- 6 days ago
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00:00I was listening to Lauryn Hill, getting ready for tonight.
00:02How y'all feeling?
00:03We got a few more panels.
00:05I mean, this conversation, I felt like I was sitting in like their girlfriend group chat,
00:09had all the nuggets and really grounded us in such an important moment that we are in
00:15in so many ways.
00:16So it was entirely powerful.
00:18We have another power panel of dynamic women coming to the stage to talk about and give
00:23us some insights into philanthropic leadership and their ways that they engage business community
00:29in different industries and breaking down new pathways for building diverse brands and
00:34creating wealth.
00:36So please welcome our moderator, Tanisha Boye-Robinson, president and CEO of CapEQ.
00:44Joining her, we also have Dr. Carla Thompson, chief strategist and impact officer of WK Catalog
00:51Foundation.
00:52I had a fan club over here.
00:54I love it.
00:55I love it.
00:56You got to have your crew with you, okay?
00:58That's right.
00:59And Shantae Butler, vice president of inclusion and diversity, Diageo North America.
01:04Y'all got a whole crew.
01:05I love it.
01:09Come through, hype crew.
01:11That's the kind of energy we're bringing today because it's at the end of the day and
01:14we are one of a few panels from you and whatever debauchery you're going to get into.
01:19But for now, we're going to channel all of that pre-debauchery energy into actually
01:24liberation and action.
01:25All right?
01:26So I'm so excited to have my two panelists here.
01:30I'm Tanisha Boye-Robinson.
01:31I go by Ty.
01:32That's a big mouthful.
01:34I'm the CEO of CapEQ.
01:36We're an impact investment and advisory firm.
01:38We work with businesses and investors to embed equitable impact into their practice.
01:43And then when we see barriers to those success options, we have a systems change practice.
01:49So one of the things I've been super excited about is we've been a longstanding partner
01:54with the Kellogg Foundation and put the W and K on it if you don't know their name.
01:59And so they have funded the path to 1555, which is a systems change effort to fuel black business
02:05growth based on data that says if 15% of existing, not new, not the sexy, not for all the cool
02:13people, but the existing businesses could hire at least one employee, it would result in $55
02:19billion to the economy.
02:20So while some people were over here saying, oh my gosh, it's really important to invest in people
02:25of color, the Kellogg Foundation has been about that life for a very long time.
02:31So I would love to hear from you, Dr. Thompson, on how Kellogg Foundation has continued to sustain
02:40that even when it wasn't popular, and what is your role in driving that?
02:44Sure.
02:45So good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity.
02:48As Ty said, the Kellogg Foundation has been in existence for 94 years.
02:54And since our existence, we've centered on children.
02:57And for us, if we want to see children to thrive and succeed, we have to recognize that they
03:02reside in families, and families reside in communities.
03:05And unless we work in that entire ecosystem, we're never going to achieve the results that
03:10we want.
03:11And so in 2007, the Kellogg Foundation decided to become an anti-racist organization.
03:18And we put all of our efforts around creating equitable communities, really living the way
03:25in which we want to see the world.
03:27And so we call that our DNA.
03:29It's our commitment to racial equity and healing and recognizing that racial inequities cause
03:34a lot of the societal issues that we have and the systemic barriers that racial inequity
03:39puts up that many people can't thrive and succeed.
03:42We think about community engagement, because communities can solve their own issues.
03:48They have all the skills and the tools necessary.
03:50They just need the partnership to get there and leadership at all levels, whether it's formal
03:55or informal.
03:56And so for us, we decided to put forward programming that could really shift the needle, change the
04:03narrative, and elevate perspectives.
04:06And so one of the things that we've done in that impact space is around expanding equity.
04:12And in 2019, we decided that we wanted to tackle corporate America.
04:16We wanted corporate America to reinvigorate and engage in their diversity, equity, and inclusion
04:24programming.
04:25And we wanted them to create an environment of belonging for all of the folks.
04:29We recognized that, you know, we read all the reports.
04:32They're great at recruiting people of color, people from differing socioeconomic backgrounds
04:37at the entry level.
04:39But as they move through their career, there's a huge drop-off in mid-manager level.
04:44And then by the time you got to the C-suite, and so for us, it was really around how do
04:52we put in some systems and places to get folks to recognize that.
04:57And so in 2019, we engaged some companies.
05:01Since 2019, we've had 160 companies representing retail, manufacturing, consumer goods, investment
05:08management come through.
