The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Expanding Equity program helps workplaces become more racially equitable places of opportunity. The program supports and inspires actions that advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion among leaders, within companies and within industries. This interview is part of a series highlighting individual leaders’ personal racial equity, diversity and inclusion journeys, and the impacts of those experiences on their careers.
Cheyenne Ray is the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) manager at Fortune Brands Innovations. He works with senior leadership across three divisions to develop and implement their DEI strategies. In his role, he leads DEI initiatives, supports ERGs, tracks HR metrics, and ensures that DEI is embedded in all aspects of the organization. This has included leading Fortune Brands Innovations’ “Real Talk” series, an initiative to create spaces for open dialogue at critical or stressful moments. Prior to Fortune Brands, he held various roles in compensation analysis, talent and development, performance management, consulting, and HR management. He is also the owner and founder of Cray Coaching where he helps people transition careers, navigate the corporate landscape, and become better leaders. He holds a Ph.D. in business psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Senior Certified Professional certification from SHRM.
Q: What personal experiences have been meaningful for your work in DEI and impacted how you show up in the DEI field?
“One of the things that drove me to accept this role (at Fortune Brands Innovations) is I had a daughter in January of 2020 […] what’s been meaningful is the ability to be able to create a world, a work environment, where she can be her authentic self. Where she can fully pursue her passions without the hurdles, without the hardships that a lot of women before her have had to go through.”
“Coming from an area that I grew up in, in Long Island, NY. People do very few things, whether it’s going down the wrong path and staying in that community or finding a way out…Racial equity to me means being able to have equal opportunity across the board, no matter where you come from.”
Q: What pivotal moment at Fortune Brands Innovations has shaped how you think about the work you do?
“The ‘Real Talk’ series we created with the BEING [Black Employee Impact and Networking Group] team. When you’re in an organization, especially after a big event that’s happened in the world, there is this weight that is just on you. In a corporate environment, we typically don’t talk about it […] People need that space. They need to understand that while they’re at work, they’re supported. They need to understand that if they go to their manager feeling a certain way, that he or she’s not going to treat them any differently. It’s important that we provide those spaces for people to be able to just de-stress […] Sometimes work is a good place for that to happen so people feel like they are supported.”
Q: At Fortune Brands Innovations, how has the conversation around racial equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace evolved?
“The conversation has evolved tremendously […] Speaking just for Fortune Brands […] we started pre-George Floyd in creating an Inclusive Culture Council.”
“Then the George Floyd incident happened, and we really put a foot on the gas, like a lot of other organizations. But what I’ve saw happen– internally at Fortune Brands, and externally at other organizations, is that we’ve moved from this performative allyship, right? To actionable allyship. Actionable work.”
“Speaking from a Fortune Brands perspective […] We’re going to continue to strive to be one of the gold standards in regard to consumer product groups when it comes to diversity. We’re going to continue to support our ERGs. We’re going to continue to do all of the hard work to make sure that we have great representation across the different demographics. And we then continue our mission and vision of making sure that it’s a home for all. Where people can truly bring their authentic selves to work.”
Q: What trends have you noticed externally, and what are some of the challenges you believe the DEI space faces?
“We’re continuing to see that organizations are starting to put their money where their mouth is […] where they’re investing in different demographics. They’re investing in diverse suppliers.”
“Great organizations have a spend amount that they have with each diverse supplier– an exciting pathway forward for DEI in general.”
“Some challenges that we see fascinating DEI leaders, is how do we get DEI into the hourly population, into those production facilities, and into those different store segments. That is a huge challenge, because they operate so differently than how we traditionally think– how DEI needs to be executed across a business or across a function.”
Q: What kinds of characteristics and skill sets does a successful DEI leader have?
“The first one I would say is resilience. The ability to face adversity—think strategically and creatively to overcome that adversity is an extraordinary characteristic to have because you’re going to hear ‘no’ a lot.”
“You’re going to hear a lot of objections. There’s going to be people who may not be where the organization is at currently with DEI, and you’re going to have to figure out how to bring those people along and really how to communicate with those people.”
“Being able to connect the work of DEI directly to the business’ overall mission objectives. Being able to understand where your business is going and help turn DEI in that direction as well […] It makes you a valuable part of the business […] because then the senior leadership can see the connection from the work that you’re doing in DEI to the progress your business is making.”