Cultivating Diverse Corporate Boards + Leadership Teams

Public companies have been put on notice several times in just the last five years—most recently when Nasdaq’s rule went into effect this summer that requires it’s companies to have at least one woman and at least one individual from an under-represented community on their boards. The message is clear: board diversity is a requirement.

We welcomed experts in private equity, board diversity, and HR leadership to discuss inclusive leadership, tactics for building robust and diverse talent pipelines, the power of diversity in leadership (beyond the regulations requiring it), and more.

Highlights include:

• Your brain is more active in a diverse setting. Studies find that your brain shows higher activity when talking with people from different cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds or when you disagree.
• Create a thorough board matrix including functional, industry, and demographic specifications, but remain open to that person “you just have to meet.”
• Analyze your list of required qualifications to ensure you aren’t baking in implicit bias.
• Having at least three women or people from under-represented communities on a board contributes to a greater sense of belonging.
• Use people-first language, and create an inclusive environment where people are able to speak up and share why this is important.

Featured Panelists:

Felicia Gorcyca, Chief People Officer, Lifestance Health

Felicia Gorcyca is the Chief People Officer at Lifestance Health. Previously with TPG Capital, Felicia was an Operations Director and member of the Global Human Capital team where she partnered with TPG portfolio companies to build transformative leadership teams and boards and developed the TPG CHRO Network. Prior to joining TPG, Felicia held senior HR leadership roles including Chief People Officer for Stack Sports and Global Head of People Operations for Solera Holdings, Inc. and was a Consultant with Spencer Stuart where she completed more than 100 C-level searches during her thirteen years with the firm.

Fiona Tang, Co-founder, Director of Partnerships, Him for Her

Fiona Tang is Co-Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships & Growth at Him For Her, a social impact venture aimed at accelerating diversity on corporate boards. Prior to Him For Her, Fiona launched brands and established communities across industries and company stages, from stealth startups to eBay. Her passion for building businesses began as part of the founding team of Foodspotting (acquired by OpenTable), where she led partnerships and community growth as Head of Outreach and Head of Community, executing special projects and expanding the userbase from thousands to millions. She is also an advisor and mentor to independent consultants and early stage startups.

Colleen Lauria, Inspire HR Expert, Global HR Leadership

Colleen Lauria is an HRBP and Expert at Inspire Human Resources who specializes in workforce planning, employee relations, organizational design and HR strategy. She has advised executive teams in media, advertising, content production and biotech and is well-versed in the challenges of organizations in transformation. Prior to consulting, Colleen led the North America HR Operations for Hogarth Worldwide through their US and LatAm expansion and held positions that involved leading HR teams through high-growth and business transformation at companies including: iVillage, MySpace, DraftFCB and ROVI (formerly TV Guide’s media arm).