FOR SANDRA SIMS-WILLIAMS, DIVERSITY AND inclusion represent a deep professional and personal passion, helping to serve as “an active and action-oriented voice for the voiceless.”
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As Chief Diversity Officer of Paris-based Publicis Groupe, Sims-Williams brings a level of commitment to the development and management of diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives that benefit the 92-year-old company’s talent and its business.
One of the world’s largest communications companies, Publicis Groupe includes in its portfolio such iconic advertising agencies as Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi. In today’s connected world, in which it must rapidly serve multiple audiences across divergent cultures and demographics, the holding company, Sims-Williams says, is focused on “it’s Power of One positioning—allowing people to utilize, think, and be free to put forth ideas, and let their creative juices flow without being constrained by agency silos.”
She adds that Publicis Groupe has made a commitment to using artificial intelligence to help connect people to one another and to opportunities across the globe. Called Marcel in honor of the company’s founder, Publicis Groupe’s AI platform is currently in development and being built on the foundation of four key pillars: “knowledge, connectivity, opportunity, and productivity.”
Sims-Williams, a 20-year-plus D&I veteran who holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s from Hunter College, discusses her charge to execute a collective D&I strategy.
How do you infuse a diversity and inclusion philosophy and practice in such a sprawling organization?
This story is from the July/August 2018 edition of Black Enterprise.
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This story is from the July/August 2018 edition of Black Enterprise.
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