MasterCard’s Chief Diversity Officer Donna Alligood Johnson loves to discuss diversity management during family get-togethers. Her father is the chief diversity officer at a major advertising agency; her sister, an attorney, sits on the diversity council at a prestigious law firm; and Johnson’s brother is actively involved in the diversity program at the architectural firm where he’s a partner.
“It’s something we all feel really passionate about,” she says, “having worked in industries that tended to be less than integrated.” Johnson began her career as an account manager at BBDO ad agency. She then moved into marketing management at Citicorp before joining MasterCardin 1995 asdirector of retail acceptance development, where she hassince taken on positions of increasing responsibility.
Three years ago, during the formation of MasterCard’s refocused diversity strategy, Johnson was asked to help start the company’s resource group for Black employees, called LEAD (Lifting Employees of African Descent). She developed the business plan, created the charter and presented it to senior management, and since its inception, she has watched membership grow from five to more than 200 people with chapters nationwide. Not only did this opportunity showcase Johnson as a valuable leader, it steered her career toward diversity management.
