Kering accelerates its policy for diversity with the appointment of Kalpana Bagamane Denzel as chief diversity, inclusion and talent officer
The
appointment of Kalpana Bagamane Denzel from October 1st, 2019 as Chief
Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Officer signals a new stage in the Group’s
determined action in support of diversity. The Group will benefit from
Kalpana’s 25 years’ experience of integrating diversity and inclusion across
business, leadership and talent advisory, and education. Kalpana will be based
at Kering’s headquarters in Paris and will report to Béatrice Lazat, Chief
People Officer.
Working
with the Houses and global Group functions, Kalpana will align and execute
Kering’s global diversity and inclusion mission and strategy. This will include
identifying and prioritizing initiatives to help create an environment that
embraces and encourages diversity. Kalpana will also take the lead on
developing a talent strategy where diversity and inclusion will be at the core
of attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining talent.
This
appointment highlights Kering’s broad desire to both accelerate and expand its
action in support of diversity and inclusion. This is driven, on the one hand,
by the Group’s belief that diversity – whether in terms of people’s gender,
culture, origin, sexual orientation, identity or disability – is both of
unlimited value and a source of collective intelligence. Further, the Group
wants to build on its foundation of equal opportunity, giving every employee
the chance to realize their potential. Kering, though ranked 10th out of 7,000
companies in the latest Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index (2019), is
pledged to build an even more representative and successful workforce.
Béatrice
Lazat, Chief People Officer at Kering, declared: “Diversity and equal
opportunity among all our employees have long been at the heart of Kering’s
culture. It is our commitment to take practical action to offer all our
employees a working environment that is inclusive, open and stimulating. I am
delighted by the arrival of Kalpana, whose expertise and experience will enable
us to extend and accelerate the Group’s actions, both internally and
externally, to support diversity and inclusion.”
“Kering’s sincere commitment to its people and culture, as demonstrated by its values of mutual respect, individuality, and authenticity, is exemplary,” says Kalpana Bagamane Denzel. “I look forward to working collectively with all our teams to continue the journey to an even more diverse and inclusive workplace.”
Biography: Kalpana
Bagamane Denzel
Born
and raised in the United States, Kalpana is an American citizen. She has lived
and worked in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong and, most recently,
Singapore. Kalpana began her career as a management consultant with Andersen
Consulting, before working at Procter & Gamble on brand strategies. She
subsequently joined IMD as Director of Marketing, Career Services and
Admissions for the MBA Program before becoming a Director for the Young
Presidents’ Organization. Most recently, she was Managing Director at executive
search leader Russell Reynolds Associates, where she co-led the firm’s
diversity and inclusion practice, as well as advised and partnered global and
Asian clients across the consumer and retail sectors on talent strategy,
acquisition, and development. Kalpana received her B.S. in Industrial
Engineering and Operations Research from Virginia Tech University, and her
M.B.A. from Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Diversity and inclusion
at Kering
As part
of its 2025 Sustainability Strategy, Kering is promoting diversity through a
series of practical commitments, including:
- The objective of gender equality and equal
pay among women and men, at every level of the organization by 2025.
Initiatives to achieve this include the following:
• The Leadership and Diversity program launched in 2010,
which helps women to reach the highest levels of management and promotes a
culture of gender equality;
• Also in 2010, Kering was one of the first signatories of
the Women’s Empowerment Principles charter drawn up by UN Women and the UN
Global Compact.
• Women at Kering represent: 63% of the employees, 51% of the
managers, 31% of the Executive Committee and 60% of the Board of Directors.
- On September 10, 2019, Kering announced the
introduction from January 1, 2020 of company-wide Baby Leave, providing 14
weeks’ paid leave on full salary for all employees who become new parents,
irrespective of their personal or family circumstances, thereby ensuring that
all employees benefit from the same rights.
- Kering is a proud supporter of the UN
Standards of Conduct for Business on Tackling Discrimination against LGBTI
people.
- For more than 10 years, Kering has been
encouraging the recruitment and training of people with disabilities, thanks to
its Disability Policy.
- Kering is part of B4IG (Business for
Inclusive Growth), a worldwide initiative that brings together companies and
government authorities to accelerate the process of reducing inequality and
promoting inclusion.
In
recognition of these efforts:
- The Group was ranked 10th out of 7,000
companies in the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index in 2019.
- The Group was placed 3rd in the 2018 Equileap
ranking in terms of gender equality.
- Kering is the only luxury Group to appear in
the top 100 companies of the 2018 Gender-Equality Index.
- Also in 2018, Kering received The Most Female
Board of Directors Award from European Women on Boards (EWoB) and Ethics &
Boards.
About
Kering
A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned
Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry and Watches: Gucci, Saint Laurent,
Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato,
DoDo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By
placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to
set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s
Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our
signature: “Empowering Imagination”. In 2018, Kering had nearly 35,000
employees and revenue of €13.7 billion.
* This article was originally published here
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