Rusty has been a big supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion in every organization he's worked in. It wasn't until shortly after George Floyd's untimely death that a friend suggest he read Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Although a brilliant piece of fiction, it changed his paradigm. In a moment of clarity, he recognized he had been a passive supporter, not an active ally. From that moment on, he rallied to change the minds of other white men who are ready to embrace a shift in our leadership culture that is a long time coming. More about Rusty Atkinson: Rusty Atkinson is an experienced CIO and SaaS business leader with over 20 years of experience leading technical teams and delivering and supporting SaaS offerings. He is a digital transformer, an infrastructure and operations modernizer, a development-enabler, a friction-remover, and a proactive partner to business stakeholders. Rusty is an active DEI advocate and sponsor. Mr. Atkinson has executive experience in healthcare, security, and software companies.

Most companies are pressed to do DEI as an equitable and smart way to bring perspective that reflects the customer base. In this case, Scott Harris is running one of the top real estate brokerages in NY (which is saying something). Even though 99% of his client base is "rich white folks", Scott built diverse team that is making it rain. Listen in on how he did it, the failures, the wins, the moments of truth and becoming a true servant leader.More about Scott:Since 2003, Scott Harris has been involved in the marketing and sales of nearly $1 Billion of New York City residential property. In 2014, among the top 250 realtors in the nation in sales volume, Scott was recognized as the number 30 broker in New York City by the WSJ/ Real Trends Top 1000 list. He is regularly among the top 0.02% of Realtors nationwide.  Prior to Real Estate, Scott was in the entertainment industry, as an artist manager and exclusive booking agent. His success as an agent uniquely prepared him to be a top Real Estate professional in New York City, by helping him build a diverse, international network and client base, which he continues to cultivate. Scott was born and raised in New Orleans. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives on the Upper West Side with his wife and three children. When he is not busy being one of the top 2% of realtors nationwide, he is a dedicated marathon runner and crossword enthusiast. 

Niki Leondakis' original interview was Episode 19, which aired September 22, 2022. She shared best practices in creating a truly inclusive, psychologically safe healthy culture everywhere she goes. Join me as I unpack a particular theme in the conversation: Belonging and how to build it. *NOTE: the book Niki mentions in the original episode is Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale,  “7 Key 2 Success: Unlocking the Passion for Diversity”More about Niki Leondakis:Niki Leondakis is Chief Executive Officer at CorePower yoga, the largest yoga studio brand in the United States with over 200 studios. Throughout her career, Niki has worked to build and lead diverse and customer-centric teams in the hospitality and boutique fitness industries. She has more than 30 years of experience building lifestyle brands and creating award-winning workplace cultures that are driven by innovation and customer loyalty.before joining CorePower Yoga, Niki served as CEO of multiple companies including The Wolff Company, a real estate private equity firm, Equinox Fitness Clubs, as well as Two Roads Hospitality (sold to Hyatt Hotels) and Commune Hotels & Resorts.  Before Commune, she was President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.Niki has received numerous industry awards and has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Women” by the San Francisco Business Times annually since 2002. A long-time passion, she also serves on the Board of Directors for Dress for Success, an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.In her free time, Niki enjoys traveling and is an avid yoga practitioner, hiker, and runner.

Mohammad Anwar is rewriting the American Dream.  He is an immigrant who started Softway,  a technology services company, with his family at the age of 20 while pursuing his B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics at the University of Houston. When Softway began in 2003, it was a small company that created websites for merchants in Houston. Since then, it has grown to a Business-to-Employee solutions company that focuses on bringing technology solutions to others by building high performing teams that speak to the human needs of  the workforce.  However, there was a time when the company culture at Softway was so toxic that it almost caused the enterprise to fold.  Mohammad was running a classic Command and Control business in a culture of fear.  After some initial quick gains, the business began to unravel. It was Mohammad's willingness and courage to own his decisions, ask for forgiveness and share his soul with the very people who felt abused his culture. He saw that love was the answer and that's when everything changed. This is his story...GET THIS BOOK FOR 50% OFF!https://www.loveasabusinessstrategy.com/Promo code at checkout: CCREATIVE50CONNECT WITH MOHAMMAD and CULTURE +:https://www.culture-plus.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/manwarsoftway/MORE ABOUT MOHAMMAD ANWAR:Mohammad is the President and CEO of Softway and Culture+, co-creator and facilitator of Seneca Leaders, co-host of Love As A Business Strategy podcast, Wall Street Journal  Best Selling Author of 'Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging and Success,' he is a speaker, and a member of Forbes Business Council. In 2021, he formed Culture+ as a standalone organization fully dedicated to our mission: bring humanity back to the workplace. Culture+ provides Culture-as-a-Service to transform behaviors of employees and leaders - creating high-performing teams capable of achieving any business outcome. 

Niki Leondakis is a tireless champion for empowering women and moving the needle on DEIB in every place she works. I had the pleasure of working with her in NY where she was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. One of her many big impacts was galvanizing the core value of mutual respect and women's empowerment within the organization. She is a force of nature and consistently raises the level of discourse, consciousness and opportunity for women around her.   In this episode, Niki reveals specific  proven strategies and practices that are indispensable for any leader who wants to be effective in creating a culture fairness and equity. Sharpen your pencils, you're going to want to take notes.*NOTE: the book Niki mentions is Rosalyn Taylor O’Neale,  “7 Key 2 Success: Unlocking the Passion for Diversity”More about Niki Leondakis: Niki Leondakis is Chief Executive Officer at CorePower yoga, the largest yoga studio brand in the United States with over 200 studios. Throughout her career, Niki has worked to build and lead diverse and customer-centric teams in the hospitality and boutique fitness industries. She has more than 30 years of experience building lifestyle brands and creating award-winning workplace cultures that are driven by innovation and customer loyalty.before joining CorePower Yoga, Niki served as CEO of multiple companies including The Wolff Company, a real estate private equity firm, Equinox Fitness Clubs, as well as Two Roads Hospitality (sold to Hyatt Hotels) and Commune Hotels & Resorts.  Before Commune, she was President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.Niki has received numerous industry awards and has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Women” by the San Francisco Business Times annually since 2002. A long-time passion, she also serves on the Board of Directors for Dress for Success, an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.In her free time, Niki enjoys traveling and is an avid yoga practitioner, hiker, and runner.

