renewed focus on the inclusivity and engagement of all active-duty soldiers and reservists. Since 2003, one of his roles has been to supervise the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, a 100-member training and research center. The military is the largest workforce in the country, and the most diverse.
Wendy Lewis, Senior Vice President of Diversity and Strategic Alliances, Major League Baseball Since 1998, with the launch of its Diverse Business Partners (DBP) program, Major League Baseball (MLB) has been actively committed to diversity. Lewis oversees the DBP program, as well as MLB’s executive training and development program to ensure a diverse pipeline and that the organization works with a variety of suppliers. In this increasingly global sport, Lewis will continue to move MLB forward in making sure the front office employees look like the players on the field.
Alva Mason, Manager, Strategic Dealer Representation, Diversity and Inclusion, Toyota For almost 13 years, Mason helped Ford Motor with its training program for minority dealers. Bringing that track record to Toyota, she tripled the number of minority dealerships when she worked with the carmaker’s Toyota and Lexus field offices. Part of her portfolio these days is community relations, which includes working with the United Negro College Fund and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Mark Q. McLane, Managing Director and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Barclays PLC In 2012, for the sixth year in a row, the British banking conglomerate has been named one of the top 50 employers for women in the United Kingdom by the London Times. McLane has considerable experience in building diversity and inclusion initiatives. Before joining Barclays, he was responsible for diversity and inclusion at Booz Allen Hamilton and Whirlpool.
James Norman, Vice President of Diversity and Talent Acquisition, Kraft Foods Since Norman started at Kraft in 1980, he has navigated his way through various departments at Kraft—from manufacturing to sales to human resources. This in-depth experience gives him a solid perspective about the thinking of managers in different business units when he presents progressive ideas about diversity and inclusion. Some programs are geared toward hiring, retaining, and developing diverse employees; others are focused on helping high schoolers become scientists.
Jimmie Paschall, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Diversity and Inclusion, Wells Fargo Paschall was into her fourth year at Marriott International when Wells Fargo hired her in January 2012 to lead the bank’s diversity and inclusion efforts. At the hotel giant, she worked hard on introducing a unified diversity and inclusion strategy across the globe and supporting the Marriott Foundation. Paschall serves on the Consortium of Chief Diversity Officers at Georgetown University and Patton Boggs’ Diversity Advisory Board.
Steve Pemberton, Divisional Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Walgreen Co. Pemberton masterfully turned a career as an admissions director at Boston College into a flourishing path in the diversity and inclusion field. In 2011 he was named Walgreens first chief diversity officer. These days, one of the focal points for the $71 billion drugstore giant is disability awareness. Pemberton details his road to Walgreens and his deep commitment to diversity in his 2012 autobiography, A Chance in the World.
Neddy Perez, Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Ingersoll Rand Over the last two decades, Perez has built a reputation for developing and implementing diversity, social responsibility, and community relations programs at a roster of top-tier corporations. In 2011 she was named the first vice president of diversity and inclusion at this manufacturing giant. Recently, she merged her passion for technology and diversity and inclusion and launched the company’s STEM Connector initiative. The company has 12 external partnerships to help diversify its talent pipeline.
Emily Pitts, Principal, Inclusion and Diversity, Edward Jones In 2004 Pitts became the first African American woman named partner at Edward Jones. Since then, she has built a roster of 1,300 clients and managed $70 million of their assets. After noticing that diverse advisors were not staying with the company, she started a program to address the problem. Today she works on a menu of initiatives that includes leadership training and development for women and minorities.
Edgar Quiroz, Director of Workforce Diversity, Kaiser Permanente Quiroz’s affinity for diversity took root at an early age. He grew up in a racially mixed San Francisco working-class neighborhood with African Americans, Asians, Latinos, and Caucasians. As a youth, he walked the United Farm Worker picket lines alongside his father in support of the Cesar Chavez-led movement. Quiroz, who has been a member of the Kaiser Permanente team for more than 25 years, is charged with enhancing the diverse cultural competence of the workforce, promoting culturally competent medical care, and growing the membership of Kaiser into diverse markets.
Angela Roseboro, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Jones Lang LaSalle Roseboro helped the financial services firm implement policies that led to the company being chosen as one of the Best Places for Managers to Work by Diversity MBA Magazine. In the three years she spent in her previous position, at Genworth Financial, she oversaw a 29 percent increase in promotions for minorities and women in key positions and a 20 percent rise in women and minorities at the senior level.
Candi Castleberry-Singleton, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Castleberry-Singleton was hired by the medical center after working at Xerox, Motorola, and Sun Microsystems on effective approaches to diversity and inclusion. At those companies, she created a model that helped them shift to a culture where all employees, not just HR managers, feel responsible for diversity and inclusion. At UPMC, she started the Dignity and Respect campaign, which has now turned into a movement to value people’s cultures and unique talents as well as an anti-bullying platform for teens.
