While innovation and diversity of thought have always been a core value for Genesis10 CEO Harley Lippman and the professional technology services firm he founded in 1999, Ambra Middlebrook, Senior Director of Human Resources, is leading the effort to help Genesis10 and its clients create a truly aware and inclusive workplace.
Middlebrook, who has more than 15 years of HR experience,
serves as the founding chairperson of the Genesis10 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. She launched the Council shortly after joining Genesis10 earlier this year to raise diversity awareness through initiatives that will lead to more innovation, creativity and highly engaged employees.
“Our initiatives are to build a diverse talent pipeline, provide training, lunch and learns, and create employee resource groups that build a supportive community, where we can grow personally and professionally,” she says.
An employee resource group for women is among the first the council is launching. Women make up 50% of Genesis10’s leadership team and 36% of its workforce. An ERG, which is open to all employees and focuses on those who share gender, ethnicity, lifestyle or interest, among other characteristics, provides support and help in personal and career development and creates a safe space for all. Genesis10’s women’s group will provide a forum for women and others participants to share experiences that help grow their career by learning from one another. It will be a place to find support, build relationships, and create new opportunities.
In addition to providing diversity training to the Genesis10 leadership team, the council also is refreshing the firm’s hiring practices, by providing the recruiting team with new tools to source job candidates with diverse backgrounds and experience. Recruiters also receive ongoing unconscious bias training. The council also plans to launch a quarterly speaker series and a mentoring program that pairs employees with new hires to help create a stronger sense of belonging.
“From an organizational perspective, the more diverse workforce we employ, the more diverse viewpoints, ideas, perspectives the workforce brings to the table,” says Middlebrook. “It helps drive innovation, to have those different thoughts and backgrounds. It gives us a competitive edge.”
Mark Simone, Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources, credits Middlebrook with
setting the pace for Genesis10’s diversity efforts and helping to raise awareness across the firm. “Our goal is to hire the best available diverse talent, for our clients and ourselves,” he says.
“Ambra and the team have a lot of great ideas,” adds Simone. “The more they discuss their ideas with the diversity council and start getting into the work streams, the more innovation is going to start flowing.”
Founded with Distinctive Set of Values
Genesis10 has always valued the differences, needs and contributions a diverse workforce represents, and is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and being an Employer of Choice. This strategic goal is engrained and transcends all aspects of the business since 1999:
- CEO Harley Lippman has always been committed to helping companies develop and maintain veteran hiring programs for business and technology roles and continues to provide consultants with access to Genesis10’s Veterans Program which provides mentoring, training and meaningful career opportunities in business and IT. The Veterans Program enables clients to support diversity hiring goals and shore up talent and capability gaps by tapping into a talent segment often overlooked or misunderstood.
- Dev10, Genesis10’s Talent Creation program, addresses the tech talent gap—and increases diversity in tech by looking beyond candidates who have computer science degrees to those with other backgrounds and have demonstrated technical acumen and coding experience. By expanding the talent pool to those outside of comp sci, Dev10 significantly improves access to diverse talent, with 54% of Dev10 Associates identifying as diverse.
Genesis10 CEO Harley Lippman is recognized as a Best CEO for Diversity and a Best CEO for Women, as reported by Business Insider.
