Out Leadership

Following on to our Q3 2024 NEXUS LGBTQ+ conversation about #AI x #LGBTQ+ where we were beginning to understand some of the specific issues with our fantastic panellists Kate Devlin Ashly Cheung and Adam Charles, I've pulled together some broader thoughts for our partners at Out Leadership about the kinds of conversations that employees, network members, leaders and other interested stakeholders need to start having re: their workplaces to get a better handle on what's happening already and what actions may be needed for more inclusive AI-driven outcomes. We're all learning as we go on this one, and we want to hear from you too as we know now is the time to get proactive. What work are you starting in this space, and where should we take the conversation next? If you are an LGBTQ+ network lead who would like to learn more about NEXUS LGBTQ+ and get on our mailing list for future events (including a followup event later this year on AI x LGBTQ+), for more information please visit https://lnkd.in/dJgBUEqz. Participation is free! Daniel Ricard Michael Paterson Timothy Jolley Todd Sears

Full house this morning at the Q1 2025 NEXUS LGBTQ+ meetup for #LGBTQ+ network leads hosted by PwC UK - huge thank you to Martin Smith and Hannah Maton for having us. Cynthia Fortlage had an extensive quarterly news digest this time which was challenging to hear but also motivating around taking action. We were joined by Steven McIntyre, CEO and Claire Linacre-Hilton from Stonewall Housing as well as Anna Kear, CEO at Tonic Housing to learn about the work that the LGBTQ+ housing charities are doing. There were lots of great ideas shared about how corporates and LGBTQ+ networks can work more closely with them for positive results for the charities and companies/employees alike! I spoke about issues and opportunities for #LGBTQ+ networks over the coming year to provide a bit of inspiration, identify themes and the potential for collaborations, and areas where further support may be needed. We've had some interesting suggestions come through already, so please do keep them coming. Participation is free. If you're an LGBTQ+ network lead who would like to learn more about NEXUS LGBTQ+ and get on our mailing list for future events, for more information please visit https://lnkd.in/dJgBUEqz As always, a big thank you to NEXUS LGBTQ+ founder and chair Daniel Ricard for pulling us all together every quarter and to our partners at Out Leadership for providing their ongoing support. #networking #connecting #collaborating #sharing #community #outcomes #impact Meg Stretton Cara Crosby

Today I turn 49. And I’m lucky enough to be in one of the five places on this planet where I feel like I’m Home. I spent all day yesterday reflecting on my life up until now from every perspective: my career, my personal life and my life’s purpose. And some pretty cool things crystallized to me–and I’m darn grateful. In this lifetime, I’ve had innumerable opportunities to learn and grow, with some pretty unreal and phenomenal experiences along the way. I’ve had a career that’s gone from investment banker, to private banker, to D&I leader, to entrepreneur. My work-life has allowed me to visit gorgeous and fascinating countries and to work with, meet, connect and most importantly, learn from the most phenomenal leaders–folks that the kid growing up in North Carolina who asked his Mom what gay was when he was 5 could have never imagined. And the greatest achievement and joy has been building Out Leadership (from a severance check). My work has taken me around the world many times over–over 2 million miles to date– and allowed me to understand so many cultures, both corporate and human. But the most thrilling part is that my little company has created some pretty phenomenal change for #LGBTQ equality…which, I now know is my life’s mission. Duh. But despite my constant smile, like every other human, it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve been married, divorced, engaged and am now very happily single. I’ve had a number of people I trusted betray me, including an employee I had to fire, who stole from me, and then tried to take me for money. Last year, when companies started pulling back from diversity, I even had to put a chunk of my life savings back into the company to keep us afloat. But here’s the thing: I learned from every single experience, and I have been able to let it all go with love and gratitude. Out Leadership turns 15 & is in the best place EVER. I’m raising investment capital and doubling the company in 2025. But most importantly of all, I want to thank all my friends, my family, my colleagues and the leaders around the world who have made the last 49 years a total blast! #luckyguy #returnonequality

