Johnson & Johnson Executive Vanessa Broadhurst: A trailblazing champion for adoption and health equity

Leaders with a clear purpose can have the greatest impact on the people around them. This is the case with Vanessa Broadhurst , Executive Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Johnson & Johnson . In this episode of #OnPurpose, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Vanessa to talk about the experiences that have shaped her purpose and the causes she champions for her teams and her own family.

As an adoptive mother, I was especially interested to hear Vanessa’s story of adoption, which she shares to encourage others to consider bringing a child into their home.

“I was adopted in the 1960s. I was one of the early transracial adopted children, and my experience has been incredible. My parents are wonderful. I have an adopted brother. I have an adopted cousin…. Families are made in so many different ways and all of those ways are good ways. It’s such an incredible experience to take a child into your home and to help them grow. I want to help people understand my experience as an adoptee… to tell my own story, which has been a very positive one.”

Vanessa’s professional story has been a positive one too. During her career, she has led several multibillion-dollar health care businesses at J&J, focused on multiple therapeutic areas. Regardless of the business, she says the team is always the real key to growth.

“What you need to do to run a successful business is to build a successful leadership team and successful teams of people…. You need the best teams to solve the big problems.”

One such problem is health equity, a topic Vanessa knows well.

“I go into a physician’s office, and I am a black woman. I am not on the board of Zoetis. I’m not an executive at Johnson & Johnson. I show up in my own skin, and people don’t know who I am. Just like many other people, I have had challenges with my own care and getting the right care. There’s really a crisis in the United States around health equality, and that’s something I’m very passionate about changing.”

Vanessa is well known across the industry for her advocacy of benefits and other programs that support employees’ well-being. She’s also known as a champion of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“My initial passion was DE&I and making sure we had diverse and inclusive teams and that we really bring out the best in people and bring talent to the table….. That’s one thing that I continue to do.”

Regardless of her role, she continues to empower others to live with purpose, including offering words of encouragement for her daughters.

“I have always told them to work hard. Treat people like you want to be treated. Make sure that you advocate for yourself and advocate where you think things need to change. And make sure you are also kind when you’re doing it. You can be fierce, but you also need to be kind.”

Thank you, Vanessa, for being a phenomenal role model for women, girls and all individuals around the globe.