05:10And our network now includes over 850 companies all working on changing their DEI practices,
05:17actually putting systems and targets and impact goals in place to make that difference.
05:22And so for us, we walk the walk.
05:25And if you want to engage with the Kellogg Foundation, we expect you to walk the walk as well.
05:29She said pin them down, y'all.
05:30She said tackle.
05:32She didn't say like cokes and cokes.
05:34She said tackle.
05:35And 800, that's amazing.
05:37And if you did not hear what she said, it was expanding equity.
05:40So for those of you who are in corporate, whether reluctantly or with resilience, I please
05:46encourage you to look up expanding equity.
05:48And we do have a waiting list.
05:49So the competition is fierce.
05:51Oh, there you go.
05:52There you go.
05:52Who said DEI was dead?
05:54So based on this, so we've got the Kellogg Foundation's expanding equity, but now we
05:59have Diageo, Jante.
06:01And people say, oh, DEI, equity, that's not really good business sense.
06:06But your organization has been committed to it for a while.
06:10So I would love to hear you not only talk about your role and the way that you commit
06:15to equity, but why it makes great business sense for Diageo.
06:19Again, thank you for having me, Ty.
06:21Thank you to the GVEF.
06:22I love what Carla was saying about equity, about intention, and impact over intention.
06:30So for Diageo, we're a global company.
06:33And as we focus on North America, we really champion DEI.
06:37It's part of what we do.
06:39We are a company that wants to ensure that our communities and our consumers are reflected
06:45in everything that we do.
06:46So that's from our employees, our talent pool, to our business partners, to the communities
06:52that we serve.
06:53So we do that in various ways.
06:55One of the biggest ways that we do that, and we are an anchor investor in Pronghorn, which
07:01is a standalone company that is really focused about changing the face of the industry within
07:07the alcohol beverage industry.
07:09So they are a company that we support in terms of providing access to their employees.
07:14They have a mentorship program.
07:17Some of those students come through our own mentorship program.
07:21We provide access to support.
07:24And it really just is a continuation of what we want to do and reflect as a corporation and
07:30really ensure that we are part of the solve in terms of opening up access and opening up
07:36ensuring that we have paths to equity as we build.
07:39Now, I know you said you've invested in Pronghorn.
07:43Would you mind sharing just a little bit more of the details about how many businesses
07:48you invest in?
07:48How does that ripple work?
07:50And even beyond Pronghorn, because I know it's about how you make your money, how you
07:54spend your money, and how you invest in your people.
07:56Yeah.
07:57So as I said, we are an anchor investor in Pronghorn.
08:00Pronghorn in and of itself has invested in 19 black-owned brands.
08:03So really, this piece of building entrepreneurs, building CEOs, building black business leaders
08:10in the alcohol beverage industry is their mission and their purpose, and very actionable in achieving
08:17those goals and what they're doing.
08:19But for Diageo as a company, you know, we're investing in our own talent.
08:23We're investing in the communities that we serve through our Learning Skills for Life program,
08:30which is a program that teaches hospitality and job skills to those that are reentering
08:35society, women, veterans.
08:37And really, I think, from the previous conversation, this point of having access to information and
08:44equity and how do we do that, one, with our own employees, but also in the communities that
08:48we live and that we're a part of.
08:49That's really part of our DEI mission as well.
08:53That is amazing.
08:54So a lot of times people think, oh, well, if I'm a beverage company, what else can I do?
09:01But what you're saying is by uplifting the very hospitality industry, you're actually embedding
09:06that change into the ecosystem you're working with.
09:09Yeah.
09:09And I think it's part of what they were saying earlier.
09:12We want people to see themselves in our mission, which is about celebrating life every day,
09:17everywhere, for everyone.
09:19So we want people that are part of the community to see that, consumers to see that, and also,
09:25importantly, our employees to feel that as part of the mission, too.
09:28That is amazing.
09:30I would love to hear what you're experiencing from Kellogg Foundation that either double-clicks
09:35on what she says and says, amen, hallelujah, and or expands.
09:39Amen, hallelujah.
09:40We also, not only do we have the expanding equity program where we're working with Fortune
09:45500 companies around building their DEI practices, but we also have an impact investing portfolio.
09:51And the foundation put $100 million of its corpus into impact investing because we wanted
09:56to invest in folks who are underrepresented.
09:59And for us, it was really important around creating vehicles for access to capital so that young entrepreneurs,
10:07entrepreneurs who are living in rural areas, urban areas, people who had ideas but never really had the resources
10:13available to them to be able to participate in the market.
