Lord Abbett Hires Head of Diversity & Inclusion
New Role Highlights Commitment to Advancing the Firm
JERSEY CITY, NJ – October 8, 2018 – Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC (“Lord Abbett”), an independent, privately held investment management firm, has hired James B. White as its first Head of Diversity & Inclusion. In this new role, White will be responsible for leading Lord Abbett’s efforts to establish diversity and inclusion as a core value and competitive advantage of the firm. He will report to Brooke A. Fapohunda, Partner, Head of Human Capital Management, effective October 8, 2018.
“We are excited to have James join us at this important time in our history,” said Ms. Fapohunda. “We are confident he will leverage his extensive experience, combining change management with strong governance to yield meaningful, measurable, and sustainable results for Lord Abbett.”
Prior to joining Lord Abbett, Mr. White served as Head of Diversity & Inclusion at OppenheimerFunds, where he led the development and execution of a multi-year diversity and inclusion strategy, and as Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion, at Credit Suisse. Earlier in his career, he held a number of senior roles in human capital management and leader & talent development at both Credit Suisse and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.
In highlighting Lord Abbett’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, Douglas B. Sieg, Managing Partner, said, “More diverse teams are better teams, and we must continue to get better to meet the challenges of our highly competitive industry. Diversity and inclusion are critical not only because they are highly correlated with organizational performance, but because they foster a culture in which individuals of different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences feel welcome and are empowered to achieve their full potential. The Partnership and I are united in our commitment to this important initiative—and to having James White guide our efforts.”
Beyond hiring its first Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Lord Abbett has taken a number of steps to move this important effort forward. In November 2017, the firm launched the Lord Abbett Women’s Leadership Forum, a year-long program for a cohort of accomplished women in key roles throughout the firm. The program provides these women with tools to expand their leadership impact through opportunities to engage with leaders from inside and outside the firm. In addition, for the first time in the firm’s history, women outnumbered men in the class of Advisor Consultants (internal wholesalers) who joined the firm in July, offering the potential to diversify other areas in Client Services through internal mobility. Lord Abbett has also engaged with leading organizations to further its progress in the area of diversity and inclusion. Senior leaders are active participants in the G100 Network, a CEO peer-to-peer learning and development group that offers a Women’s Leadership Acceleration Program for women on track for c-suite positions, as well as the 30% Club, which offers a Cross-Company Mentoring Program for high-performing women.
For more information about Lord Abbett, please visit lordabbett.com.
About Lord Abbett
Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC is an independent, privately held firm with a singular focus on the management of money. Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett is one of the oldest money management firms in the United States, and has forged a culture that is investment-led and investor-focused. Lord Abbett manages approximately $169 billion in assets (as of September 30, 2018) across a full range of U.S. mutual funds, UCITS Funds, institutional and separately managed accounts, including $1.5 billion for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors.