S1 E52 - Chris Pitre - VP Softway

How did a 20-something  entry-level black male employee get invited to go to NYC on the company dime,  picked up by a limo, stay at the Waldorf Astoria, meet Serena Williams and Billie Jean King at an event before having a seat at the table at an enterprise sales meeting in a sea of C-suite execs? He got recognized, mentored and sponsored by a CSO of one of the largest staffing companies in the US. He got invited to the dance, but he showed up, over-delivered and knocked it out of the park.

On this, the final episode of season 1 of the C-Change podcast, Chris speaks very candidly about his unique experience as a black man in the corporate world and how expertise, grace and gratitude paved the way for his meteoric rise to leadership and how other women and people of color can take control of their career trajectory.

--> Learn more about SENECA LEADER TRAINING HERE

--> Get the book Love As A Business Strategy HERE

Learn more about CHRIS PITRE here:

Chris is a co-author of WSJ Bestseller Love as a Business Strategy and the Co-founder of Culture+, a culture-as-a-service company.  He works with and speaks at companies across Big Tech, energy, healthcare, financial services, and nonprofit sectors to strengthen their culture and organically build inclusive behaviors.
Chris is a student of the world and enjoys anthropology, history, travel, and culinary experiences. His interests in global cultures naturally led him to travel around the world co-leading culture and leadership transformations through Culture+.

Chris is a native Houstonian who loves everything Beyoncé. He has a BBA with a concentration in marketing from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

“Curiosity over fear.” If my career has a tagline, that’s it. 

As Vice President at Softway, I oversee HR and business development, and support client projects through strategy, talent management, branding, communications, and tech ideation. Whether it's a talent conversation or helping a client solve a business challenge, my common thread is helping fellow humans get to their next level, and beyond. I lead teams that are consultative, collaborative, and outcome-oriented. 

My passions have led me to a place where I get to explore, learn, and create in multiple business areas. I've developed specialties in advertising, digital strategy, digital marketing, marketing automation and technology, social media, innovation, sales, HR, change management, and internal communications. 

In 2018, Softway created a radical and unique leadership transformation experience called Seneca. As a member of the Seneca team, I traveled to 8 countries to facilitate these sessions over 10 months. Developing leaders across so many different cultures was an education in itself, and made us even better at delivering the most empathetic, effective, humans-first products and services for our Softway clients.

Most recently, I’ve been able to share my experience as a co-host of Softway’s new podcast, “Love as a Business Strategy” (www.softway.com/laabs). We discuss all the highs and lows and in-betweens of creating human-centric tech, empathetic leadership, diversity and inclusion, and so much more. We often feature friends/special guests— elite-athletes and legendary coaches, business-turnaround experts, and stars from our in-house talent on their superpower techniques we can all borrow.

In my career, I have been privileged to work with the following clients and industries:
- Tech (HP, Microsoft, Adobe, Uber)
- Healthc