Fitzgerald now is director of Diversity and Workforce Effectiveness at the company, No. 43 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. She’s using her experience in learning the local and corporate culture—as well as her extensive background in organizational development, training and community service—to evolve the company’s diversity-management strategies.

In this profile, we tell you her story—personally and professionally—and how the support of Chairman, President and CEO Clay Jones has made all the difference.

How She Ended Up in Iowa

Fitzgerald was raised in Memphis, where her middle-class parents emphasized education. While obtaining a bachelor’s degree in professional studies with an emphasis in organizational leadership, she spent eight years leading training organizations in the mental-health field. She opened a homeless shelter for women and children and managed a shelter for people with HIV or AIDS.

After working in the nonprofit arena for several years, she was admittedly burnt out and wanted to move into the for-profit sector. She went to work for the Center for Healthcare Quality and led the organization’s national initiative to reduce healthcare disparities for underserved populations, including Blacks, Latinos and Asians. When George W. Bush was elected president, the center had its funding cut and she needed a new career opportunity. She then led operational programs for Service Master as she and her husband raised their two children near their families in Memphis.

In 2007, her husband, who works in information security, was courted by Rockwell Collins to move to Cedar Rapids. The company was interested in her as well. “Their strategy is to keep diverse talent. It’s a lot harder for two to walk out the door,” she says.

But the idea of relocating to Iowa was not appealing. “I did not plan to move to Cedar Rapids. I thought it was the most un-diverse place I could take my children to and I wasn’t willing or open at that time to looking at that opportunity,” she says.

What Turned Her Around

While she and her husband were checking out Cedar Rapids, the members of the African-American resource group at Rockwell Collins invited them to a picnic. One of the first cars to pull up was driven by a middle-aged white man, who came alone, in casual clothes. It was CEO Clay Jones, who also is from Tennessee.

“He walked up and introduced himself. The impact of having a company where the CEO would take time on a weekend to come to a network picnic and engage—that sealed the deal for me,” Fitzgerald recalls. “I thought that this could be an environment where I could come and bring my skills.”

What She’s Brought to Rockwell Collins

Fitzgerald led the diversity training at the company, working with Jones. After a year, she was promoted to lead the training organization, a job she held until she took over the diversity and workforce-effectiveness organization.

Her new position is a crucial one, both for her and the company, as Rockwell Collins elevates its commitment to being a diversity leader while continuing to struggle with the ability to recruit and retain talented Blacks, Latinos and Asians.

Fitzgerald works with the community now to make Iowa more accessible to people from different cultures. “What the city lacks from a cultural viewpoint it more than makes up in its core values. We try to help people understand the richness to family commitment and values in the city. The people are very open,” she says.

She also works internally to accelerate diversity-management and talent-development efforts, especially using the resource groups. “I don’t think we are leveraging their full potential yet. We really are trying to increase diverse representation at all levels within our organization … I know we are on a journey, but the pace at which the world’s efforts on diversity and inclusion are accelerating makes me sometimes fear we aren’t moving the needle as fast as we can.”

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Synopsis: A Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship

Written by DiversityInc Vice President of Consulting Debby Scheinholtz, the Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship is a comprehensive report that features DiversityInc data as well as interviews with chief diversity officers from six companies that excel at managing effective resource groups. Featured companies include:

• MasterCard Worldwide, No. 15 in the DiversityInc Top 50
• Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), No. 19
• Target, No. 30
• Northrop Grumman, No. 42
• Rockwell Collins, No. 43
• Comcast Corporation, one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies

You can read an excerpt from the 1,663-word article below. The Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship article is available at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

What’s an Executive Resource-Group Sponsor?

Executive resource-group sponsors—usually direct reports to the CEO or members of the senior-leadership team—give resource groups business influence within their companies.

1. Who is Eligible for Executive Sponsorship?
   Executive resource-group sponsors are usually at the highest level of the company—most often direct reports to the CEO.
2. How Are Executive Sponsors Selected?
   The chief diversity officer often selects sponsors from among the senior-leadership team. Alternatively, resource groups may request a particular sponsor or a potential sponsor may request a specific group.
   
3. Do Executive Sponsors Serve for a Defined Term?
   Some companies allow executive sponsors to serve indefinitely. In cases where terms are limited, they usually last a minimum of two years to allow for a ramping-up period and time to produce results.
   