10:17And for us, it was around changing the narrative of who these entrepreneurs are, de-risking it,
10:23not saying that we're lowering the bar of the standard of what you need to do to be investable,
10:28but recognizing that bias plays a huge part in who has access to capital.
10:34And so we wanted to make sure we created this vehicle that allowed for folks, men, women,
10:41people living in urban environments to have resources.
10:43And so with that $100 million investment, we've been investing in all sorts of business.
10:49We have Impact America Fund, which is really women-led trying to build out an ecosystem for folks to be able to access capital.
10:57We have the Operator Collective, which is a bunch of operators who are coming together to figure out
11:02what needs to happen in order to be able to keep the pipeline of capital going.
11:06We provide technical assistance.
11:08We have networking events to expose folks to seeing what these great entrepreneurs are doing.
11:14And so for us, it was around living the talk and actually demonstrating how we can do this.
11:20And, you know, when we first started, we said, okay, maybe if we get between 4% and 8% return,
11:27this is the proof in the pudding.
11:28We're actually getting 10% IRR, which is almost unheard of for folks who never would have been seen as a vehicle for success
11:38and a vehicle for having entrepreneurship and resources and capital in their local communities.
11:44And so for us, we're continuing to move in this vein in this space and creating other vehicles.
11:50So while we have a market rate program, we also have a program for folks who are below market rate
11:55because we realize that sometimes you need the room and the space to be able to seed your idea.
12:01And so we're seed funders, and we give them grant-making dollars that they don't have to pay back
12:05so that they can explore those vehicles.
12:07And for us, it's around bringing partnership and philanthropy in the corporate sector.
12:12Whoever wants to come individually wealthy people, we'd like you to come forward
12:16because we want to be able to invest in folks because those people invest in their communities,
12:22and we're leaving $20 trillion on the table when we don't invest in communities of color.
12:26Why would we do that?
12:28And so that's what we do at the Kellogg Foundation.
12:30You better.
12:31If I could take off my shoe and still be professional, I would do it right now.
12:36I would love to just kind of sit for a second on what you said because you said the both and.
12:42So people say, if I'm investing in things that are diverse, that is, if you're an investor, concessionary.
12:49It's concessionary returns.
12:51You just said, I blew the roof off of all of that.
12:54And if communities have been starved of capital for centuries, some of y'all are going to have to have some concessions.
13:04Or reparations.
13:05Okay, I'm sorry.
13:06Sorry, this video is being recorded, and there are a million of viewers.
13:09Okay, moving along.
13:11But I do want to kind of sit with you for a little bit on that because in light of all of that,
13:16in light of what we heard from Ariane earlier, in light of what we heard from Congressman Jeffries,
13:22there has been a pushback on DEI work.
13:26So how are you continuing to invest intentionally in equity in light of all of the storms that are brewing?
13:32Well, for one, the loudest voice isn't always the right voice.
13:37And we know from the work that we've been doing, the companies that we've been working with,
13:4190% of them said that they're doubling down on their efforts.
13:44Now, they may be shifting language a bit so that they don't get on the front of the paper.
13:49Or they may be thinking, but their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is even higher
13:55because they're seeing the return.
13:57They're recognizing that they have access to new ways of thinking, new ways of understanding,
14:02innovation that they never had before because they were diversifying who's at the table.
14:07And one of the things we always tell folks is that diversity is such a rich and rewarding experience.
14:13And when you don't have it, you're actually operating within a vacuum,
14:17and you'll never be able to break out of that loop.
14:20And so for us, because of the work that we've been doing with expanding equity,
14:24because of the work that we've been doing in impact investing,
14:27we have proof points over and over that the anti-DEI movement is actually a farce.
14:34It's just a lot of noise for people who are disgruntled, who don't want to make room at the table.
14:39And we say all the time, as Shirley Chisholm said, bring your own chair and sometimes create your own table.
14:46Yes.
14:51She said what she said.
14:53Okay.
14:55And do you have anything you want to add?
14:57I know your voice might be not on behalf of Diageo, but on behalf of Shante.
15:01But anything you want to join?
15:02I agree 100%.
15:04I do think this piece of focusing on impact over intention, right,
15:11I think shifting the conversation in DEI that, I think there's a lot of feel-good work,
15:17and I think sometimes that can make the results cloudy, right,
15:24and that you're not really focused on impact.
15:26Because there's a lot of good and well-intended folks that you can still do harm, right?
