
Leading Global Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion With Dr. Rohini Anand
07/20/22 • 44 min
In Episode 94, Melinda speaks with Dr. Rohini Anand, Principal & CEO of Rohini Anand LLC and author of Leading Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations. Dr. Rohini describes her work to advance DEI across different countries and cultures. She addresses some common missteps that global leaders make when localizing their work and how we can disrupt our own biases and worldview to foster inclusion and cultural competence in the global workplace. She also shares how we can be better allies across global teams by understanding local contexts and bringing outside perspectives to challenge harmful and oppressive practices.
About Rohini Anand, Ph.D. (she/her)
Dr. Rohini Anand is Founder and CEO of Rohini Anand LLC providing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advisory services to clients in the public and private sectors. She is a strategic business leader and trusted board member who has successfully transformed cultures and built an iconic brand with an enduring reputation, resulting in accelerating new business creation. Rohini is recognized as a pioneer in the DEI field, a thought leader and is a sought- after expert by leaders around the world. She is a published author. Her book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations , has become the go-to resource for DEI professionals and for inclusive leaders.
Most recently, Rohini was SVP Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Diversity Officer for Sodexo. She reported to the Global CEO and was a member of Sodexo’s North American Executive Committee. Rohini successfully positioned Sodexo as a global leader in DEI and Corporate Responsibility. Sodexo’s remarkable global culture change, led by diversity and inclusion, is featured in a Harvard Business School case study entitled Shifting the Diversity Climate: the Sodexo Solution. She serves on the boards of several organizations, including WomenLift Health, a Gates Foundation initiative, Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Initiative, Tent Partnership for Refugees, and the Galt Foundation. She also serves on the external diversity advisory boards for Sanofi and for Charter Communications and chairs the Catalyst Board of Advisors. Rohini is a Senior Fellow with the Conference Board and is on the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Center for Inclusive Governance’s Advisory Council.
To join us for our monthly live event and find educational resources, visit ally.cc.
Connect With Dr. Rohini Anand On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohinianand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadingglobaldei
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RohiniAnandPhD
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/
Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dr. Rohini Anand, an Asian American female with short black hair, apple green dress, and emerald-and-olive green beaded necklace; beside her is the grey book cover of Leading Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]
In Episode 94, Melinda speaks with Dr. Rohini Anand, Principal & CEO of Rohini Anand LLC and author of Leading Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations. Dr. Rohini describes her work to advance DEI across different countries and cultures. She addresses some common missteps that global leaders make when localizing their work and how we can disrupt our own biases and worldview to foster inclusion and cultural competence in the global workplace. She also shares how we can be better allies across global teams by understanding local contexts and bringing outside perspectives to challenge harmful and oppressive practices.
About Rohini Anand, Ph.D. (she/her)
Dr. Rohini Anand is Founder and CEO of Rohini Anand LLC providing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advisory services to clients in the public and private sectors. She is a strategic business leader and trusted board member who has successfully transformed cultures and built an iconic brand with an enduring reputation, resulting in accelerating new business creation. Rohini is recognized as a pioneer in the DEI field, a thought leader and is a sought- after expert by leaders around the world. She is a published author. Her book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations , has become the go-to resource for DEI professionals and for inclusive leaders.
Most recently, Rohini was SVP Corporate Responsibility and Global Chief Diversity Officer for Sodexo. She reported to the Global CEO and was a member of Sodexo’s North American Executive Committee. Rohini successfully positioned Sodexo as a global leader in DEI and Corporate Responsibility. Sodexo’s remarkable global culture change, led by diversity and inclusion, is featured in a Harvard Business School case study entitled Shifting the Diversity Climate: the Sodexo Solution. She serves on the boards of several organizations, including WomenLift Health, a Gates Foundation initiative, Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Initiative, Tent Partnership for Refugees, and the Galt Foundation. She also serves on the external diversity advisory boards for Sanofi and for Charter Communications and chairs the Catalyst Board of Advisors. Rohini is a Senior Fellow with the Conference Board and is on the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Center for Inclusive Governance’s Advisory Council.
To join us for our monthly live event and find educational resources, visit ally.cc.
Connect With Dr. Rohini Anand On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohinianand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadingglobaldei
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RohiniAnandPhD
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/
Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Dr. Rohini Anand, an Asian American female with short black hair, apple green dress, and emerald-and-olive green beaded necklace; beside her is the grey book cover of Leading Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]
Previous Episode

Addressing Disability & Intersectionality Across Global Teams
In Episode 93, Melinda is joined by visionary activists for disability and social justice, Eleanor Lisney and Eddie Ndopu. Throughout the live recording, they discuss the importance of having leaders who cultivate empathy and inclusion for global teams to work better together across different cultures, genders, disabilities, and intersectionalities. They share how we can be better allies against systemic ableism to support disability and social justice worldwide. They also explore the first step that organizations can take to align their strategic priorities and objectives with the Sustainable Development Goals and promote sustainable economic growth, inclusivity, and accessibility for everyone in the workplace.
