Guest: Kristen Anderson
Kristen Anderson, CEO and Board Member of European Women on Boards
Former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of Barilla Group.
Kristen is currently the CEO of European Women on Boards (EWOB), a member of the EWOB Board since 2021 and leads the EWOB Executive Committee. EWOB is the European umbrella association for gender equality at decision-making level; a non-profit organisation whose aim is to increase gender diversity in C-Suite and Board roles throughout Europe and beyond.
From 2016-2021, Kristen was Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Barilla and had been a member of its D&I Board since its formation in 2013. Kristen reported to the CEO of Barilla and led a 12 member D&I Board, comprised of internal members from 8 regions and external advisors.
After a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, Kristen worked in the Food Industry for over 25 years, leading various R&D teams in diverse geographies such as Australia, Germany, China, India, South Africa, Singapore, Italy and originally the USA.
HIGHLIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS:
- KG: What’s the driving force behind all that you do?
- “I really focus on trying to experience, what other people are experiencing from my time of working around the world. Throughout my work around the world, I see there is always a group that is excluded. This impacts business results and morale. So what really drives me is saying, this should not be the way it is. We should not say, it’s okay, some groups will be the majority and the minority just has to stay quiet and go along. What’s the point of having diverse opinions if we’re not listening to them? This really makes me passionate about working on inclusion. To have the voice of the underrepresented be heard by others. This will only make whatever we are doing stronger and make working together better.”
- KG: “ What do the terms ethics and integrity mean to you?”
- KRISTEN: “INTEGRITY means I have to live true to my values. And if I feel I’m in a situation that I can’t , I can’t just stay there. I need to figure out some way that either I can change it so that I can be true to my values or in some cases I leave organizations because I don’t feel that their values are aligned with mine. So integrity means walking the talk.
- KRISTEN: Ethics, are part of your own upbringing and part of company ethics. And I think ethics are much easier sometimes to define. They have an ethics code of conduct, et cetera, which means that there’s a lot of things with compliance there. But for me, I feel I need to be behaving in an ethical way, but very much of integrity that’s aligned with personal values.”
- KG: “Would you be able to share any story where you personally had a tough time navigating a difficult ethical dilemma in a professional role? And how did that shape your approach going forward?”
- KRISTEN: “I think we’ve all known in companies that there are some people who are really good performers who deliver great business results, but everyone knows that there are horrible managers. They treat their employees not well, not inclusive. Even worse, you know, harassing or bullying. A lot of times you see bullying.
- KRISTEN: “ I had to figure out another way to move forward with something, some action that would try to change this behavior. I would go back to people and say can I use your comments anonymously? Who else would have similar experience so that I could try to talk to them privately and confidentially? ”
- “ It took courage. It took a way to not disclose confidential information, but at the same time, try to figure out a way to get enough comments that it could go forward. Because again, doing nothing, to me, is just, I mean, it’s not only a feeling for the people who can’t necessarily have a voice, who are afraid to lose their jobs. Someone has to speak up for them. And I think figure out a way to do this within the confines of your company or organization.”
- “I think there is always something you can do, even speaking to someone and trying to support them. I think it’s, you know, again, it’s bad about making the voices of the underrepresented or those who are being bullied, et cetera, heard, because you maybe have more power and you have more privilege than others.”
- KG asks “Do you have any advice for those who are really new at any place, right? Whether it’s region, sector, role and any advice for them on how to integrate and thrive?”
- “Sometimes I make the analogy, Kaumudi, it’s just, I’m like I think of myself lying on a beach and letting the waves just watch over me. So what people are saying is something that I’m feeling, I’m listening to, but I don’t have to get defensive about it. And no one’s telling you to take every piece of feedback and do something with it. Some people who you will trust more, but then let it wash over you like you're a sponge and just take it and decide how that makes you a better manager and a better leader. It’s not taking something away from you. It is adding something to you. ”
- “Someone gave me advice one time saying, Kirsten, you will learn something from all the managers that you’ve ever had. You’ll learn something from the good managers, and you will also learn something from the worst managers, because you’ll learn how you never want to manage.”
- KG: Is there a quote or book that’s currently inspiring you? Anything you want to recommend to our listeners? KRISTEN: The newsletter I think you might know the poet Maya Angelou. And she says, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
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