Leadership Profiles
CAZ MATTHEWS: DRIVEN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
BY THE EDITORS OF DIVERSITYINC | © 2009 DIVERSITYINC
Giving back is part of Caz Matthews’ upbringing. “Both
of my parents were big activists, and it was an underpinning of the way I was raised,” says the vice president
of corporate social responsibility for WellPoint and
president of WellPoint Foundation.
Matthews, who was born in England, relocated to
the United States at age 22. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in accounting and financial management from
Sheffield University, England, and then pursued an
MBA from Indiana University.
In 1988, Matthews began her career with WellPoint
as manager of financial systems and accounts payables. She has since held various leadership roles and
relocated several times—and community involvement
has “always been a vehicle for me to integrate into
society, to make friends, to make business contacts and
establish my networks,” says Matthews.
But in 2004, as president of Anthem West, there
was a pivotal moment when Matthews realized she was
in a position to make a significant impact on her com-
munity in Denver. That winter,
a flu epidemic took the lives of
numerous children in Denver,
and state public-health centers
had run out of vaccines.
“I suddenly realized that I
had the ability to do something,” she recalls. “So we
JANET CRENSHAW
committed $100,000 to pur-
CAZ MATTHEWS
SMITH
WellPoint
chase more vaccines and had
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DiversityInc Top 50
them shipped in … to help
Rank: 44
reduce the epidemic.”
In 2008, WellPoint and WellPoint Foundation contributed more than $4 million and $23 million, respectively, to “have a measurable and sustainable impact
on critical healthcare needs in the communities we
serve,” says Matthews. Some of the organizations the
company supports include the Arthur Ashe Institute
for Urban Health and the Asian Community Center of
Sacramento Valley.
CORLISS FONG: WINNING THROUGH TEAMWORK
BY THE EDITORS OF DIVERSITYINC | © 2009 DIVERSITYINC
JANET CRENSHAW
CORLISS FONG
SMITH
Macy’s
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One of DiversityInc’s 25
Noteworthy Companies
Corliss Fong knows that the
most successful corporate
solutions come from working
collaboratively as a team. “It’s
so important from a leadership
point of view to leverage the
unique qualities of everyone
that you work with,” says the
vice president for diversity
management at Macy’s. “I want
all members on my team to feel
they can freely express their
opinions. It helps people stay motivated because they
feel they’re a part of the decisions that are being made.”
Fong, a first-generation Chinese American (on
her father’s side), is no stranger to the benefits of
diversity and inclusion at Macy’s. She worked her
way up the ranks at the retail giant, starting 37 years
ago in the administration offices of a Macy’s division
in San Francisco, and then relocated to the corporate
headquarters in Cincinnati five years ago.
“Being Asian is something that I’m proud of, and in
my current role, I’m proud to represent my culture in
the organization,” she says.
Today, Fong is helping to lead Macy’s team through
a corporate reorganization based on a localized business model, carrying merchandise and creating a work
environment that’s more reflective of multicultural
communities. For instance, to find out why some of
Macy’s exclusive lines of towels weren’t selling as well
in certain markets, Fong was instrumental in Macy’s
using its Black and Latino employee-resource groups
for feedback. What they found: “We didn’t have the colors assorted correctly,” she says. “In more multicultural
stores, we had [to put] the strong jewel-tone-colored
textiles up front … instead of the neutral colors.”
Brainstorming ways to build customer loyalty and
to connect with communities “is what I really love
about the job,” says Fong. “That’s because I can see
diversity at work.”
