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Smita Pillai
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer — Dow Jones
Smita Pillai is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Dow Jones, including its flagship brands The Wall Street Journal, Barrons, Factiva, and Financial News.
Smita is responsible for designing and implementing a progressive, global diversity and inclusion strategy, overseeing efforts across talent management practices, leadership accountability, corporate culture, and outreach efforts. Her holistic approach to diversity and inclusion seeks to create a climate of inclusion and belonging where innovation can thrive.
Prior to joining Dow Jones, Smita has led global diversity and inclusion efforts in Fortune 50 companies such as Prudential Financial and at Johnson & Johnson, where she was responsible for global diversity and inclusion initiatives for the largest business sector of medical devices. In her career, Smita has led groundbreaking global marketing research projects and established clear metrics for D&I measurement and advancement that have advanced D&I across multiple organizations. She has also been a founding board member for several global employee resource groups and is passionate about global diversity & inclusion for talent, business impact and community partnerships.
Smita has received several awards including the NY MOVES Mentor Award, Leadership Excellence Award from the Tri-State Diversity and Leadership Conference, Diversity MBA Top 100 Under 50 for her outstanding achievements in community, leadership, and education and for her commitment to fostering equality and demonstrating exceptional leadership skills. An accomplished public speaker, Smita is a sought after thought leader on modern diversity and inclusion at various forums like the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, W.I.N Forum, Rutgers University, UnLonely Coalition, Outsell Annual Forum, WSJ Women In conference, WSJ CEO Council, Latina Style, HACR, Diversity Council, Conference Board and Working Mother Media.
Originally from India, Smita is a true global citizen who has lived and/or worked across the globe, based out of Mumbai, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Barcelona, London, Florida and most recently, New York. She loves to spend time with her family, travel, practice yoga, and run. Smita lives with her husband and their three children in a historic barn home in Central New Jersey.
