Chicago – July 29, 2022 – Diversity MBA Media announced its list of the Top 100 Under 50 executives and emerging leaders in corporate America who are reaching benchmarks and making a difference in their industry. This class of executive and emerging leaders are selected from a broad spectrum of companies with both a domestic and global reach. For 16 years, Diversity MBA has shined a spotlight on 100 rising leaders from a pool of several hundred nominees. The award is uniquely special because candidates must have an advanced degree or certification, can only receive the recognition once and must be age 50 or younger.
The 2022 class of honorees is unique in that it reflects more leaders in non-traditional fields for women. This demonstrates a refreshing attention to the movement and elevation of women of color in leadership roles and places of influence in the workplace. One hundred percent of this class demonstrates a value for education with a mix of advanced degrees from CPA, MBA to PhD and JDs, and a commitment to serve others. In addition, with the average age being 40, this class is more diverse and younger than previous years.
“Our 16th class of Top 100 Under 50 executive and emerging leaders continues to be the brightest and most admired leaders in corporate America and large organizations. I find that the leaders of today are more intentional than ever before,” said Pamela McElvane, CEO of P & L Holding Co., which includes Diversity MBA Media Group.
“They are clear on what impact they want to make and how to do it. These leaders have demonstrated community commitment and are unapologetic about driving change in their realm. They influence others to be the best they can be while creating ways to stay relevant and innovative. These are the leaders of today and tomorrow,” McElvane said.
McElvane went on to say, this class of honorees reflects where we are regarding diversity and inclusion progress in the workplace. It personifies how leaders of color are not a shrinking group, just not advanced fast enough through the pipeline to the c-suite and CEO level of leadership.
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For additional information about the awards presentation, conference and DiversityMBA, visit the website: www.diversitymbamagazine.com. See below the full list of Executive and Emerging Leaders in alpha order:
CONGRATULATIONS 2022 EXECUTIVE LEADERS
| Ada Okafor, JD General Counsel, Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer American Board of Surgery | Adrianna Sameniego Principal Female Founders Fund | Andrew Bregnzer, MBA Executive Vice President & Regional President TD Bank | Anuradha Somani, MBA Senior Vice President & Head of Faster Payments US Bank | Barry Givens, BS Managing Partner Collab Capital |
| Brian Olatunji, BS/PMP CEO LeadFoot Media/Motorsports | Bruce Davis, MBA Director, Regional Operations ComEd | Dr. Carlos Gonzalez, PhD Worldwide Director, Global Regulatory Affairs Hill’s Pet Nutrition | Carmiña Santamaria CEO & President Shanti – Safer Routes | Chinwe Eismai, JD Chief Compliance Officer Citi |
| Dan Graham Partner Notley | David Bubas, MBA Senior Director UPMC | Dr. Doug Thompson, PhD Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Gustavus Adolphus College | Gairy Hall Principal The Carlyle Group | George Sample, MBA Vice President Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland |
| Hansae Catlett Vice President Bessemer Venture Partners | Jacqueline Tio, JD Principal Fish & Richardson P.C. | Dr. Jakki Opollo, PhD Vice President, Talent Initiatives & Regional Chief Diversity Officer Atrium Health | Jason Krug, MBA Sr. Managing Director Berkadia | Jennifer Kenedy, JD Partner Locke Lords |
| Jimmy Chang, MBA Chief Investment Officer Rockefeller Capital Management | Justin McKenzie, MBA Chief Information Officer Lincoln University of Pennsylvania | Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller, MA Chief Diversity Officer & CSR Leader PTC | Kayla Konovitch, MS/CPA Partner EisnerAmper | Kenny Goodwin, MBA IT Division Director – Quality Services Mecklenburg County Government |
| Kenya Merritt, MS Chief Small Business Officer & First Deputy City of Chicago | Kevin Stevens Partner Energize Ventures | Kimberly Ann Ward, JD Principal The Ward Legal Justice Group | Kimberly Alula, MBA SVP/GMM Merchandising | Lata Daswani CEO Tax Expert |
| Laura Duncan, MHA Executive Administrator I UPMC | Lauren McKenna Surzyn COO, Americas Kirkoswald Asset Management LLC | LeYonna Barba, MBA Managing Director JP Morgan Chase | Louis Desforges AVP DEI L’Oreal USA | Mandell Crawley, MBA EVP & Chief Human Resource Officer Morgan Stanley |
| Matthew Kopko VP of Public Policy DailyPay, Inc. | Meera Sridharan Iyer VP, Product Marketing SoFi | Melinda Penny-Washington RDN, CDCES Founder & President Healthy Balance 3 | Mike Simmons CEO & Founder Andros | Dr. Natasha Winkler-Titus, PhD Founder & Director Signifyer |