15:30And so if we can shift the language to really focus on impact and what we're doing,
15:35which is a lot of the things that we're doing, like with Pronghorn, as we think,
15:38with endowment that we have with HBCUs and minority-serving institutions of really going to students
15:44and providing access to capital to help them pay for school,
15:48looking and focusing on hospitality programs at HBCUs to really open up access to this industry
15:54and feeding the talent for this industry.
15:57I think that that is a really, really important part of the work that we do at Diageo.
16:02That is amazing.
16:03And I know you've heard several stats of surveys that have come out or data that has come out.
16:07There was a survey that was funded in partnership with Ying,
16:11who spoke earlier from the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council,
16:14which basically said even if you zero in on corporate executives,
16:1982% of them said DEI was critical to their business.
16:23And even if you focused on folks who identify as conservatives, 75% of them say so as well.
16:31So over and over again, it seems like the data pattern is still holding.
16:35100%.
16:35And I think, you know, black and brown communities are growing at a faster rate, right?
16:40And culture, we know that culture is embedded and begins in black and brown community.
16:45So for us as a business, it has to be part of what we do, right?
16:49We are a business that really wants to ensure that everyone can celebrate life, right?
16:55And it's an honor to be a company that's part of those moments, right?
16:59And so how do we ensure that we're doing our part to ensure that that is accessible for everyone?
17:04Not just in the celebration, but also building the industry, supporting the industry,
17:08building new entrepreneurs.
17:10So I think that is the key.
17:12I heard for the culture.
17:13Uh, so I would also just kind of, since we're celebrating the culture, um, and this is not
17:20exactly what we talked about ahead of time, but I know you probably have examples.
17:23What is an organization, an initiative, or something that you're working on now that's
17:28actually giving you hope and optimism in times where I feel people are really tamping our
17:34spirits or telling us the opposite of what we're seeing in our day-to-day lives?
17:39Yeah, I mean, I think this morning we heard from the Fearless Fund.
17:43That fight gives me hope because they're not walking away.
17:47They're doubling down.
17:48They're bringing new awareness around how inequity plays out in so many different ways.
17:54The folks that we invest in, in our impact investing portfolio, when they're talking about
18:00the new industries that they're bringing to their local communities or filling a niche
18:05in their local community that no one else wanted to do, or the fact that, you know, we were just
18:09at an impact investor meeting and they were talking about the app that now you can get
18:13your barbershop appointment or your hair salon appointment and how technology is being used
18:17in new and different ways to create vehicles and avenues.
18:20When we're thinking about the work that's happening in food systems and how the black farmer movement
18:25and what they're doing with impact investing in order to bring really healthy, nutritious food
18:30food to their local community, when we think about folks who are thinking about technology
18:35and AI and how they're trying to reclaim some of the things that are happening in the algorithm
18:40so that real stories are being used within the AI and chat GPT and everything else that's going on,
18:45when we're thinking about the ways in which folks want to think about housing or economic development
18:51or thinking about loan programs or starting up new banking industries, those are the things
18:56that get me really excited. And when I see the young people who are in these entrepreneurship
19:00groups that we support, really thinking about ways in which they want to be business leaders
19:06and the ways in which they want to lift up their community. And when you hear young children
19:10talking about what they want for the future and their hopes and their aspirations, that's what
19:14gives me joy every single day. And that's what allows me to remove myself from the noise
19:20that will tear that down and really hold on to the optimism of what our community has always done
19:26We've always lifted ourselves up from all of the negatives that have been put upon us
19:30and the fact that that energy is still there gives me hope every single day.
19:36You know what? I'm going to write all of those down and wake up in the morning and say,
19:40this is the list, the litany of things, but I'm sure you have some...
19:43Affirmations.
19:44Affirmations. My affirmation of how my community is still resilient and showing up.
19:48But I know you have something to add too, Shante.
19:49Yeah, I would also add, for me, what gives me hope is this younger generation, in particular
19:56in corporate America that are really pushing corporate America to do the right thing, to
20:02stand by, to align with their values. They're not afraid to say what their personal values
20:07are and to search for a company that aligns with their personal values. So every day for me
20:14going into work is a reminder, right, that I keep on going, right? Hearing their stories
20:19of success, hearing their moments when you have impact on them and their career development,
20:23those small moments, but they give me hope for the larger collective of, like, how can we
20:30make this repeatable for everyone to have access to these opportunities, to have access to investment
20:36from leaders and their careers. But I really think this generation, I always look to them
20:43for encouragement and also I'm like, wow, they're brave, right? I think of myself, when
20:49I was their age, I wasn't brave enough to say, like, this company doesn't align with my personal
20:53values. I'm going to look for something else or I'm going to demand and ask for it. And while
20:57there are ways, right, we are a business, you have to also balance that, that is really encouraging
21:02and hopeful that they want something better and they're going to push to achieve that and
21:06get that.