   
4. What Qualities Do Chief Diversity Officers Look for in Executive Sponsors?
   The people we interviewed tell us that along with a senior-leadership role, executive sponsors should help the resource group align its goals with business objectives and strategies, help members navigate the corporate culture, and introduce group members to the right contacts to help them achieve their goals. Having emotional intelligence is also important.
   
   
5. What Type of Training Should Executive Sponsors Receive?
   DiversityInc’s white paper on resource groups found that 89 percent of companies surveyed train their executive sponsors in advance. The most prevalent type of diversity training is cultural-competency training, but some companies offer leadership training as well.
   
   
6. Are Sponsors Always Cross-Cultural?
   It is highly recommended that executive resource-group sponsors be cross-cultural, based on data analysis of results (promotions, engagement) and anecdotal evidence.
   
   
7. Are Executive Sponsors Compensated or Rewarded for their Roles?
   At the six companies whose CDOs we interviewed, executive sponsors receive no additional compensation for their role. The performance goal is tied to assessment and overall performance rating, but other activities can also satisfy this goal.

Read The Guide to Effective Resource-Group Executive Sponsorship article at DiversityIncBestPractices.com and get practical, takeaway examples from MasterCard Worldwide, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), Target, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins and Comcast Corporation.

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Clockwise from top left: Clay Jones, Joy Fitzgerald, Sharon Harvey Davis, Tom Voss

DiversityInc Top 50 data shows a direct correlation between a CEO’s visible support of diversity—and emphasis on accountability—and results, measured in human-capital demographics and marketplace gains.

To explore successful CEO best practices on diversity management, we asked two chief diversity officers–Joy Fitzgerald, director of Diversity and Workforce Effectiveness at Rockwell Collins, and Sharon Harvey Davis, vice president and chief diversity offer at Ameren–to tell us about their relationships with their CEOs: Clay Jones, CEO of Rockwell Collins (No. 43 in the DiversityInc Top 50), and Thomas Voss, CEO of Ameren (one of  DiversityInc’s Top 5 Regional Utilities).

Synopsis: Why They Are Exemplary Diversity Leaders

Both of these CEOs are very public in their belief that diversity drives business gains. Clay Jones, chairman, president and CEO of defense contractor Rockwell Collins (who was interviewed in our last issue), vowed to earn a spot on the DiversityInc Top 50 two years ago and has succeeded, personally driving initiatives throughout his company. This year, the second in which Rockwell Collins made the list, the company is No. 43. Read our Q&A interview with Rockwell Collins’ Clay Jones and watch the video below to hear Jones speak about his diversity journey.

Tom Voss, chairman, president and CEO of St. Louis–based utility company Ameren (interviewed in our spring issue), has literally changed his organization’s corporate culture to create an inclusive and supportive environment, including LGBT rights. Read our Q&A interview with  Ameren’s Tom Voss and watch the video below to hear Voss speak on diversity and innovation.

You can read an excerpt of the 1,700-word article below. Visit DiversityIncBestPractices.com to read the full ‘Diversity Is a Leadership Expectation’: Case Studies of CEOs of Ameren, Rockwell Collins article, view the charts and watch additional videos from the roundtable.

CEO Best Practice No. 1: Holding Direct Reports Accountable
Both of these CEOs ensure their direct reports are equally supportive of diversity-management initiatives.

Rockwell Collins: It is our CEO’s commitment that diversity is a leadership expectation, not a choice. If you are going to be a leader at Rockwell Collins, you will demonstrate inclusive behaviors.

CEO Best Practice No. 2: Be a Role Model of Visible, Personal Support
These two CEOs, along with the CEOs at the top of the DiversityInc Top 50 list, are public and very personal in their consistent support for diversity as a business driver.

Ameren: Tom Voss is involved in a way that is genuine, sincere and credible. What that looks like at Ameren is that we have four female vice presidents and Tom has personally promoted three of them. We have one African-American CEO in our company, the first one. Tom personally promoted him.

CEO Best Practice No. 3: Uphold Values at All Times
When there is a fear of a backlash, some CEOs back down. These CEOs remain true to the values of inclusivity at their company.

Ameren: We have had some pushback on our support of LGBT rights. Tom not only shows up at a dinner for a local LGBT organization but he chaired the dinner and invited his direct reports to sit at his table.

CEO Best Practice No. 4: Chief Diversity Officer Has Frequent Access
Whether or not the chief diversity officer reports directly to the CEO, he or she must have frequent access and the ability to weigh in on crucial business strategies.

Rockwell Collins: I report to the senior vice president of HR, who reports to Clay Jones. I have access to Clay; he’s actively involved, not through emails or voicemails but face-to-face in his office.

