Tag Archives: Triangle Business Journal

“Power Breakfast” with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper – Part 1 of 2

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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaking at the April 6th Triangle Business Journal “Power Breakfast.” (PHOTO: Triangle Business Journal)

The Triangle Business Journal, the very well-read and respected business weekly newspaper for the Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, holds a quarterly “Power Breakfast” featuring an area senior leader with a few hundred local business leaders. The Spring 2017 breakfast held April 6, 2017 featured the newly elected NC Governor Roy Cooper. Governor Cooper is quite unique as he was the first challenger to defeat a sitting governor in our state since 1850!

One of the major issues in our state which helped lead to Governor Cooper’s election was the unpopular HB2 law passed last Spring (see my latest blog on HB2) which dictated the bathroom transgender people needed to use in public venues, curtailed the ability of cities and counties to pass their own non-discrimination ordinances, and more. Accordingly, this ongoing issue was a major part of the April 6th breakfast discussion.

Since I am a diversity and career development consultant with a deep expertise in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) workplace and marketplace, Part 1 will overview all of Governor Cooper’s remarks, and Part 2, coming next week, will be a much deeper dive into the overall diversity and LGBT components of the breakfast.

It is important to note that this meeting was not for the LGBT community, but for general business leaders. Therefore it was quite remarkable that within 30 seconds of taking the stage, Governor Cooper stated that he loves his state of North Carolina with its diverse mix of people of different genders, races and sexual orientations; that diversity is all over our state, and “that we need to encourage diversity at every step.” Look for an expansion of this theme in part 2.

Popular NC State Attorney General Roy Cooper was the first candidate to defeat a sitting Governor in NC since 1850! (PHOTO: Citizen Times)

Key points from our Governor:

• My goal is to see North Carolina better educated, healthier, with more money in people’s pockets with them living a more abundant and purposeful life.

• In terms of economic development, we need to attract better paying jobs to North Carolina, pay attention to the businesses that are already here, and remember that small businesses are a major economic engine.

• Education has to be a key initiative in North Carolina – my goal is for NC to be one of the “Top 10 best educated states.” Building our education system is certainly a common ground issue that all legislators can agree on. Education goals:
1. Participation in pre-kindergarten education increased from 22% to 55%
2. High school graduation rate increased from the low 80% to 90s
3. More people with advanced degrees from 38% to 55%

• We can make people healthier by taking advantage of the federal funding provided for health care.

• We have cut taxes enough; it is now time to invest in our state as well as run things more effectively and efficiently. (Side note from Stan – I am sure our new state Secretary of Administration Machelle Sanders (link) will see to that!)

• We have to keep in mind that we are competing in a global economy (not just with bordering South Carolina.)

• Art and music are important elements for the quality of life in North Carolina, including attracting leading businesses to our state.

This is certainly an enlightened agenda to positively impact the lives of all North Carolinians.

More next week on diversity, the LGBT community and HB2!

Reflections from the Triangle Business Journal Leaders in Diversity Awards

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I received a “Leader in Diversity – Role Model” award from TBJ publisher Bryan M. Hamilton and PNC Bank Regional President Paula K. Fryland. (Photography courtesy of Triangle Business Journal | Dathan Kazsuk)

I received a “Leader in Diversity – Role Model” award from TBJ publisher Bryan M. Hamilton and PNC Bank Regional President Paula K. Fryland. (Photography courtesy of Triangle Business Journal | Dathan Kazsuk)


On Thursday, September 12, I was honored along with several other awardees at a luncheon held by the Triangle (NC) Business Journal for their inaugural “Leaders in Diversity” Awards. I received the “role model”and was cited specifically for my leadership for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Diversity work during my 31-year career at IBM, now as the President and Founder of Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer and in various community activities. Other honorees included small, medium and large companies as well as individuals from corporate and non-profit settings. And the winners themselves were quite diverse: women and men, older and younger, various racial and cultural backgrounds, even a woman from Iran who formed a construction engineering firm. (Link to list of all winners.) Additional link: my own award interview.

I feel this kind of recognition is very important. Not only does it encourage those doing the often difficult diversity work to stay diligent, it also signals to the larger community that rigorously pursuing diversity is very critical to economic growth and success in our communities.

The lifetime achievement award was given to retired University of North Carolina basketball Coach Dean Smith. What is special about Coach Smith is that he strongly supported diversity without a lot of fanfare simply as a core value of his life and coaching philosophy. He was a leader in college sports for racial integration of college teams, and was known for individually focusing on every single player he coached to help them maximize their growth both as an athlete and a person. Assisting others to reach their full potential, particularly within a difficult environment, is a key facet of diversity and inclusion.

I also commend PNC Bank for stepping up as the lead sponsor for these awards. The PNC senior leader for all of Eastern North Carolina, Regional President Paula K. Fryland, was present to help hand out the awards as well as deliver a brief keynote address. Paula succinctly articulated the importance of diversity and inclusion as a core value of PNC and the tie to business success. She mentioned the importance and pursuing diversity with clients, employees, supplier and the community, and highlighted four PNC initiatives:
• Their 34 employee resources groups with over 6000 participants for engaging their workforce.
• Education efforts across all levels of PNC so that everyone understands the compelling business rationale for diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Recognizing the various diversity constituency months throughout the year to further engage employees and the community
• Investing financially in philanthropic such as their recent significant investments in North Carolina for early childhood education.

Even within the LGBT community, PNC Bank does follow through with their strategy; they are a corporate sponsor of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), which promotes business development of LGBT-owned business in the US and globally.

PNC Bank and Triangle Business Journal – well done!