The CEO perspective: Why diversity is good business

Heidrick & Struggles’ Lee Hanson speaks with Maggie Wilderotter, chair of the board of directors of DocuSign, about the evolving role of women in leadership and how companies do better when they are diverse and inclusive. Wilderotter talks about her tenure as CEO of Frontier Communications, where she worked to make the board and leadership team more diverse, in part to reflect Frontier’s diverse customer base. Her team helped her make better decisions, Wilderotter said, and it paid off: the company’s revenue went from $750 million to $12.5 billion in her tenure, and, in the last year she was CEO, they had an 85% total shareholder return, the highest in their industry. But Wilderotter acknowledges that there is still more work to be done throughout many industries and hopes that, in addition to recognizing that a diverse workforce will help their bottom lines, businesses recognize that it’s just the right thing to do.

About the interviewer

Lee Hanson (lhanson@heidrick.com) is a vice chairman in Heidrick & Struggles’ San Francisco and New York offices; she is a member of the Financial Services and CEO & Board practices.