| Nicole Winters-Smith, MBA Sr. Director, National & Key Accounts Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan | Nicole Bocskocsky CEO & Founder Elaborate | Nika Martin, MA Director of Culture and Inclusion Monogram Foods | Ore Zady, MS AVP & Actuary Pacific Life Insurance Company | Paula Comings, MBA Co-Head of FX Sales US Bank |
| Dr. Praveen Vemula, MD Executive Director, Utilization Management/ Denial & Appeals Wellstar Health System | Precious Benson, MS Assistant Vice President M&T Bank | Dr. Sharon Moise, MD Chief Medical Officer, Medcor Chief Medical Advisor, Rivian Automotives | Shekar Natarajan, AMP EVP – Chief Supply Chain Officer American Eagle Outfitters | Simeon McMillan, MBA VP Business Development & Operations MediaCo Holding Inc. WQHT HOT97 & WBLS 107.5 |
| Suzanne Yoon, Executive Scholar Founder & Managing Partner Kinzie Capital Partners LLC | Suzanne Gauron, MBA Global Head of Private Equity Goldman Sachs | Tarika Barrett, PhD CEO Girls Code | Terrell Golden, M.Ed. Senior Regional Vice President Pacific Life Insurance Company | Victoria Russell, MBA Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer Beam Suntory |
| Waymond Harris, MBA Senior Vice President & Treasurer Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan | Wei Zhou, MS AVP, Head of Actuarial Pacific Life Insurance Company | William Jahmal Miller, MHA Chief Administrative Officer Dignity Health | Yaoyao Wang, MBA Director William Blair & Co | Yemi Akisanya, MBA Global Head of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Groupon |
CONGRATULATIONS 2022 EMERGING LEADERS
| Abhishek (Abe) Chhaya, MBA Managing Director, Product Management Advantasure | Agnieszka Sokolowska, MBA Wealth Relationship Manager Citibank N.A | Aileen Westover, MBA Director of Operations of Care Coordination Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago | Alexandria Samuel, JD Senior Managing Counsel PNC Financial Services Group | Amber Bennett, JD Associate Attorney (Litigation) Mayer Brown LLP |
| Anna Omoregie, JD Chief Operating Officer PNC Financial Services Group | Dr. Benjamin Simmons, MD Assistant Professor with the Department of Family Medicine Atrium Health | Dr. Brisa Urquieta de Hernandez, Ph.D System Director, Population Health Engagement and Partnerships CommonSpirit Health | Candi Almon, MSN Recovery Room Nurse Manager Wellstar Health System | Chin Kim, MBA Assistant Vice President, Compliance Pacific Life Insurance Company |
| Crystal Redfern, MS, MBA Director of Clinical Improvement Novant Health | Daniel Perez, CTP Director, Treasury Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey | Dipti Paranjape, MS, MBA Director, Marketing Effectiveness McDonalds Corporation | Donna Aaron, MBA Global Diversity & Inclusion Consultant Lockheed Martin | Elida Pazmino Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion L'Oreal USA |
| Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, MD Director of Equity- Endocrine Division; Director of Diversity- Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School | Guillermo Sanabia, MBA Executive Director, Health Parks Wellstar Health System | Housseine Essaheb Assistant Vice President Actuary AVP - Actuarial University of Pacific Life Insurance Company | Jarrett Waddy, MS Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Operations and Employee Resource Group Development AAA - The Auto Club Group | Karen Chin, BS Vice President Cushman & Wakefield |
| Karimah McFarlane, MBA Head of Market, Human Resources | Keri Richardson, MBA Global Director, Consumer Engagement Mercedes Benz | Kevin Briggs, MS Administrator-Laboratory & Respiratory Care Services Novant Health | Laura Hanson, JD Assistant Vice President, Actuary Pacific Life Insurance Company | Meeta Gandhi, MHSA Director of Operations Novant Health |
| Melanie D. Evelyn, MPA Colorado Executive Director One Million Degrees | Nina Idemudia, MUPCD Recovery Program Manager City of Chicago | Nisha Pasupuleti, JD System Director, Transformative Strategy CommonSpirit Health | Phillip Kemp, MA Director Of Corporate Security Operations Atrium Health | Rachel Fox Weitz, JD Assistant General Counsel Delta Airlines |
| Rashad Shedd, MBA Imaging Manager WellStar Health System | Rhondrea Copeland, MHA Administrator CarePoint Health System | Robert Pinard, MBA Vice President, Branch Manager City National Bank | Sharon Ortega, MN Director, Nursing Education Ambria College of Nursing | Shelby Owusu-Dapaah, MBA Treasury Management Officer PNC Financial Services Group |
| Dr. Stephanie Murphy, PhD Head of People Insights and Assessments Dell Technologies | Tyesha Pichardo Senior Manager of Marketing and Retention Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey | Dr. Tyrone Grandison PhD CTO, Public Sector, Global Partner Solutions Microsoft | Victoria Facchini, PharmD Manager, Pharmacy Services Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan | Wadette Bradford, MS Director Network & Investment Manager Dealer Network Organization/Stellantis |
