This important commitment to open more board spots for diverse candidates makes all the sense in the world. “ This recent announcement by the American Investment Council, and all signatory firms is historic.

Representative Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also issued a statement in support of Diligent and the American Investment Council’s efforts: This announcement is not just a step towards equity, but also an important move in the direction of improving corporate governance through diversity.” Upon bringing talented minorities to the board room, these firms will find that black and brown hires are good for a company’s bottom line because of the unique perspectives and experiences they bring to the table. “I applaud Diligent, the American Investment Council, and all signatory firms for their announcement pledging to open up more boards spots for diverse candidates, and I will carefully follow up with them over the coming months to ensure that real action has been taken. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, issued the following statement in support of Diligent and the American Investment Council’s efforts: Diligent has also activated its network of nearly 700,000 board directors and leaders across 19,000 organizations globally to nominate diverse, board-ready executives for public and private equity backed-businesses to bring onto their boards of directors. Diligent’s Modern Leadership initiative, with their extensive network of 700,000 board directors and leaders, is the perfect partner for private equity-backed businesses looking to find diverse, board ready candidates.”Įvery private equity firm that pledges to join the initiative will commit to posting five open board roles in the Diligent Director Network application with the intention of hiring diverse candidates. “The private equity industry is committed to improving our record on diversity and ensuring that more people of color and women have seats at leadership tables across America. 21 private equity firms, including several AIC members ( TPG, New Mountain Capital, The Jordan Company, The Riverside Company, Clearlake Capital, Genstar Capital, Hellman & Friedman, and TA Associates), have partnered directly with Diligent and pledged to deepen diversity and inclusion across their portfolio company boards.ĪIC President and CEO Drew Maloney released the following statement praising the new initiative: Recently, Diligent Corporation, a leading board governance company, expanded the membership of its Modern Leadership initiative to increase opportunities for, and the pipeline of, diverse candidates on boards of directors at businesses across America.

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