Tom's original interview was S1 EP 16 on September 1, 2022.  Coming from a long career in energy and having worked his way  to the most senior levels of leadership in his role at the biggest energy company gave him a unique insight to white male dominated leadership and he was ready to try something different. Don't miss his journey from decades at an energy giant to working at an energy startup for a female CEO for the first time. Got a recommendation for a guest or interested in being interviewed yourself? reach out to my team: cultureworks@maurabarclay.com

Re Perez is many things: a published author, CEO and Founder of an award winning branding business that has an inclusive, equitable staff, emotional intelligence ninja and intuitive master. He also happens to be Filipino and gay. Growing a business being a member of an underrepresented community has different DEIB implications than that of socially dominant groups. How do you walk the fine line of supporting other underrepresented groups, hire the best talent and prevent other kinds of homogenization? Re breaks it down. A point of view you may not have heard before -- don't miss it.More about Re Perez, Branding for the People and his book, 'Your Brand Should Be Gay (even if you're not): Re is a former Fortune 500 Brand Consultant turned Entrepreneur, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author, and CEO of Branding For The People, an award-winning branding agency that creates world-class brands that accelerate business growth.  Re’s storied career includes senior-level positions at top global branding firms, including BrandLink, Interbrand, Reputation Management Institute, and TMP Worldwide, where he gained invaluable experience consulting to Novo Nordisk, Nielsen Company, TD Ameritrade, and Xerox among many other household names.   As a keynote speaker, Re electrifies every audience and brings forward-thinking insights, actionable content, and practical tips for every business owner and marketing team. His speaking portfolio includes major entrepreneurial conferences including: EO’s Global Leadership Conference, Infusionsoft’s ICON and PartnerCon, SellerCon, Traffic & Conversion Summit, and Thrive: Make Money Matter (to name a few). He is also a faculty teacher for Growth Institute.  Re holds a degree in Organizational Behavior & Communications from New York University. He has lived in Florida, New York City, Dubai, and San Diego, but currently resides in Austin, TX.His book is called: Your Brand Should Be Gay (even if you’re not) – The art and science of creating an authentic brand 

What do you do when you're a white guy working at the highest executive level of one the biggest energy companies in the world and a female founder of an alternative energy startup offers you a job? If you're Tom Cuthbert, you take that job. Tom spent much of his long career at the top of the food chain, making his way to the most senior levels of leadership at white male dominated energy giants. Now, working for a woman for the first time, he talks about DEIB,  how to create intentional culture at a start up and how to build agile, diverse teams. Don't miss this great perspective and real-world DEIB application with real-world results.Please subscribe, share and feel free to connect me with leaders who are successfully figuring DEIB out for their companies: cultureworks@maurabarclay.comMore about Tom Cuthbert:Tom Cuthbert is a Global Executive Technology Leader with almost 20 years of experience in technology development across the Automotive, Rail, and Energy Industries.With a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University and a Masters in Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, he started his career in the automotive industry before joining General Electric. At GE Tom had a 15 year career spanning Rail, Power and Renewable Energy Industries, most recently serving as GE's Chief Technology Officer for their Energy Storage business.He has worked across a broad range of engineering and product development functions, some of his most notable accomplishments being:· Building a global engineering organization creating world class Battery Energy Storage Systems securing more than $100M in revenue · Leading a Digital Transformation Initiative developing IIOT technologies and solutions to monitor products creating $100M in services revenue · Leading a $50M development of the first ever GE European Locomotive and built a Global System Engineering organization to support the product across 3 continents.Managing global locomotive fleet  delivering 20% performance  improvement and reducingthe  product launch infancy failure rate by half. Tom is originally from Detroit, MI, but has lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, Eskisehir, Turkey, Paris, France, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and 3 children. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling the globe, and playing the drums.Please subscribe, share and feel free to connect me with leaders who are successfully figuring DEIB out for their companies: cultureworks@maurabarclay.com

What does diversity look like in female-led companies? How much pressure is there to hire all women and BIPOC? Emily Morris, powerhouse entrepreneur and CEO of Emrgy, shares her experiences about the expectations she had to navigate as female CEO. More about Emily and Emrgy:Emily Morris is the Founder & CEO of Emrgy Inc., an energy technology company that is disrupting distributed power generation using modular hydropower systems. Since founding Emrgy in 2014, Emily has secured over $15 million in funding to bring Emrgy’s solution to market.www.emrgy.comTo contact Emily: emily@emrgy.com

Original aire date: S1 E13 - August 11, 2022Heli is a Start-Up Investor & CX Designer. As the first and only woman of color in the tech start-up space, Heli offers fantastic perspective on how innocent decisions can lead to unintentional exclusion and disrupt productivity. She shares her lived experiences with culture fails, leadership wins and suggestions on how to create an inclusive culture that gives people space to make mistakes, reconcile and strengthen team cohesion. In this highlight episode, I dig into the missed opportunity of a well intentioned joke gone wrong and unpack the progress inhibitors associated with the micro-aggression label.  What do you think? Leave your view in the comments.Feel free to reach out to me or my team: cultureworks@maurabarclay.com