An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Diversity creates sustainability. An organization that draws its leadership cadre and workers from a diverse pool of talented people, will have the fortitude to weather attrition. If you do not prize diversity, your talented people will move on to organizations that do.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Victoria Pelletier.
Victoria Pelletier is a senior executive with over two decades of corporate and board experience in strategy, operations, growth initiatives, M&A and business and talent culture and development.
Victoria is also a published author, an in-demand public speaker and regularly appears on national television and radio. She is a visionary leader with a passion for innovation, creativity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In fact, Victoria has won both the 2020 Mentor of the Year award from Women in Communications & Technology AND the 2019 HSBC Diversity & Inclusion in Innovation Award.
An inspiring professional with impeccable credentials, Victoria is a trusted voice among peers and emerging executives.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I can describe my background in one word: Atypical.
I didn’t “arrive” at the top by leveraging the advantages of pedigree, Ivy League education, or connections. My rise in the corporate space was made possible by my growth amid many challenges. I was raised in an abusive home by a parent who fought addiction. Often, I was neglected. At other times, I was on the receiving end of my mother’s rage. When I was finally plucked from my childhood home with nothing but the teddy bear in my arms, no biological family members wanted me.
When you come of age in an environment devoid of love and support, you can give up on yourself or learn how to love and advocate for the person you see in the mirror. I chose the latter. My drive to be relentless in work, love, and purpose is rooted in my resilience. When you raise yourself — and really learn how to scrap along the way — nothing can stop you. Nothing.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I think I’ll call this moment “Brand disloyalty.” When you work for the “four letter shoe icon,” it’s understood that you wear their apparel in the office. One morning, I strolled into work wearing my new outfit from “name any other retailer.” I was however styling a new pair of shoes from my employer. The looks I got from my colleagues immediately communicated their dissatisfaction with my new threads.
The lesson? If you make it to one of the top companies, or any firm you hope to be around for a while, you need to be a champion of their products and services. Period.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
One of Nelson Mandela’s sayings resonates with me these days… May your choices reflect your hope. Pretty powerful, isn’t it? While Mandela is no longer with us to provide a lot of insight about the meaning of the quote, I think it’s safe to say he was speaking from a place of personal experience. The bad stuff can imbitter you or better you.
I learned at a young age that my future — by default — would be a lot healthier and happier than my childhood. When you go through some rough stuff, it seems especially important to have a vision for your life that extends beyond the short term. I remember a rough patch earlier in my life when I was doing a lousy job balancing work, family, and selfcare. Simultaneously, I was trying to survive a very tumultuous relationship. At some point, I asked myself, “Victoria, is this where you want to be in five years?” That’s the kind of question that will lead to the reprioritization of some things. I decided then and there to build a future for my family and me that that would be healthier and happier than the current iteration. That’s choosing hope.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
I’m often asked this question and I always have the same answer: Not just one person. I think the examples, wisdom, and mentorship shared by many people I’ve met on the journey have helped me succeed. That’s a good way to live, don’t you think? Carry the best of the people around you forward. I hope I provide this to some of the young professionals I work with too.
Interestingly, some of the most influential people we meet in life are those who showcase terrible examples of leadership, crisis management, planning, etc. The “messes” teach us what not do if presented with the same scenarios. Bad leaders taught me a lot also.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The great companies craft an impeccable corporate vision and live it. I’ve always worked for companies I believed in; companies whose visions aligned with my own, and when they no longer fit my purpose and my core values, I left.
The company I work for today not only lives by an impeccable vision but has faith in the employees that bring the vision to life. I am thrilled to be part of an organization that understands that the human element is essential. I feel valued. My commitment to family is valued. My organization gives me the space to honour the personal commitments that keep balance in my life.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
These days I do a lot of work around corporate purpose, social impact and much in the DEI space. I’m working with several clients define their “why” — their corporate purpose and the social impact they want to have in, and on, the world. I’m working with CEOs and their leadership teams to define and embed purpose into the very fabric and DNA of their organizations. This includes a very robust discussion about, and the strategy for what DEI looks like in the practical realm. How do we recruit with an eye toward diversity? Do we just talk about equity or actually nourish it in our organization? Is inclusivity more than a buzz word for the people on our teams?
As I continue to articulate and execute DEI in the settings I operate and consult in, I am confident, and that data supports it, that both individuals and the larger organization and its stakeholders will benefit.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Homemade cookies? Mine are good, but I suspect you are looking for a different kind of goodness.
I think one of the most helpful things I can do for the world is to leverage my story to encourage young people who are trying to navigate their own challenges in life. I think that every young person on this planet is entitled to take a shot at their dreams. Too often, home environments are other external influences prevent really talented and thoughtful people from having a good shot at a good life.
I try my best to be a mentor to those who are trying to rise from their challenging circumstances and make a real go at a great life. If my story of overcoming can help someone else, it’s worth sharing.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)
The obvious one to me is creativity. Diversity gives birth to creativity. If your teams are filled with team members from a variety of backgrounds, orientations, etc., they will bring their varied and colourful perspectives and ideas to the job. I know of several dating website organizations who started hiring many more seniors to understand how their platforms could reach widows and widowers. How’s that for innovation through diversity?
Diversity mirrors the context. In 2021, most communities are diverse. If your organization is homogenous, your context — your community — will know it and be quite suspicious of what you do and who you serve.
Diversity creates sustainability. An organization that draws its leadership cadre and workers from a diverse pool of talented people, will have the fortitude to weather attrition. If you do not prize diversity, your talented people will move on to organizations that do.
Diversity is linked to empathy. In an organization that champions diversity, a host of perspectives is heard and hardwired into organizational ethos. What does this mean? Well, consider the organization that promotes equity by giving queer women opportunities and supports to lead. This kind of organization will understand that LGBTQ individuals still deal with a lot of discrimination and bullying in the broader context. This organization is now better equipped to support the members of team dealing with ugliness outside of work. Empathy is a hallmark of a healthy organization.
Diversity is right. It’s ethical. If we can’t champion diversity in our organizations, we need to question why we are associated with the organization in the first place.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
Empathy is the key to helping your employees thrive. Get to know their stories; give them some insight into your story also. Every member of every team wants to know they are valued by the organization. This begins and ends with a personal connection.
If you empathize with your employees, you know when they are stressed, burned out, grieving, anxious, etc. If you know about it, you can respond to it. The pandemic has shown us that that people are willing to sacrifice income and job stability if the wellbeing of loved ones is at stake. Empathetic leaders are proactive in supporting the members of their teams so that they don’t have to make these kinds of sacrifices.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
Trust the people you hired to work with you. Even now, there are authoritarian types out there who are unwilling to share power, delegate, or give the members of the team space to experiment, succeed, falter, and grow. If you are trying to do it all yourself, then you are not leading.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
The Vice President of the US. VP Kamala Harris is an inspiring leader whose best days of leadership are still ahead of her. I’d love the opportunity to hear more from her directly one-on-one.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me on LinkedIn or my personal website: www.Victoria-Pelletier.com
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Victoria Pelletier: “Here Is How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
