WB&B Executive Search Recruits Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer for Unum
April 22, 2021 – WB&B Executive Search recently assisted financial protection benefits provider Unum in the recruitment of Ericka DeBruce as chief inclusion and diversity officer. Leading the assignment for the search team were Kenneth Roldan, chief executive officer; Toyann King, senior partner and head of recruitment; and Bruce Colligan, senior partner. Ms. DeBruce will report to Liz Ahmed, executive vice president of people and communications. She is expected to further drive strategic inclusion and diversity programs and initiatives across the enterprise, said the search firm. Ms. DeBruce is charged with ensuring that Unum’s culture and business approach empowers and enables all employees, regardless of their differences.
“Ericka has a keen ability to develop, articulate and execute an enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion strategy,” said Ms. King. “Her passion for inclusion and belonging will contribute to her continued success and propel Unum’s D&I journey. She was an ideal candidate for the role based on her ability to build and further develop a diversity and inclusion function, implementing initiatives and driving cultural change/transformation.”
2021 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Recruiting Report:
Building a Balanced and Diverse Workforce
Hunt Scanlon Media’s latest market intelligence recruiting report – this time focused on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – will be available later this fall! The nation’s top executive recruiters are resetting expectations and looking for new ways forward to build balanced and diverse workforce teams for their clients.
According to executive recruiters, DE&I should not just be a priority, but an integrated part of every company’s leadership goals. Some companies have even tied DE&I metrics to executive compensation. But it’s more than that.
Part of building strong, diverse hiring teams means asking yourself: “Who is my company culture going to attract – and how will it engage people who are here?” This question can be very difficult to answer if you assume everyone feels welcome already just because you do. Fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within organizations is more than just the right ethical decision. “It is one of the best business decisions a company can make,” said Keri Gavin, a partner with Hanold Associates and leader of the search firm’s Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practice. Hanold Associates is a proud sponsor of this year’s report. This report will help organizations prioritize DE&I as a business imperative that drives greater competitiveness, innovation and business results. Get it now!
“Ericka brings tremendous experience in cultivating positive and inclusive employee engagement through multiple organizations,” said Rick McKenney, president and CEO of Unum Group. “I am confident she will help us further our ongoing efforts to embed inclusion and diversity into everything we do to support our customers and employees.”
Strong Track Record
Prior to joining Unum, Ms. DeBruce was vice president of colleague experience and global citizenship at Sedgwick. She was responsible for diversity and inclusion, corporate social responsibility and employee engagement. Her specialty is creating and facilitating learning experiences focused on inclusive strategies. Ms. DeBruce was global diversity and inclusion manager at International Paper in Memphis, TN and BAE Systems in Rockville, MD, and director of diversity and community outreach for the American Red Cross in Philadelphia.
Ms. DeBruce is board chair for University Schools and advisory board member for the department of education at the University of Memphis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Bradley University and a certificate in strategic D&I management from Georgetown University.
Related: The Christopher Group Recruits VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for The Philadelphia Inquirer
Unum Group provides a broad portfolio of financial protection benefits and services through the workplace, and is the leading provider of disability income protection worldwide. Through its Unum US, Unum UK, Unum Poland and Colonial Life businesses, the company provides disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision benefits for millions of working people and their families. Unum also provides leave and absence management services that streamline the leave experience for employers and employees and stop-loss coverage to help self-insured employers protect against medical costs. Unum reported revenues of $13.2 billion in 2020 and paid $7.6 billion in benefits.
Respected Recruiters
Founded in 1973, WB&B Executive Search is a Hispanic-owned minority business enterprise with a focus on diversity and inclusion. The firm concentrates on finding talent for academia, not-for-profit organizations, corporate America and government agencies. Among its long client roster: Unum, Microban, Akron Children’s Hospital, Thrivent, The Wendy’s Company, Bell Flight, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Prisma Health and FDNY.
WB&B Executive Search Assists Getty Images in Recruiting New CFO
Milena Alberti-Perez, formerly of MediaMath and Penguin Random House, joins Getty Images. “Milena was culturally and technically aligned with Getty’s overall strategic vision,” said the recruiters involved in the assignment. “Her financial acumen, global expertise and leadership were an added value.” Let’s go inside the search.
Mr. Roldan is founder of WB&B Executive Search. He has had a passion for diversity management recruitment for over a decade. His strategies in global diversity staffing, succession planning and retention have helped alter the balance in the ethnic, gender and cultural diversity in America’s corporations, government, and not-for-profit organizations. With a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a law degree, Mr. Roldan was recently appointed to the Civil Rights Bureau of The New York State Attorney General’s Office where he was instrumental in driving workplace diversity.
Ms. King leads executive and managerial level, cross-industry recruitment efforts to identify top performers for corporate and non-profit clients. Working to research, identify, screen, assess and present talent to WB&B’s corporate clients, Ms. King serves as a business partner and an advocate of equal opportunity for both employee and employer progression, identifying candidates. Among the functions she is experienced in are information technology, quality, manufacturing operations, supply chain, finance, and communications, among others.
Mr. Colligan is head of WB&B’s healthcare practice. Prior to joining the firm, he was a long-term client. His background as a human resources executive spans organizations with multi-billion dollar budgets including AT&T, BASF, Global Crossing and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH).
Mr. Colligan’s core competencies are his ability to assess and diagnose workplace engagement, build the appropriate solutions to drive organizational performance, end to end talent management, risk management and compliance as well as expense savings, M&A integration, and labor management. Mr. Colligan holds a bachelor’s degree in management and labor studies from SUNY-Empire State, with ongoing professional coursework in executive leadership at Oxford University, advanced management at Rutgers, management science at Stevens Institute of Technology and labor relations at Cornell.
Related: Bristol Myers Squibb Turns to Carrington & Carrington for Chief Diversity Officer
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