Shari Slate, Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Strategist, Cisco Slate made the move to Cisco in 2011, after serving at Sun Microsystems as one of the youngest chief diversity officers at a Fortune 500 company. Her new role—and title—reflects her philosophy that diversity is just a start, and that for a company to be successful it needs to pay just as much attention to inclusion and collaboration. Slate currently serves on the Conference Board’s Diversity Business Council, as well as several other boards.
Darlene Slaughter, Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer, Fannie Mae Slaughter’s breadth of experience goes back more than 20 years at Fannie Mae, including posts as director of human resources and talent team manager. For the last four years, she has been spearheading the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Her position also entails providing outreach to diverse populations as part of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
Jeanette Kilo-Smith, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, Walmart After 10 years at Motorola, Kilo-Smith is now responsible for one of the largest workforces in the world—the 2.2 million employees of Walmart. Her role has increasingly taken on a global function, as the retailer has nearly 800,000 employees outside the United States, in 27 different countries. One of her core responsibilities is fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for women, who make up 57 percent of employees.
Susan Stith, Senior Director, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Express Scripts Stith, whose career includes a stint as a Macy’s buyer and a professor, well knows that diversity and inclusion encompass many pathways. At Express Scripts, a mail-order pharmacy company based in St. Louis, she not only is responsible for diversity and inclusion, but also heads corporate philanthropy initiatives. Under her leadership, the company has joined the Select 50 Diversity Employers group, which is committed to hire candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Tyronne Stoudemire, Global Vice President, Chief Diversity and Community Relations Officer, Aon Hewitt
At Aon Hewitt, a $3 billion global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, Stoudemire is responsible for the company’s internal and external diversity and inclusion initiatives. In his nearly 10 years in the department, he has guided programs for more than 22,000 employees in 35 countries. Recently, Stoudemire played a key role in the incorporation of a new program, the Center for Cross-Cultural Competence. The center is now the hub for all key learning programs and career development within the company.
Kim Strong, Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, Target The retail world is notoriously challenging because of employee turnover. Strong, who has been at Target for more than 20 years, has sought to retain employees at the corporate and store level through employee resource groups and to use those groups as a way to improve retention and influence marketing and product decisions. Under her watch, the company has bolstered its mentorship program, in which 90 percent of its managers participate. For senior executives, 10 percent of their bonus is tied to meeting diversity and inclusion goals.
Cuc Vu, Chief Diversity Officer, Human Rights Campaign Vu has a talent for getting groups with strong opposing opinions together to mobilize for a common cause. Not long after Vu became the first CDO at the nation’s largest LGBT rights organization, she was able to get LGBT members to work alongside the immigrant community in rallies and citizenship drives. The powerful interaction broke down stereotypes on both sides. More recently, Vu oversaw the launch of a leadership development program for women and she’s exploring the creation of a leadership training program that involves the LGBT and non-LGBT community.
Eric Watson, Vice President, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Delhaize America Under Watson’s tenure, Delhaize America (the operator of Bottom Dollar Food, Hannaford Brothers, and Sweetbay Supermarkets) has been recognized by women’s groups for its diversity and inclusion efforts, especially at the C-suite level. One initiative was developing a leadership training program that included executive coaches.
Michelle Gadsden-Williams, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Credit Suisse Gadsden-Williams spent 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry, ultimately becoming a VP and CDO at Norvartis. Then in 2011, opportunity knocked for her to make a leap. She joined Credit Suisse to lead the global bank’s diversity and inclusion efforts. One of her priorities is retention of high-level talent at the banking giant. To that end, one of Gadsden-Williams’ most recent initiatives is the launch of Credit Suisse’s sponsorship and mentorship program for high-potential women, the Mentoring Advisory Group.
Lori Valle-Yanez, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, MassMutual Financial Group In her 20-plus years in diversity and inclusion, Valle-Yanez has run diversity initiatives for three organizations. Valle-Yanez began her career developing the diversity and inclusion department for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. She spent six years at ESPN, then in 2008 moved to MassMutual, where she formed its first diversity program office.
Magda Yrizarry, Vice President and Chief Talent and Diversity Officer, Verizon Growing up in public housing in Brooklyn and being raised by a single mother after her father passed away when she was three motivated Yrizarry to focus her career on giving back. Early in her 20-plus years at Verizon, she worked on building partnerships with underserved communities. Her current responsibilities include the development and implementation of Verizon’s global diversity, recruitment, executive development, and succession planning strategies.