CEO Best Practice No. 5: CEO Leads Executive Diversity Council
The CEO’s personal leadership of the diversity council, as well as holding senior executives accountable for company-wide results, has a direct impact on the success of the council’s goals.

Rockwell Collins: Our executive diversity council is comprised of the leadership team. Clay is very involved in helping set the strategies on a yearly basis. They meet quarterly to assess these strategies.

CEO Best Practice No. 6: Succession Planning and Continuous Support for Diversity
These CEOs know the diversity efforts must be sustainable, even after they leave the organization. They are ensuring that their successors have as deep a commitment.   

Ameren: Tom is in his 60s, and we know he will retire in the relatively near future. He has identified the potential next CEO to lead the diversity council so that if that person succeeds him, he will have a strong diversity footing in place.

Read the complete 1,700-word ‘Diversity Is a Leadership Expectation’: Case Studies of CEOs of Ameren, Rockwell Collins article at DiversityIncBestPractices.com for in-depth best practices, data charts and additional videos from our roundtable. The article is available to subscribers for free.

Not a subscriber? Request subscriber information and pricing for DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

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The six CEOs and eight senior executives at our event demonstrated how their personal passion and commitment to diversity have become a critical factor in making strategic business decisions. In many cases, this helped gain traction within senior leadership and generated measurable results in workforce diversity, while sometimes improving market share.

The two-day event featured two panels with six chief diversity officers—one focused on best practices for executive diversity councils and the other on using compensation to drive diversity-management results. Additionally, DiversityInc Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Barbara Frankel presented exclusive advice on what companies need to do to improve their DiversityInc Top 50 rank.

Watch all the presentations from this event via the players below or view our YouTube playlist. Videos of all the speakers will be posted throughout the day.

Also, be sure to save the date for our upcoming 2013 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity Announcement Dinner, April 23–24, 2013.

How New York City Drives Diversity Results
R. Fenimore Fisher, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Diversity & EEO Officer, City of New York
How does the City of New York drive diversity metrics and results? Find out from a world-class diversity expert.

Diversity in the Workplace: Leadership Counts
Jorge Benitez, Managing Director – North America, Chief Executive – United States, Accenture
This CEO really values work/life issues. He tells us how he includes spouses and encourages family priorities.

Panel: Best Practices on Executive Diversity Councils
Debbie Storey, AT&T; Rhonda Crichlow, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Michelle Lee, Wells Fargo 
Three companies with the best practices—and results—on diversity councils talk about CEOs chairing the councils, setting goals and accountability.

Building a Strong Diversity Brand
John Bryant, President and CEO, Kellogg
The CEO of Kellogg tells us why his company has invested so much over the last two years in its diversity-management efforts.

Workplace Diversity: The Personal Connection in Leadership
Forest T. Harper, CEO, INROADS 
The son of migrant workers, who went on to be a top Pfizer executive, talks about how INROADS helps Black and Latino college students become corporate leaders. Click here to download the presentation slides.

Corporate Diversity at the Top: Q&A With Luke Visconti
Steve Howe, Area Managing Partner – Americas, Ernst & Young
The U.S. head of Ernst & Young discusses how corporate values drive business decisions at his firm

Diversity & Inclusion: Accountability & Your Business Future
Thomas F. Zenty III, CEO, University Hospitals
The CEO of this Cleveland hospital system tells us how outreach to Blacks and Latinos is driving hospital growth.

Workplace Diversity: Using Leadership to Save Lives & Talent by Creating Inclusive Workplaces
Dr. Eliza Byard, Executive Director, GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network)
The head of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) tells you about young lives saved through the help of corporations like yours.

Panel on Diversity Metrics: Using Compensation to Drive Results
Maruiel Perkins-Chavis, Marriott International; Joy Fitzgerald, Rockwell Collins; Chad Johnson, Sodexo
Three companies with the most effective diversity metrics tell you what’s on their diversity scorecards and how they link goals to compensation.

Corporate Diversity: A Personal Story of Why Corporate Values Matter
Michelle Lee, Executive Vice President and Northeast Regional President, Wells Fargo
This exec shares her remarkable story of how and why she became a banker and the challenges she faced as the only young, Black woman in her management-training program.

DiversityInc Benchmarking: Tips on How to Move Up on the DiversityInc Top 50 List
Barbara Frankel, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, DiversityInc
See our tips on the best ways to answer questions on The 2013 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity survey. Click here to download the presentation slides.

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