S3E45 : Lean into Yes and Take the Risk : Victoria Russell, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Beam Suntory

It’s that time of year again…you guessed it, year end performance reviews! Now is the time to think through the key words that describe your personal brand, that is, your word bank of brand attributes. Jayzen takes a special moment in this show to help you better get your arms around how to create and use your personal word bank, as these are the key attributes that you want to be known for and should be used to populate your year end review. This week, Jayzen is thrilled to welcome Victoria Russell to the show. Victoria is the first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits and has an amazing career journey to share. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing, analytics and compensation across several top companies before moving into D&I. Her philosophy of “saying yes” in her career and leaning into the fear of new positions has allowed her to continue to grow and expand her roles, with wisdom we can all learn from. She sits on several non-profit boards and her work has been widely recognized, including being named to the Executive Leadership Council, honored as a Daughter of Greatness by the Muhammad Ali Center and featured as Today’s Woman 2020 Most Admired Woman in the Corporate Category. Guest Bio Victoria Russell Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Beam Suntory In January 2021, Victoria Russell was named the first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of Beam Suntory, a world leader in premium spirits. In this newly created role, Russell joined the company’s Senior Leadership Team and leads diversity and inclusion across talent acquisition, career development and employee retention, marketing, community relations, and building organizational capability to better recognize bias and further drive inclusive mindset. Russell also supports the development of diversity guidelines for the company’s supplier base and champions Employee Impact Groups and leaders across the business. Before joining Beam Suntory, Russell had a successful 14-year career at Papa John’s International, ultimately stepping up during difficult times in 2018 to become the first to lead Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In that role, Russell was credited with step-changing the company’s actions to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization comprised of 120,000 team members. She previously held marketing analytics roles of increasing responsibility, providing valuable insights into the business, and the customers and communities they serve. Prior to Papa Johns, Victoria held compensation and marketing roles at Lexmark, Humana, and Brown-Forman and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a M.B.A in Marketing from the University of Kentucky. Victoria serves on several non-profit boards including, Fund for the Arts – Board Chair, Leadership Louisville, and the Chestnut Street YMCA. In 2019, she was named “Woman Making A Difference” by Louisville Business First and selected as one of Louisville’s Forty Under 40. She was also featured in The Business Journals’ Influencers: Rising Stars, a national list of influential young executives. Her other recent accomplishments include Leadership Louisville Class of 2020, University of Kentucky 2019 Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award, founding member of the Adweek D&I Council and named of one the Adweek & Adcolor 2020 Champions of Diversity & Inclusion. Victoria was also named to the Executive Leadership Council, honored as a Daughter of Greatness by the Muhammad Ali Center and featured as Today’s Woman 2020 Most Admired Woman in the Corporate Category. Links To learn more about Lead With Your Brand and the Career Breakthrough Mentoring program , please visit : LeadWithYourBrand.com To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop at your company, visit Jayzenpatria.com