ELSI TALKS
Entrepreneurship. Leadership. Success. Inclusion.
Put them all together and you've got ELSI Talks, informative sessions from up-and-coming Triangle business leaders and entrepreneurs offered by SoarTriangle.
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SAS, an ongoing sponsor of SoarTriangle, hosted the latest ELSI Talks, focused on the topic of diversity at its world headquarters location Thursday, March 31.
Jenn Mann, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, kicked off the event talking about the importance of diversity to SAS’ success. “Diversity is important to us because we believe diverse ideas make great teams,” she said. Mann believes work teams thrive on the interplay between varied backgrounds, ages, genders and other differences. New ideas and outcomes emerge as a result.
DeLisa Alexander, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer of Red Hat, facilitated the morning’s speaking circuit, which brought to the stage five local business leaders at various stages in their careers to share their own experiences regarding workplace diversity.
Dr. Tashni-Ann Dubroy, Ph. D
Tashni Dubroy, President of Shaw University, told her story of moving through the business and academic ranks as a female Jamaican-American and as a 35-year-old leading her alma mater.
Dubroy earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Shaw University, went on to earn her master’s from NC State University, and started a business called Tea and Honey Blends that played up her cosmetic-science knowledge. It wasn’t long after when Dubroy decided to pursue her MBA, claiming that to be successful she needed to be able to speak the business language. “I
wanted to be in the boardroom, but I wanted to contribute significantly, and I wanted to have a voice.”
Dubroy also co-founded the Brilliant & Beautiful Foundation, which supports the aspirations of women in scientific research and the scientific enterprise.
“Every summer we take 100 middle school girls right onto the NC State campus to teach them hands-on science … everything from cosmetic science to Fibonacci sequences to mathematics,” she said. “They come in thinking they’re going to learn how to blend shampoo, and by the time they’re in the classroom and in the laboratory setting we’re teaching them chemical nomenclature.”
Dubroy shared her diversity must-do list with attendees:
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Be a voice in the room. Talk about diversity even if it makes everyone else feel uncomfortable.
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Acknowledge the diversity (or lack thereof) of your environment.
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As a hiring manager, don’t discriminate based on the names you read on job applications.
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Hire outside the box. Take a chance on someone who doesn’t look and act just like you.
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Be willing to mentor and bring someone new to the table.
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Eat a little Tikka Masala. Curry goat isn’t all that bad. Food introduces you to new cultures and people.
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Venture where you’ve never been. (Visit Shaw; it’s in downtown Raleigh.)
Berni Mobley, Senior VP of Information Technology at SAS
Berni Mobley shared her experiences as a woman in IT, noting that when she began her career there were no female role models and hardly any peers. After attempts to look, act and dress like her male counterparts failed to bring about the results she was after, Mobley realized she had a lot to offer just by being herself.
“I was a good listener, a good communicator. I knew how to build relationships, and I was a good organizer and planner. There were important people skills I brought.”
Mobley said it wasn’t always easy early in her career. “As a female, I felt like I had to work a lot harder and prove myself constantly,” she said. But she believes it was worth it, and now at SAS she doesn’t feel that being female holds her back.
“Be yourself. Don’t be pressured to conform,” she said. “Often with a little extra work you’ll be successful.”
William Spruill, Co-Founder and CEO of GDC
Bill Spruill, Managing Partner of The Global Data Consortium told attendees to learn to embrace their differences. “Being underestimated can be a good thing,” he said. At every point, Spruill added, being different actually helped him in his career, and it still does.
His advice from an employee perspective was to begin to view one’s diversity as a competitive edge; make it a strength.
“No one thought I would be the turbo geek that I am,” he said. Spruill used his feeling of being an “underestimated individual” to drive himself to succeed. “Revel in being
different. It’s a good thing.” From an employer’s perspective, Spruill said he has witnessed the benefit of having a mix of employees who see the world in ways you might not.
Cindy Parlow Cone, Founder and CEO of MVTrak
Cindy Parlow Cone, CEO and Founder of MVTrak, World Cup Champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, talked about the importance of her upbringing in pursuing careers in professional soccer career and in business.
“The outlook my family gave me growing up – that there are no barriers in life and I can be successful in any environment I choose – has given me the confidence to go on this progression from an athlete to a coach and now to a CEO of a tech company,” she said.
Although sometimes that confidence still wavers a bit.
When her all-male MVTrak team asked her to be CEO for the startup, she claimed she didn’t know the first thing about running a business and that all of her experience had been on the soccer field as a player and coach. “’Cindy,’ they told me, ‘you’re a leader and a winner and you’re going to help MV Trak win.’” Her competitive spirit kicked in and she accepted the challenge.
SoarTriangle is mentoring Cone as part of its year-long program customized to the needs of qualified, female-led ventures.
Anil Chawla, Founder and CEO of ArchiveSocial
Anil Chawla, CEO and Founder of ArchiveSocial, began with a confession to the audience. “I’ve really done nothing to move diversity forward,” he said.
But, as he shared his views and experiences as part of a large corporation and in building his own business team, it was clear that Chawla had actually done a great deal.
Chawla recalled a leadership training program he was invited to participate in early in his career that he says still impacts the way he leads today. He was selected for the program because of his Asian-Pacific descent, despite being born in the US, but he said the training made him
aware of cultural habits and norms that affect day-to-day relationships in subtle ways.
Hiring is an area where he believes it’s easy to fall prey to old habits, recalling a conversation with a previous employer who said to him, “We’re a sales team of six white guys. If I hire another white guy is that going to be a problem?”
“We have to meet standards, but diversity should play into our decision,” he said.
Chawla recently re-wrote a job posting for a sales rep position at his own company to appeal to a broader and more diverse audience than the initial candidate pool provided. Today, his company employs 21 people. Of those, 11 are minorities and nine are women.
“Perhaps the best way to push diversity forward is to highlight it when diversity pushes you forward,” he said.
Following a spirited Q&A discussion with all of the speakers, attendees were invited to share ideas in smaller breakout networking sessions.
Article and Photos Provided By Becky Graebe
International Communications, SAS
