Why would a line executive at a large corporation, responsible for P&L and with potential to move into top leadership ranks, take on the role of chief diversity officer? And what advantage is there to the company in choosing someone running a part of the business—as opposed to the traditional HR route—to lead diversity management?

DiversityInc presents the story of two chief diversity officers: John Zamora at Deloitte and Shaun Hawkins at Eli Lilly and Company, Nos. 29 and 39, respectively, on The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list.

Key themes discussed in the exclusive 2,137-word article, “Why Do P&L Guys Head Diversity at Deloitte, Eli Lilly,” include:

• How their backgrounds, access to the top of the company and emphasis on business goals are helping their efforts succeed more rapidly—and with more sustainable results
• Why becoming chief diversity officer puts P&L executives in an even more advantageous position

Deloitte’s John Zamora attests that his company wanted someone who understood how diversity management fit in with the business objectives. He reveals why he decided to take on the additional responsibilities and how his background gave him instant credibility, as well as why he focuses on mentoring and its impact on retention and engagement.

Eli Lilly’s Shaun Hawkins’ background was definitely not in HR, and he was surprised when Lilly’s top-level management approached him with the chief diversity officer’s job. He took the position, understanding that a big area of development for him would be the chance to learn to speak publicly to large crowds. With three primary areas of focus—the marketplace, the workplace and supplier diversity—Hawkins stresses the need for accountability to generate sustainable results.

Read ”Why Do P&L Guys Head Diversity at Deloitte, Eli Lilly” at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.