In Collaboration with the Community
A Q&A WITH FLAVIA MOREIRA, DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION FOR LENOVO
Please begin by sharing with us some of your background, your roots?
I’m originally from Brazil. I moved to the U.S. in 2016 with my previous employer for a one year international assignment. It worked so well that I ended up staying. I have a broad HR background, having spent half of my career as an HR Business Partner and the other half in several subject matter expertise areas, such as Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition, and Organizational Development, in addition to Diversity and Inclusion. I’ve worked for major organizations such as Mercedes Benz, Kraft Foods, BG Group, and GlaxoSmithKline. I’m also an executive coach and specialize in helping international talent thrive. People describe me as results driven, open minded, and an authentic global HR leader who is passionate about development. My mission is to help people and businesses unlock their potential and grow.
It took my moving to the U.S. to realize that I was Latina. Let me explain. I had to come here and experience being different to find my own identity and to start to appreciate my roots and the similarities among all of our countries. I stopped excusing my accent and started enjoying that I’ll always ‘stand out’ wherever I go when I’m in the U.S.
I’ve also lived and worked in multiple European and Latin American countries, including Germany. Now, at Lenovo, I’m getting a deeper dive into Asia, and I’m fascinated. One of the ways that shows my ‘Latinidad’ or Brasileirisse’ is how I strongly value personal relationships, and I’m always looking to find ways to have fun.
How did you arrive at Lenovo and to the position you are currently in?
I found myself ready for my next challenge and a former Lenovo employee recommended me for the position. We had attended a Business Coaching program at NC State University in Raleigh, N.C. together and kept in touch. She had always said so many great things about Lenovo, and when I saw the job description, I said: “This is my dream. I’m extremely passionate about D&I and have seen how much impact it can have in business and in individuals.” Prior to joining Lenovo, I led Talent Management and Succession Planning for the U.S. Pharmaceutical business at GSK where I experienced first hand the challenge of developing robust and diverse leadership pipelines.
Talk about some of the work you have done as Director of Global Diversity and Inclusion in favor of Latino small businesses?
Supporting Latino small businesses is a key part of our supplier diversity strategy. We’re working to bring more of these suppliers into our network of providers and to ensure they know about us. In 2019 we helped sponsor the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Supplier Diversity Conference where we demonstrated the breadth of opportunities Lenovo has for businesses to provide products and services to hundreds of Latino small businesses. Our spend with U.S. Hispanic owned companies exceeded $115 million, which represented 33 percent of Lenovo’s Diverse Spend (Federal Fiscal Year 2018/2019). We continue to increase our number of suppliers that are Hispanic owned and our spend with them. Going forward, we will leverage the Lenovo Foundation (our philanthropic arm) alongside our Employee Resource Groups as key tools in our Supplier Diversity strategy.
What has been your experience working with Latino suppliers?
I’ve coached small business owners and have witnessed firsthand the tremendous benefits they can bring. I’ve seen powerful Latinas flourish as they build their self-confidence and dare to be their best selves. I’ve seen young Latina and Latino entrepreneurs leveraging their ability to work hard and smart, building strong relationships with their customers, and offering a completely different experience. I now have the opportunity to have an impact in a much larger scale by partnering with my Supplier Diversity colleagues and Lenovo employees in all the great things we’re doing to support and enable the Latino supplier community.
In your opinion and from the corporate point of view, what are the benefits of providing Latino suppliers these opportunities?
We can only be better as a company and as individuals if we are able to learn from different perspectives. Lenovo will only be able to achieve its mission of providing smarter technology for all if we really understand the meaning of all - different cultures, different backgrounds, different abilities, and different perspectives. That needs to start with the companies that we partner as supplier as well as with our employees.
How is Lenovo supporting these Latinos businesses amid the COVID-19 health crisis? What is the plan during and post pandemic?
We are currently researching our supply base to determine the impact that COVID 19 will have on our minority suppliers and the effect to Lenovo’s supply chain. We are also in discussions with our largest Minority Owned supplier that is Hispanic owned to determine ways of better collaboration, not only with them, but with suppliers they do business with them on our behalf. Our commitment to Minority Owned businesses remains steadfast, and when we all emerge from this pandemic we will be working with our Minority Business community to strengthen current relationships and develop new and sustainable partnerships.
As far as supporting communities around the world dealing with the pandemic, we are doing a lot. Lenovo’s total commitment, through the Lenovo Foundation and teams around the world, recently passed $12 million. This includes support through donations including: $2.4 million in equipment and IT infrastructure support hospitals in Wuhan, including:
1200+ computers, 280 tablets, 660 printers, software and support
$2 million to BGI Genomics in collaboration with Intel for high-performance computing hardware, software, and support
$2.4 million in hardware donations support for distance learning education in North America
$1.4 million in distance learning support focused in China’s Hubei province
$1.3 million in software and services donations to enable distance education and security for those learning and working from home. Click here to see if you are eligible for a free LanSchool Air license.
$1 million+ across Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin American markets to respond to unique healthcare and education needs
$500k+ Motorola smartphone donations supporting distance learning and U.S./ Canada charities
Lenovo couples its technology with Jangala’s WiFi solutions in remote areas that lack infrastructure, such as refugee camps in Kenya and Eswatini. We are evaluating future deployments to enable connection in isolation. Our CEO, who we know as YY, also made a personal donation of nearly $1.5 million to the Chinese University of Science and Technology to support their ongoing research. +