BrazilAlixPartners appoints diversity & inclusion officer for Asia and Americas
Global business advisory AlixPartners has appointed Elton Ndoma-Ogar to the newly appointed role of Diversity & Inclusion for Asia and the Americas.
The Asia and Americas divisions of global consulting firm AlixPartners has a new a diversity and inclusion director; Elton Ndoma-Ogar, who joins the firm after seven and a half years in a corresponding role at defence firm Raytheon. Elton Ndoma-Ogar is a co-founder of the MBA Jumpstart platform, which is geared toward increasing diversity in the consulting and financial services sectors, and brings altogether more than fifteen years of experience to the new role.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Elton to the team,” said Cindy Godwin, AlixPartners’ Londoon-based Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Responsibility. “As we continue to evolve and strengthen our commitment to both inclusion and diversity, Elton’s depth and breadth of experience will enhance the work of our existing leadership to promote the inclusion of all colleagues and build deeper layers of diversity across two very important regions.”
Graduating with an MBA in Finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 2003 (to complement an earlier BSc. in Health Services), Ndoma-Ogar set out as an equities trader with Morgan Stanley, before helping to establish MBA Jumpstart. Since then, Ndoma-Ogar has served in diversity and inclusion (D&I) leadership roles at Merrill Lynch and BP Americas, before joining the Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information, and Services business unit in 2012.
While at Raytheon, Ndoma-Ogar is credited with working closely with HR and senior leadership to design and implement the unit’s D&I strategy, and in his new role (and newly created role) with AlixPartners as Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the Americas and Asia has been tasked with helping to establish the firm as a “best-in-class organisation for inclusion and improving efforts to attract, develop, and retain diverse employees in the two regions.”
Ndoma-Ogar joins AlixPartners D&I Center of Excellence, where he will work with the Employee Resource Group leadership to further integrate the firm’s executive-sponsored, employee-led networks (ERGs – including the Asian Leadership Insights & Growth Network among eight in total) into “business-as-usual activities”, as well serve as an advocate and collaborate with the consultancy’s People function to embed D&I in all aspects of the firm’s work.
“At AlixPartners we value the diversity of our people and the strength of our distinctive culture,” said Don Schneider, Chief People Officer at AlixPartners. “Earlier this year, we created the firm’s first Center of Excellence for D&I, and Elton’s appointment is a further step in our commitment to foster a work environment in which each of us feels welcomed and valued. This enables us to continue to attract diverse talent and makes us a better partner with our clients.”
Since joining, Ndoma-Ogar has himself offered some insight for recruiters on the qualities to look out for in a D&I officer. In an interview with Retail TouchPoints, Ndoma-Ogar states; “D&I Officers need to understand the market, and the present organisational culture and how to build on that, developing managers and leaders early in their career.” He also says that the present talent within the company needs to be examined: “Is it the best and the brightest?”
