Why Diversity Matters - Martin Okner & Thomas Bohn

Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection Builders

SPECIAL EPISODE: Diversity Matters in the Middle Market, brought to you by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and Connection Builders.
In today's episode, we are joined by Thomas Bohn, President and CEO of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), and Martin Okner, President and COO of dpHUE and past chair of the ACG Global Board of Directors, for a discussion around the key elements that need to be cultivated within an organization in order to attract and retain diverse talent. These include mitigating biases in the hiring process, facilitating open conversations, and maintaining accountability at all levels. Diverse talent is out there if you're willing to put in the work to find it.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Some key statistics which highlight the benefits of a diverse workforce.
• The trajectory of diversity in the consumer goods industry.
• Why our society is far behind where it should be in terms of diversity within organizations.
• How executives need to change their thinking in order to ensure they build a more diverse team.
• Examples of how to create an inclusive company culture.
• How inherent bias exists in the hiring process, and the tool ACG uses to mitigate some of that bias.
• What Marty and Tom see as the most important elements of company culture.
• Tom shares the life lessons he and his family have learned through sharing their home with a person of color.
• Why empathy is a prerequisite for being a good leader.

Martin Okner on LinkedIn
dpHUE
Thomas Bohn on LinkedIn
Association for Corporate Growth
Parity.org
ACG DEI Committee Mission and Resources
Connection Builders
Alex Drost on LinkedIn