Wow! My heart is so full– THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for Out Leadership’s first-ever Global Town Hall (if you missed it, you can find the recording below). I was blown away that we had nearly a thousand folks, register and that the vast majority of you were able to join! It was so amazing for me to have the opportunity to synthesize 25 years of learnings, and share them with so many people at one time from all over the world—from my hometown in Tarboro, NC to Dubai! I’m also very grateful for the calm and rational approach of my brilliant guests Camilla Taylor & Rufus Gifford, who carved out time from their demanding schedules (Rufus called in from Denmark!) to join us. So many of you in the chat asked me how you can help support and grow Out Leadership‘s work (which is exactly how I’ve built Out Leadership throughout the years—I haven’t asked for dollars from individuals (just companies), I’ve only asked for your platform! So I’ve decided in the next week, we will be creating three new Out Leadership Global Working Groups. Here’s what I’m thinking: Corporate Impact: Partnering with Lambda Legal & The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law (and any other orgs who may want to join), how can we bring together organizations, data, and amicus briefs to forge a unified, data-driven response? Trans Leadership: Expanding on the last 6 years of OL’s work supporting the trans community—including creating the first-ever Business Statement for Transgender Equality back in 2018 (which 330+ companies signed, and we announced at the Nasdaq), as well as our “Business Leader’s Guide To Transgender Inclusion” that we refreshed last year, we are going to create a new “Trans Parent” Initiative, connecting parents of trans/non-binary youth who work for our member companies to support each other. Our Trans Leadership Summit is also going to be Global this year—on Trans Day of Visibility! And that’s just the start… The Future of Out Leadership: To do all of this, I’m going to need more support from member companies—current and new. If your company is a member, how can they invest/do more? If your company hasn’t engaged with Out Leadership before, would you like to? Finally, in the coming months, I will be raising investment capital for the future of Out Leadership to include Out Leadership AI….remember, we were the first LGBTQ+ B-Corp in history! Stay tuned. I had two goals for yesterday’s Town Hall: To share perspective & learnings, and to hear from you. And I heard loud and clear that so many of you want to do something at this moment. Here’s your opportunity! If you want to join one of the 3 OL Global Working Groups, please email us at changetheworld@outleadership.com. We’re more than ready for this moment, and I hope y’all know that #lgbtqprogress (and joy) won’t ever go away. #returnonequality https://lnkd.in/eNGWPfd6

Over the last week, I've had so many conversations, texts and emails with CEOs and leaders from Out Leadership's network around the world, as well as current and former Government officials, asking for my perspective and advice on what's happened in the United States in the last week (much less the last several years)--and what they can do right now. And it occurred to me that in the last 15 years of building Out Leadership, I've never done a "public" talk (the past 154 OL Summits across 5 continents have been invite-only), to share my learnings and thoughts from all my work with OL--not to mention my time as the first Out private banker at Merrill Lynch, and then leading #diversity efforts for Merrill and later Credit Suisse. And I feel like this is a moment when I can, and I should. So I've decided to do what I'm calling an "Out Leadership Global Town Hall" this coming Wednesday, January 29 at 12 noon EST. To add a political and legal perspective, I've invited a couple rockstar friends of mine, Rufus Gifford (former US Ambassador to Denmark, Chief of Protocol at the State Department--and OL Senior Advisor in between!) and Camilla Taylor (Deputy Legal Director at Lambda Legal, and longtime friend!) to share their thoughts after me and take questions. If you're reading this, I hope you can join. And if you have leaders and friends in your network around the world who you think would benefit from this conversation, would you please invite them? Humanity has progressed so much more than the new United States Administration seems to understand--and decades of work and data can prove it. And I look forward to sharing my thoughts on how we can explain it to them. See you Wednesday! https://lnkd.in/ed8k9Jep Jim Fitterling Beth A. Brooke Kathleen Sebelius Richard Jeanneret Noel Quinn Lisa A. "Lee" Schreter Pamela Stewart Allan Zeman Rosanna Durruthy Jacqueline Jones Ana Duarte McCarthy Sylvia Ann Hewlett