The “Identifying Barriers to Hiring and Promoting African Americans” panel discussion featured Ken Barrett, global chief diversity officer, General Motors; and Lori Costew, chief diversity officer and director of people strategy, Ford Motor Company. The discussion was moderated by Munson Steed, CEO of Steed Media Group. The discussion centered around attempting to dig beyond superficial components to determine the root cause of promoting African Americans to the boardroom and other upper echelon executive ranks.
The “Urban Mobility: The Next Revolution” panel provided Rainbow PUSH/EXCEL Scholarship Recipients’ and their families insights on how General Motors continue to help transform the way the world moves. The General Motor panelists included Acheampong Johnson, business analyst, global human resources; Charles Muse, assistant manager, program engineering – autonomous; Matthew Ybarra, program coordinator, STEM education, Raeven Henry, coordinator, corporate news communications; De’Andra Roberts, coordinator, corporate communications; and Genna Young, manager, Detroit Community Partnerships. The panel was moderated by Porsha Monique, managing editor rolling out Detroit, Steed Media Service.
The conference concluded with the Living Legends and Emerging Leaders Awards Reception where living legends Larry Brinker Sr., founder of The Brinker Group; James E. Farmer, president of James E. Farmer Consulting; and Frederiek Toney, president, global Ford customer service division, vice president, corporate officer, Ford Motor Company received Living Legend Awards. The Emerging Leader Awards were granted to Ford Motor Company’s Angela Henderson, head of supplier diversity, inclusion and sustainability; and Raj Register, manager, cross brand strategy and growth audiences.