About Eleanor Lisney (she/her)
Eleanor Lisney is a campaigner and activist rooted from an intersectional perspective. Eleanor is a founding member of Culture Access and Sisters of Frida. She is an access and equality advisor. She is also on the web team of the International Network of Women with Disabilities. She writes on intersectional issues as a disabled woman of color and is passionate on campaigning for social justice and inclusion.
About Eddie Ndopu (he/they)
Arguably one of the most influential social justice leaders in the world right now, Eddie Ndopu is a disability innovation pioneer, and the Founder and Chairperson of A BILLION REASONS. In 2019 and again in 2021, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, appointed Eddie as one of 17 SDG Advocates, the global body’s most high profile champions in the fight to defeat poverty and defend the planet. Eddie also sits on the Boards of the UN Foundation, Valuable 500, and IMAGINE, and is a Global Future Council member at the World Economic Forum. Eddie holds degrees from Carleton University in Canada and the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.
To join us for our monthly live event or find additional resources, visit https://ally.cc.
Connect With Eleanor
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eleanorlisney
Twitter: twitter.com/e_lisney
Instagram: instagram.com/elle_in_uk/
Connect With Eddie
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eddiendopu
Facebook: facebook.com/edward.ndopu
Twitter: twitter.com/eddiendopu
Instagram: instagram.com/eddiendopu
Connect With Us
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/
Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth
[Image description: LEA promo and photos of Eleanor, an East Asian woman with short brown hair, glasses, a woven hat, black t-shirt, and red/white plaid flannel; Eddie, a Black man with short black hair and mustache, light grey turtleneck, and jacket with green/blue
Next Episode

How Exclusion & Epigenetics Shape Our Sense Of Belonging With Rajkumari Neogy
In Episode 95, Rajkumari Neogy, Executive Coach at iBelong, joins Melinda in an in-depth discussion about how exclusion and epigenetics, the study of how behavior and environment can affect the way our genes are expressed and inherited, can impact our sense of belonging. They explore meaningful practices of empathy and representation to address transgenerational trauma and recover the affected parts of our brains from discrimination, racism, and other stressors that destroy our psychological safety. Rajkumari also suggests how managers and employees can work better together to create pathways for healing and cultures of belonging in the workplace.
About Rajkumari Neogy (he or she)
Rajkumari has worked with organizations worldwide, including HelloSign, Slack, Glympse, Salesforce, Gainsight, Twilio, Google, Guidewire, Intera, WhiteOps, Trumaker, Stratus, Ever AI, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Wells Fargo, Cisco Systems, Facebook, United States Digital Service (USDS), Shuddle, HopSkipDrive, Autodesk, Amazon, and Adobe. In 2013, S/He founded iRestart, which provides expertise in the areas of leadership development and organizational epigenetics. S/He is the creator of the iRestart coaching framework, the Disruptive Diversity Boot Camp, and the author of The WIT Factor: Shifting the Workplace Paradigm by Becoming Your Optimal Self.
Possessing a rare blend of techno-babble and touchy-feely, Rajkumari brings my keen insight and systems-thinking perspective to provide holistic and integrative solutions when addressing complex problems. S/He believes that the qualities of passionate self-reflection and dedicated curiosity (two sides of the same coin) define true leadership.
Find Leading With Empathy & Allyship useful? Subscribe to our podcast and like this episode!
For more about Empovia, and to join us for our monthly live event, visit https://ally.cc. There, you’ll also find educational resources and highlights from this episode.
Connect With Rajkumari Neogy On Social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rneogy
Connect With Us On Social
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/
Production Team
Creator & Host: Melinda Briana Epler
Co-Producers: Renzo Santos & Christina Swindlehurst Chan
Creative Director @ Podcast Rocket: Rob Scheerbarth
[Image description: Leading With Empathy & Allyship promo and photos of Rajkumari Neogy, a French-Canadian/East Indian nonbinary person with short salt and pepper hair and a navy blue button-down with a black suit jacket; and host Melinda Briana Epler, a White woman with red hair, glasses, and orange shirt holding a white mug behind a laptop.]
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/leading-with-empathy-and-allyship-226659/leading-global-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-with-dr-rohini-anand-25674771"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to leading global diversity, equity, & inclusion with dr. rohini anand on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy