The Power of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Business

Can diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) truly drive business success? 

In this engaging episode of the Panasonic Connect Beyond podcast, host Margarita Lindahl welcomes Catherine Solazzo, CMO of Syntax and Yukiko Yamaguchi, CMO of Panasonic Connect, to dive into how DEI fuels innovation, enhances employee engagement and aligns with corporate goals for long-term success. Together, they explore overcoming barriers to inclusion, the transformative role of leadership and the strategies that make DEI a cornerstone of impactful business transformation. 

Tune in for actionable insights and fresh perspectives.

What is Connect Beyond: Exploring Tomorrow's Technology Today?

Welcome to Connect Beyond, Panasonic Connect Europe's podcast, where we delve into the forefront of technology, innovation, and human connection. Each episode guides listeners through the evolving landscape of tech solutions, featuring insightful discussions with industry leaders and experts. As we navigate the dynamic realm of technology, Connect Beyond aims to keep listeners informed and inspired, encouraging a deeper connection with the latest innovations and trends. Tune in, broaden your horizons, and engage in the conversation of innovation and connectivity with us.

Welcome to another episode of the Connect Beyond Podcasts.

I'm your host, Margarita, and i'm pleased to bring you today's exciting conversation on the topic of shaping business, the transformative power of diversity, equity and inclusion.

With me today are two remarkable ladies, Catherine Solazzo, chief marketing officer of Syntax and Yukiko Yamaguchi, chief marketing officer of Panasonic.

Connect.

In today's discussion, we will explore how diversity, equity and inclusion often referred to as dei are not only reshaping company culture, but also driving innovation and fueling business success before we begin.

Zweitausendein i would like to invite both of our great guests to share a little bit about their background, their current roles and what initially connected the two of them.

Catherine, let's begin with you.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sure.

Happy to.

And thank you so much for having me on today.

I'm really excited about this topic and to talk to one of my my good friends, Yuki, that I've known for some time.

So i am the chief marketing officer at syntax and i often call myself chief marketing officer.

Plus i have responsibility for all of marketing, customer experience, global inside sales as well as global sales operations.

So i do have a sales element to my my position as well, which is unique i think in the market, but I'm really loving it.

I've been in this role here at syntax for two and a half years and I'm really enjoying the space.

Syntax is a technology company that provided both professional and managed services to mid market clients, very industry specialized.

So it's great.

I spent eighteen years at IBM from an intern all the way to a global vice president leading the partner ecosystem.

Marketing organization held roles as chief of staff.

At one time i was in a technical sales role.

It was a very short time.

I found my way into marketing and in fact spent a few years abroad in Japan with IBM on assignment there and some of the best years of my career leading the demand generation organization for Japan.

So it's been a great ride.

I spend quite a bit of my time also in this de and i space, the executive sponsor for our women in technology organization here at syntax.

And i'm very active in all of our de and i activities, so excited to be here.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Catherine.

Yeah, certainly quite an impressive and also exciting career path yuki over to you.

Could you please share a little bit about your background?

Ÿousand?

Thank you, Margalita.

I'm very happy to be here invited.

And I'm Yuki Yamaguchi and SVP Senior Vice president and the chief marketing officer of Panasonic Connect global Company of the Panasonic Group.

And i joined Panasonic seven years ago.

But before that, I work for IBM with Catherine.

And my mission is transform my company from the corporate culture transformation, business transformation and portfolio management transformation.

One of the vision for me is, I believe, the power of the marketing and technology and diversity.

These three elements have the power to make the world better.

So i'm excited to have this agenda for the dei.

This is my actually that mission of my life.

So i work for the Japanese domestic company in my Ali career.

But frankly speaking, I gave up because of the gender equality model.

And i joined the global company and worked for twenty years.

And seven years ago I joined Panasonic.

Panasonic is recognized Japan traditional company.

So to transform the Japanese traditional company is my mission.

Thank you so much, Yuki.

So certainly transformation is key here.

And let us dive a bit more into how this transformation and the approach of dei had an impact on organizations over the last years.

Catherine, Syntax, you have said it certainly, is a leading global provider of IT solutions.

But what about the people behind the product?

So how has syntax approached Dei and how did the company change in the recent years?

And the company's culture?

You know, syntax has Also a very interesting history.

We are private equity owned, we are not a public company and we are extremely acquisitive.

The legacy part of syntax is fifty two years old.

We have now put in a dedicated de and i department within our HR organization.

And that department, although it sits in hR, it really reaches across.

So we've put a number of programs in place over the last years and really have made leaps and bounds in our gender equality statistics.

We have ergs that we've not had before spanning from a neurodiversity erg.

We have women in tech.

We have a black erg.

We have veterans.

The number of them is growing by the day.

Because there are these interest groups that desire to be heard and have community and a place to feel accepted every day.

So we've really doubled down on those initiatives.

So yeah, i could talk about this forever and ever, but I'm really proud of the progress that we've made.

Wow, Catherine, that's quite understandable why you are proud.

So this is a cultural impact.

And certainly those mentioned initiatives seem to have impact in the day to day operations as well.

So thanks for sharing Yuki.

As the CMO of our company, we know each other certainly for a longer period.

How do you see this for Panasonic?

How has our dei strategy developed?

Yeah, actually that we as a Panasonic group the one hundred years of the history we did de activity for a long time.

However, in past seven years, it's very different.

That is the my boss, Higuchi san, is coming from the Microsoft Japan CEO Chairman and joined Panasonic.

And that starts driving the dei a lot the objective of promoting dei.

Normally, that we are talking about the corporate competitiveness and innovation.

It's very important.

But what we are very focused on to communicate with our employee is human rights.

So driving GAI is a given.

So we as a company, as a human being is very important driving the DEI.

That is basic belief of us.

So we put a lot of effort to listen the front line people.

Because some normally Japan, some the big companies hial culture that the employees hesitate to speak openly.

But that's why we are doing a lot of culture transformation, open communication, the psychological safety.

So I'm very happy to hear from the employee that our company is changing very differently for the better.

So it makes our business result becoming better.

Both of you, ÿousand, certainly mentioned the significance of collaboration and also leadership.

Leadership plays a key role in making dei a core part of the company's culture.

But let us talk a bit more about how leadership is by the end driving those mentioned initiatives within your company.

So Yuki, what role does leadership play at Panasonic in fostering an inclusive environment that not only promotes innovation but also drives business success?

Actually, that we believe that the ninety percent of the DEI and the culture transformation responsibility is leader.

Because everybody is watching what kind of communication, what kind of word, what kind of behavior leader is doing.

So leader has a responsibility of the tone setting.

That tone is everything.

And also that the empowering, that mobilize the employee is also the leader's responsibility.

So to drive the dei, it's very important to make some of the program and the system and the HR approach together.

And zweitausendein make the KPI is very important and the tracking and the measuring is important.

So all the responsibility is a leader.

So that's why I said ninety percent of that responsibility is a leader.

How do you?

Yeah, I totally agree.

You know, for us we've gone as far as it's in our corporate goals.

So we follow an OKR model where we do objective and key results setting from the top of the business that cascades through the business.

And we have a dedicated section for this and our goals.

And we are tracking the progress on that similar to you in our employee MP's survey.

Even going into this year, we have very specific call outs on where we want to see progress in some of the subcategories of the employee survey.

So we are highly focused and aware and it's up to the leaders to activate that and live the behaviors because our employees are looking at us for signals.

Right?

We have to realize that there are different maturity levels in every corner of the world and a one size fits all approach for this agenda doesn't work globally.

And that's a very important thing.

I think for leadership to be sure they use their voice in the local market.

So it's a path of learning, a lot of learnings, and it's clear that both of you are deeply committed to making a strategic priority.

As well before we wrap up.

I would like to hear one final thought from each of you.

What advice would you give to other companies just beginning with this path, with this transformative journey of implementing Dei into their key strategies?

Catherine, let's start with you.

I mean, i think when i reflect back on my own journey, right as an example, the reason I'm sitting here today is because Yuki and i know each other from our IBM days.

And i was forced to have that empathy and to really understand the local market, the cultural dynamics, different ways of doing business.

And it was one of the hardest and most beautiful experiences I've ever had.

And one of the key things I know is that for people to truly get that understanding and that acceptance and become an inclusive participant in a company.

They have to have those experiences.

You don't need to go live in Japan for three years like me, but you do need to visit other markets.

You do need to be working with global colleagues.

I also think that making sure that there is dedicated metrics.

That you're driving to is extremely important and also funding where necessary to make those investments, because nothing says commitment like having a line in the budget.

And i truly believe that.

So i think when you're getting started.

Zweitausendein the most important thing is to understand the community within your company and listen to them.

What are they telling you that they need from your organization and building a roadmap?

Like, as Yuki said, it is continuous.

This is not you arrive at a destination.

You say we fulfilled all of our de and i activities.

No, it is a continual process and an evolution and a constant learning cycle.

So, yeah.

What is it for you, Yuki?

Which kind of advice would you give?

First Dei is not voluntary work or additional work.

So as a company it's very important to set the Dei activity as a company strategy and make that all the employees understand.

That is the important activity for all of the, for all the company.

And also that, as Katherine said, it's very important to set a KPI, otherwise the company wise.

It doesn't work.

So tracking the KPI and the score and how to achieve the goal is very important.

A lot of opportunity we can create, but it's very important.

How do everybody feel if they are the minority?

So minority experience make the feel that the eye opening of the importance of the Dei.

Thank you very much, Catherine and Yuki, for sharing your valuable experiences and insights today with us.

It's been a pleasure having both of you on our podcast, on this important topic and to our listeners.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode.

We hope today's conversation has inspired you to explore the transformative power of Dei in your own organization.

Stay tuned for more episodes where we delve into the critical issues shaping the future of business until next time.

Keep engaging, keep innovating and stay connected with us.