Diversity is good business

The ONBOARD partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration and LinkedIn is a great example of an important collaboration to enhance pathways for company C-suites and boards to more accurately reflect what the world actually looks like.  Investors of all stripes diversify their investments along dimensions that include, but are not limited to asset class, strategy, duration, geography and industry. It's good business but so is diversifying by leadership composition in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. 

To achieve this neither companies nor investors have to lower any bars. It is about maximizing economic value, and to do this they need only to look harder and make it a priority. The thesis is simple: diversity of opinion and perspective from diverse ownership and leadership team should be good for businesses and their profits. I know this first-hand as a Puerto Rican with a Lebanese last name.  People with "diverse" backgrounds are not looking for a social justice driven handout or a set-aside. What they just want is a chance to take a swing and then follow that with many other at-bats. A team's optimal make up and performance is maximized when all the best players are on the field and in the game.

I've been blessed with a pretty interesting career and have thought and worked on these very issues from different vantage points, including public service. Now as a Managing Director at Fenway Summer the lens is a bit different but the expected outcomes similar.  Our management company and partnership is diverse-owned and about a third of our portfolio companies have CEO's and founders who are minorities and/or women.  Way over-indexed on that front to be sure but trust me when I say that our bar to capitalize a company is incredibly high. 

I commend all of the organizations involved many of which I have had the privilege to work with personally and include: American Investment Council (AIC), Association of Asian-American Investment Professionals, BoardList, Director’s Academy, Kauffman Fellows Program, National Association of Investment Companies, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), National Bar Association (NBA), National Venture Capital Association, National Women's Business Council (NWBC), New America Alliance (NAA), Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), Robert Toigo Foundation, Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).