Happy Friday.
I had the opportunity to interview Michelle Gethers-Clark, Visa’s chief diversity officer, as part of Fortune’s latest 100 Best Companies to Work For list. It’s the company’s debut on the list, and they came in at No. 49. But it was also a chance to better understand the bigger vision behind their latest big move—to a brand new 32,000-square-foot building in Atlanta.
Visa is another in a line of big companies that have moved to city to take advantage of the waiting pool of Black talent to help diversify their ranks. “We want to be the net provider of talent across the company,” Gethers-Clark tells me, painting a picture of the kinds of professional track jobs that lead to global assignments and executive achievement.
But that’s only part of the story.
Gethers-Clark is the first-ever combination chief diversity officer and head of corporate responsibility, so her work, team, and budget draw from both the for-profit and philanthropic sides of the company. It’s a powerful mandate to mix profit with purpose. Atlanta, for all its attractiveness as a city, has the highest income inequality by race in the nation. It’s a challenge she takes seriously.
From my story: But it was the city’s persistent poverty and systemic inequity that personally drew Gethers-Clark to Atlanta. She grew up in the public housing system on New York’s Lower East Side, the child of parents who fled the Jim Crow South and day jobs picking cucumbers in search of a better life. “I understand generational poverty because I am one generation away from it,” she says.
This week I caught up with Otis Jones, a seasoned financial sector executive and self-described servant leader who leads a global team of 200 within the company’s client services group. But he is also a beacon of sorts, the kind of if-you-can-see-it-you-can-be-it exemplar and executive coach who works to remove barriers to success for the newer and younger employees who are starting their careers at Visa’s Atlanta office. When he was recruited to the company a little over a year ago—the company’s broader financial inclusion mission particularly resonated with him—he had his choice of locations. He chose Atlanta.
“It’s been phenomenal,” he says, citing Atlanta’s overall vibrant vibe, and Visa’s nascent success in impacting the region. He’s been coaching cohorts of new Black graduates as they cycle through rotation programs. “I tell them to just stay curious, be open minded, never stop learning and look to add value in some way every single day when you when you get to that first job,” he says. Make relationships when you can. And even if it’s not what you think you want to do, when an opportunity comes up, grab it.
I asked him how he would coach an underrepresented entry-level employee who is feeling only and lonely in a new, less welcoming company.
“In that situation, the relationships that you build within that organization can help you feel less alone,” he says. "Look for the ERGs, look for groups within your organization, and if you can’t find those, look for professional groups within your local community.” There are people who look like you who can de-mystify either the company or your career. “There are always people who can help you and help you feel a little more included.”
Ellen McGirt
@ellmcgirt
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com
This edition of raceAhead was edited by Rachel Lobdell.
