The power of difference celebrated

Cummins focuses on harnessing diverse perspectives to innovate better solutions for its customers, create environments for employees to be successful and grow, and better serve its communities. This is how Cummins wins with the power of difference.

A few weeks ago, the company took the opportunity to celebrate that power and progress made on its aspirational diversity goals during the 2023 Cummins Black and Latino Leadership Summit. Launched in 2018, this year’s event brought together nearly 250 attendees, including Cummins Board members, leadership and employees, along with external business leaders and even a New York Times best-selling author. “Educate. Celebrate. Affiliate” – the summit’s theme - set the tone for two days packed with inspiring panelists, thought-provoking discussions, and plenty of energetic networking opportunities for all.

Sharing experiences

Jennifer Rumsey, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Cummins, shared her perspective: “What I realized is that it takes both the capabilities inside ourselves and people around us that help us get there. This is why, when I talk about DE&I, the fact is that it’s deeply personal to me. Who else is out there that should rise to director, executive director, officer, CEO or CFO, and how do we make sure that we uncover and enable talent to reach full potential?”

Along with Rumsey, Cummins Board Member, Carla Harris, Chief Administrative Officer, Sharon Barner, and a host of other leaders and external speakers, candidly delivered dynamic conversations while the attendees eagerly listened and participated, sharing their own experiences and challenges.

Topics ranged from conquering zero-sum thinking to creating a culture of belonging to discussions of equitable leadership practices through allyship. The summit also carved out space to celebrate the significant accomplishments made toward the company’s aspirational representation goals for Black and Latino talent.

Looking ahead

“We’ve grown our diversity at the organization level. At the same time, our company has grown from $6.6 billion in revenue in 2000 to $28.1 billion in revenue in 2022. It’s not a mistake.” says Jeff Wiltrout, Vice President, Corporate Strategy at Cummins.

There were many valuable lessons learned throughout the time spent together. Carolyn Butler-Lee, Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, through data, highlighted an area of opportunity within Cummins own workforce to unleash the powerful middle levels at Cummins. It was recognition of the unprecedented progress made, while realizing the journey and the momentum needed to further Cummins goals of attracting, hiring and retaining Black and Latino talent.

Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Global Chief People Officer at Vice Media Group, shared strategies and provided leaders with tangible ways to ensure they are creating the right environment and conditions for middle management to succeed. 

Everyone plays a role

The summit concluded with a clear call to action from Marvin Boakye, Chief Human Resources Officer, for everyone to see themselves as the owner of DE&I and to accept their role in the challenge.

“How incredible of an experience I had at the Cummins Black and Latino Leadership Summit,” said Dale Davis, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel and Deputy General Counsel at Cummins. “Cummins truly has a welcoming culture and it starts from the top. I left feeling renewed, energized, and awakened!”

The summit was a resounding success and ended in high gear as the company kicked-off its month-long celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month. Jennifer Rumsey’s announcement about the expansion of CARE (Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity) to include the Latino community elicited cheers from the crowd and full-on excitement among employees. 

Winning with the power of difference was on full display at the event but also served as a reminder that there is more progress to be made in Cummins’ unwavering commitment to foster diverse, inclusive environments in which employees and innovation will continue to thrive.