THE D&I Roundup from COLOR – October Edition Part II

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In this issue, CDOs at leading agencies discuss their efforts to drive inclusion, wealth managers turn to embrace sponsorship over mentorship with senior leaders of color, and two major companies add Chief Diversity Officers to their executive teams. See who is making waves in diversity and inclusion and…Access your D&I news below: 

Wealth Managers Seek to Sponsor Black Advisors, Not Just Mentor Them

Large wealth managers are embracing sponsorship over mentorship when it comes to boosting the number of Black senior leaders and other minority executives. In a panel at the Association of African American Financial Advisors Vision conference, executives from Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Citi and Stifel explained the importance of not simply guiding incoming Black advisors and other minority professionals, but acting on their behalf, including by speaking up as leaders. While Black finance and insurance professionals have roughly the same representation in the industries as in the U.S. population, the share of executives is much lower. Sponsors going beyond being merely mentors could be instrumental in retaining the talent and driving the numbers higher, panelists said.

North America’s Aliah Berman, Ogilvy’s James Kinney and Omnicom Media’s Sara Porritt each lead their agencies’ DEI efforts.TBWA, Ogilvy, Omnicom Media

What Chief Diversity Officers at the Biggest Agencies Are Doing to Drive Inclusion

AdWeek spoke to DEI leaders of the world’s largest agencies tasked with improving industry representation, who shared in their own words, their plans as they attempt to meet goals and drive progress, and published the responses Sept. 9. The advertising agency world has strived–to some extent–to develop its image by improving the makeup of its teams, which often looks like introducing a chief diversity officer role. These individuals are each charged with driving change within their businesses away from the pale, male and stale view that remains around many industry leaders.

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KKR Appoints Kerryann Benjamin as Chief Diversity Officer

KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the appointment of Kerryann Benjamin as Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Talent Management, effective Sept. 9. Ms. Benjamin joins KKR from Goldman Sachs & Co

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Siemens Energy’s CFO on Why She Became Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Too

Maria Ferraro, CFO and chief inclusion and diversity officer (CIDO) at the technology company Siemens Energy AG, believes that in all conversations as CFO inclusion and diversity figured in to the conversation. Now Ferraro holds two C-suite positions she believes are intertwined and shares those feelings in a piece in Fortune Magazine.

Authors of COLOR: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz 

Acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. Buy your copy here

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