Lisa Osborne Ross, CEO of Edelman, Given WBJ’s DEI Champion Award
Lisa Osborne Ross, CEO of Edelman, has been given the DEI Champion Award by Washington Business Journal. The recognition is part of WBJ’s “CEO of the Year” awards program which includes an overall CEO of the year, plus honoring CEOs and C-suite executives in different categories, including Covid response, small business leadership, nonprofit leadership and DEI leadership.
According to WBJ, when Ross became CEO of Edelman U.S. in April, “she set a goal that 30% of the public relations firm’s workforce and 20% of its leadership would be Black, Indigenous and people of color by 2022.
“It didn’t take nearly that long. The more than 6,000-person global communications firm — which brought in $840 million in revenue in 2020, 63% of that from her U.S. division — surpassed its 30% hiring goal this past September and is nearing its 20% leadership goal.
“Achieving these goals required Edelman leadership and staff to be intentional about their actions every day, Ross says.”
According to WBJ: “Too often, Ross says, companies start with a base that is white and then seeks to add a Black, Latino or Asian person rather than starting with a base that is representative of the population at large.”
“This is not about removing people who are at the table,” she says. “It is making the table more inclusive and allowing more people to sit there.”
More here.
