CG Appleby
General Counsel
Booz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting firm, has offered consulting services to businesses and governments for 90 years. With 15,000 employees serving major international corporations and government clients on six continents, Booz Allen is one of the world's largest consulting firms with a visible commitment to and reputation for diversity both within and outside the firm.
In demonstrating leadership in diversity, Booz Allen's law department has set the tone for the entire company. Under the leadership of Senior Vice President and General Counsel CG Appleby, Booz Allen's law department serves as a visible and effective leader for the entire firm's commitment to diversity. Despite its relatively small size-10 attorneys serving 15,000 officers and employees-the law department plays a very strong role in company governance and management. Of the law department's ten attorneys, five are women and two are minorities; one of the two deputy general counsel is a woman.
Appleby helped develop, and is a member of, the steering committee for Booz Allen's innovative diversity transformation initiative (also known as the board diversity initiative because of its top-level direction and support), a three-year, comprehensive program that requires each of the firm's business units to develop bottom-up plans to embed Booz Allen's corporate diversity philosophy in day-to-day operations. The initiative includes an accountability and measurement framework-designed around broad, individualized diversity goals to ensure that this program creates real, substantive change.
(L to R): Anastasia Kelly, MCI; CG Appleby, Booz Allen Hamilton; and Veta Richardson, MCCA
Booz Allen's employee forums and affinity groups have the full support of its law department. The many employee forums and affinity groups include the African American Forum; Asia-Pacific American Forum; Blacks at Booz Allen; Disabilities Task Force; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Forum; German Diversity Task Force; Hispanic Forum; Hispanic Interest Group; and Women of Greater Washington. To ensure that Booz Allen continues to improve its culture of diversity, these high-level, company-wide groups make diversity recommendations directly to the law department and the firm's leadership.
Booz Allen was named one of the top 10 companies in the United States by Working Mother magazine, was one of the 10 companies honored by Diversity Best Practices magazine, and was one of the companies featured in Washingtonian magazine's article, "Great Places to Work." The firm was also honored this past year by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao with the New Freedom Initiative Award in recognition of its leadership in employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
According to a survey by the global research and consulting firm Universum Communications, Booz Allen was among the top 50 preferred diversity employers. The company also received a 2004 International Innovation in Diversity Award from Profiles in Diversity journal.
From the November/December 2004 issue of Diversity & The Bar®