DEI’s Legacy Leaders to Follow - Senior Executive
October 16, 2023

DEI’s Legacy Leaders to Follow

These chief diversity officers and DEI executives have served in their roles at some of the largest companies in the U.S. for at least five years.

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As a publisher and community builder serving leaders of niche industries and disciplines, Senior Executive Media curates exclusive lists of executive decision-makers to enable networking and professional advancement, to reveal executive hiring trends and insights, and to spotlight individual leaders who stand out for their experiences and achievements.

In this lineup of leaders, discover chief diversity officers and other DEI leaders who have served in their roles at some of America’s largest companies for at least five years — blowing way past the average tenure of just under two years for CDOs. Many of them have worked in their organizations and industries for decades.

To suggest an update to information on this list or to recommend the addition of a qualifying DEI leader, please email our Senior Executive Media editors at editor@seniorexecutive.com.

Sort the table below to see more about some of the longest-serving DEI leaders at big companies across the country.

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DEI’s Legacy Leaders to Follow

Full name Company Company Size Industry Job Title In Position Since
Melody Powell Sutter Health 10,001+ – Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 2013
Guy Toliver Parkland Health and Hospital System (Dallas) 10,001+ – Director, Inclusion & Supplier Diversity 2018
Sonja Boone Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago) 5,001-10,000 – Director of Diversity 2005
Gary Butts Mount Sinai Hospital 10,001+ – Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer 2014
Kimberlydawn Wisdom Henry Ford Hospital 10,001+ – Sr. VP of Community Health & Equity and Ch… 2007
Gregory Foster Community Health Systems 10,001+ – Sr. Director- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 2017
Marcos Pesquera Christus Health 10,001+ – Chief Diversity Officer 2015
Guwan Jones Baylor Scott & White Health 10,001+ – Vice President Human Resources & Chief Div… 2016
Crystal Flenorl Aurora St. Luke s Medical Center of Aurora Health Care 10,001+ – Director of Community Diversity Engagement 2018
Kourtney Witten Advocate Health 10,001+ – Population Health Director of Managed Care 2016
Peggy Harris Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center 10,001+ – Regional Chief Diversity Officer 2000
Carin Taylor Workday, Inc. 10,001+ Software Development Chief Diversity Officer 2017
James Fripp Yum! Brands, Inc. 5,001-10,000 Restaurants Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer 2011
Nancy Dunn Xylem Inc. 10,001+ Industrial Machinery Manufacturing Senior Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusio… 2018
Vanessa Montero TJX Companies, Inc. (The) 10,001+ Retail AVP, Inclusion & Diversity 2018
Holli Martinez T-Mobile US, Inc. 10,001+ Telecommunications VP, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 2018
Paul Francisco State Street Corporation – Financial Services Senior Vice President- Chief Diversity Off… 2017
Heather Howell Seagate Technology Holdings PLC 10,001+ Computer Hardware Senior Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader 2018
Saira Mazhar Southern Company (The) 10,001+ Utilities Diversity Equity & Inclusion Manager 2020
Annette O Hanlon S&P Global Inc. 10,001+ Financial Services Chief Corporate Responsibility and Diversi… 2017
Catharine Ellingsen Republic Services, Inc. 10,001+ Environmental Services EVP, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Ethics and… 2016
Amy D Olimpio Regency Centers Corporation 201-500 Real Estate Senior Vice President of Human Resources 2018
Lata Reddy Prudential Financial, Inc. 10,001+ Financial Services Senior Vice President, Inclusive Solutions 2012
Mitsy Wilson News Corporation 10,001+ Technology, Information and Media SVP Diversity 2011
Vernā Myers Netflix, Inc. 10,001+ Entertainment Providers VP, Inclusion Strategy 2018
Lindsay-Rae McIntyre Microsoft Corporation – Technology, Information, and Media Chief Diversity Officer 2018
Maxine Williams Meta Platforms, Inc. 10,001+ Technology, Information, and Media Chief Diversity Officer 2013
Celeste Warren Merck & Company, Inc. – Manufacturing VP, Global Diversity & Inclusion 2016
Glenn Jackson M&T Bank Corporation 10,001+ Financial Services Chief Diversity Officer 2018
Denise Naguib Marriott International 10,001+ Accommodation Services Vice President, Sustainability & Supplier … 2012
Joni Podolsky KLA Corporation 10001 Semiconductor Manufacturing Director, Global Inclusion & Diversity 2018
Wanda Bryant Hope Johnson & Johnson – Hospitals and Health Care Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer 2015
Fred Towler International Paper Company 5,001-10,000 Manufacturing Chief Diversity Officer & VP Global Talent… 1987
Marc Bland IHS Markit Ltd. 10,001+ Information Services Chief Diversity Officer, S&P Global Mobility 1999
Derek Bottoms Home Depot, Inc. (The) 10,001+ Retail Chief Diversity Officer & VP of Associate … 2012
Bryony Bouyer Hasbro, Inc. 5,001-10,000 Manufacturing VP Diversity and Inclusion, 2018
Sherri Neal HCA Healthcare, Inc. 10,001+ Hospitals and Health Care AVP, Diversity & Inclusion 2006
Susan Johnson Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The) 10,001+ Financial Services Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office… 2013
Mitch Morgan Fifth Third Bancorp 10,001+ Financial Services VP, Senior Manager, Inclusion and Diversity 2005
Neil Basterfield DXC Technology Company 10,001+ IT Services and IT Consulting HR Director UK&I, Equity, Diversity & Incl… 2007
Karen S. Carter Dow Inc. – Manufacturing Chief Inclusion Officer 2018
Diane Antishin DTE Energy Company 10,001+ Utilities Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer 2018
Andy Ballard Domino s Pizza Inc 10,001+ Restaurants Chair of the Inclusion & Diversity Committee 2015
Sarah King Darden Restaurants, Inc. – Accommodation Services Senior Vice President, Chief People & Dive… 2017
Stephanie W. Noel CSX Corporation 10,001+ Rail Transportation VP Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer 2018
Susan Stith Cigna Corporation 10,001+ Hospitals and Health Care Vice President, Diversity, Inclusion, and … 2018
Rhonda Crichlow Charter Communications, Inc. 10,001+ Telecommunications Senior Vice President and Chief Diversty O… 2016
Cheryl H. Johnson Caterpillar, Inc. 10,001+ Machinery Manufacturing Chief Human Resources Officer of Caterpill… 2017
Devray Kirkland Cardinal Health, Inc. 10,001+ Hospitals and Health Care VP, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chief… 2018
Tina Jones Cadence Design Systems, Inc. 5,001-10,000 Software Development Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources 2007
Camille Chang Gilmore Boston Scientific Corporation – Manufacturing VP, Human Resources, and Global Chief Dive… 2014
Rudy Rodriguez Ameriprise Financial, Inc. – Financial Services Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 2015
Stuart Hockridge Align Technology, Inc. 10,001+ Medical Equipment Manufacturing Executive Vice President, Global Human Res… 2016
Victoria Brifo Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. 10,001+ Chemical Manufacturing Senior Vice President and Chief Human Reso… 2018
Karen Goyette Hartford (Conn.) Hospital 5,001-10,000 – Vice President, Strategic Planning and Bus… 2009
Joan Jacobs Consolidated Edison, Inc. 10,001+ Utilities Vice President, Learning and Inclusion 2001
Mark Petrarca A.O. Smith Corporation 10,001+ Manufacturing Senior Vice President- Human Resources and… 2005

Universe: This list is limited to DEI leaders at companies in the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 indexes of leading publicly traded companies, and at the largest hospitals and healthcare providers in the U.S.