Context

A global beverage company headquartered in Amsterdam appointed a dedicated Inclusion & Diversity Officer to strengthen its position as an attractive employer and to address imbalances in leadership representation across global sites.

The organisation recognised Inclusion & Diversity as a strategic priority — both to support future talent attraction and retention, and to challenge entrenched, stereotypical leadership profiles.

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Challenge

While there was broad alignment on the importance of the agenda, the challenge lay in translating ambition into a clear, credible and decision-ready strategy.

The task was not to drive implementation, but to prepare a strategy robust enough to guide future action — knowing that the true complexity would emerge once the organisation committed to execution.

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My Role

I was engaged as a strategic sparring partner to the Head of Diversity & Inclusion, supporting the development of a structured 2022 strategy to be presented to top management.

The engagement was deliberately short — six days over two months — requiring a highly focused and disciplined approach both during on-site sessions in Amsterdam and in between.

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Approach

We had multiple internal data sets to identify the organisation’s most critical Inclusion & Diversity challenges. Based on these insights, we designed a tiered strategy model offering leadership clear choices around ambition, commitment and scope.

Each level outlined not only the strategic focus areas, but also the associated costs — ensuring that leadership decisions were grounded in both intent and investment.

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Outcomes

The final strategy comprised four levels rather than the originally planned three. The additional level was intentionally designed to frame the recommended option as ambitious yet realistic — increasing its likelihood of approval by ensuring it was neither the most conservative nor the most resource-intensive choice.

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Insight

Inclusion & Diversity strategies often start with gender equality, but sustainable progress requires a broader lens — one that also addresses culture, disability and structural barriers to equal opportunity.

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Client Recommendation

Anna and I worked on a change management plan beginning of 2020. I highly appreciated Anna’ s ability to position herself as a business partner and to bring her full expertise into a successful co-creation. Anna’s consulting abilities are paired with an authentic leadership style, resulting into an efficient and pleasant partnership!
– Pascale Thorre