COMPANIES FOR
DIVERSITY
shock when I joined Deloitte in 1977—
frankly, I’d never been in such a homogeneous
environment … In my case, this is from the
double perspective of a Jewish kid from
Brooklyn, someone first viewed as the outsider
who, thanks to 30 years of Deloitte experience, is now the true insider … what goes to
my core is the personal imperative to do what
I can to make sure that everybody has the
same opportunities.
Richard T. Clark, chairman, president and
CEO, Merck & Co.: When I served in the military
as a young man, I saw firsthand the value [that]
people from a variety of backgrounds can bring
to a team … As the CEO at Merck, I have had
the honor and pleasure of working with a very
diverse leadership team, a team who is not only
visually diverse in terms of race, gender and age
but also includes people who have lived and
worked outside the U.S. and who come from
different industries, academic backgrounds and
life experiences. I truly believe this provides us
with a competitive advantage.
Brian Roberts,
chairman and CEO,
Comcast: My personal commitment to
diversity really started
with my parents,
who both believed
passionately in the
importance of diversity as a growth and
educational experience. When I was 13
years old, we spent
the summer living
Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO, and working on a
Comcast Navajo reservation in
New Mexico, just so we could all experience a
different way of living and thinking.
WHEN, WHY AND HOW DID THAT
EPIPHANY BECOME A BUSINESS
IMPERATIVE THAT YOU FELT WOULD
CREATE SUCCESS AT YOUR COMPANY?
J. Terrence Lanni, chairman and CEO,
MGM MIRAGE: In 2000, a group of interested
citizens challenged
our business practices, suggesting
that we were not
inclusive in our
operations. At that
time, we were
undergoing a
merger that would
significantly
increase the size of
our company and
our employee population. This confluence of events
prompted us to
formalize our
efforts and build upon existing programs as
well as establish new practices to reflect the
marketplace and our work force, both of
which were experiencing significant demographic shifts.
J. Terrence (Terry) Lanni, chairman
and CEO, MGM MIRAGE
Salzberg: Here the real breakthrough came
in 1992 with our Women’s Initiative.
Realizing we were losing many of our most
talented women, we had to take a hard look
at our culture and work practices. The interesting thing was, when you addressed so-called “women’s” issues—say for work/life
flexibility—you solved many of the same
issues that men faced.
Richard Macedonia, president and CEO,
Sodexho: We bring diversity to our dialogue
with clients because they demand it and
because many of our clients are also committing significant resources to diversity and
inclusions programs.
William C. Weldon, chairman and CEO,
Johnson & Johnson: My work experience
abroad, both in Europe and Asia Pacific,
helped me better appreciate the impact that
diversity has on our businesses … I realized
that there are many ways to achieve business
success, but the only way that you can successfully run a business in today’s environment is
by fully appreciating and harnessing the
diverse talents, experiences and perspectives
within your organization.
