Louise was appointed Chief HR Officer in January 2022 and is the executive member responsible for designing and implementing Diageo’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy. She’s committed to creating an inclusive culture and has always championed the LGBTQIA+ community, ensuring Diageo is a great place to work for LGBTQIA+ talent, and supports LGBTQIA+ inclusion and rights worldwide. Her leadership was integral to developing Diageo’s Gender Identity and Expression Guidelines, launched in 2020 and live in 30 countries. These Guidelines, developed alongside Diageo’s Rainbow Network, ensure Diageo has support in place for employees who are transitioning, have transitioned, recognise themselves to be a different gender from the gender assigned to them at birth, and are gender-fluid or non-binary. With Louise’s support, Diageo’s Employee Resource Groups empower everyone to champion inclusion and diversity, including the global Rainbow Network, which strives to create the most open culture for the LGBTQIA+ community. The Rainbow Network led Diageo’s largest Pride event to date in 2022, with the Progressive Pride flag raised at 85 sites worldwide. In Diageo’s recent global employee survey, 86% of employees agreed at Diageo people from different backgrounds and opinions can thrive and be themselves.