21:08Well, for those of you who are kind of the hard brass tacks corporate folks in the room,
21:14some of the trends that we're seeing that are undergirding a lot of these changes is that
21:18there's $30 trillion of wealth changing hands. They don't all look like us because I don't
21:24have $30 trillion of wealth. But to children who are probably about a lot of our age on the
21:30panel who believe in things that do well by doing good, there are majority of consumers
21:36who are paying a premium for products who do well by doing good, which includes diversity,
21:42equity, inclusion. And then the last data point is what you touched on, Chante, that the workforce
21:48of today does not want to be part of a company that doesn't align with those values. So when
21:53you're hearing things like, oh, DEI is dead, it's actually counter narrative to what the actual
21:59data is showing from the trends. And I think it's just really beautiful about how you've
22:05shown what you're seeing day to day. And it's from very powerful women in very powerful places.
22:09So you heard it there first. I would just love to just hear from the two of you on what's
22:16your call to action then? What are the handful of next steps, regardless of what seat you're
22:21in, that you can take to actually continue to drive this work forward? And why don't we
22:26start with you, Chante? Yeah, I would say continued. These spaces are so important to continue the
22:33conversation, but more importantly, to share, right? To share the lessons, to talk about the things that
22:41haven't gone well, right? And how do you iterate? How do you pick up and move on and pivot to different
22:47actions? And I think not giving up and not always being caught in the noise and listening to the noise,
22:55right? And really looking at the full picture. And for me, what I'm always saying to my team and to
23:01some of our business resource group leaders is like, let's focus on impact over intention.
23:07In particular, in DEI work, we have to focus on the impact. What is the impact we're having on our
23:12employees? What is the impact we're having on communities? What is the impact we're having on
23:16our consumers? And if we can keep that at the forefront of what we're doing, that's a good place for us and a
23:23good start to keep on the momentum. Right. So you have to do your own work first before you can do the
23:31work to help others. And so what we often tell the companies that we work with is that do your first
23:37introspection. Where are you showing up well and where are you not? And then when you do that, you can
23:43begin to then have a pathway forward. We also tell them that when you're thinking about investing in
23:49communities of color, black is not a risk factor. And so that's number one. Two, figure out what
23:56conscious and unconscious bias you have that's creating the barriers for you to have the sort of
24:02opportunity and the sort of network building and sort of influx of innovation. And then do your due
24:09diligence and keep working. Figure out ways in which to elevate the folks that you're investing in so
24:16others can hear their stories and you can bring more to the table. Because that's what we need. We
24:21need the collective action of all of us in order to break through some of these systemic barriers.
24:25And so when I think about what I would want folks who want to invest in entrepreneurs to do
24:31is recognize that risk looks different in every community, but it's no different for black people
24:39than it is for any other group. Investment is critical, both at the seed stage and later on.
24:47And exposing these groups and these entrepreneurs to networks is your number one responsibility towards
24:55leading to their impact and their success.
24:58Well, Alfonso started this morning saying it had to be an action conversation. So I would just sum all of
25:05this up for the things that we're telling our investors and businesses. You know, you have to
25:10meet people where they are and not where you want them to be. And so for some of you, even if you care a
25:16lot in your organizations, folks are using this as an excuse to dial back the work they were already
25:22doing. And so if you're in that situation, you have to hold the line. You have to hold the line. You have to
25:27protect your programs. You have to protect your work. You have to be very savvy about language. If your
25:32organization's committed, but they don't want to be attacked publicly, you have to join forces because this is a
25:38fight for economic freedom. This is not a fight for red and blue. It is a fight for the soul of our freedom and our
25:45economic society. And so in those instances, one coalition we've been part of building was the Freedom Economy, which is
25:52about supporting investors to continue to be bold. You can text bebold to 33777 if you want to fight for investors. And the last is
26:01some people have to be like these powerhouse women on the stage and lead the charge in spite of everything
26:10that's going on. And I am so grateful for both of you, your leadership, your power, and your poise. Thank you so
26:17much. Join me in thanking them. And thank you, Alfonso and the Global Black Economic Forum.
26:22Thank you so much for coming to see you in my next episode.
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