As a Los Angeles native, and a graduate of Dorsey High School and the University of California, Los Angeles, Darrell Brown was surrounded by leaders, both in his family and his community. Early on, he developed a skill for servant leadership — for bringing people together, united under a common passion.
Now, more than 40 years later, as a senior vice president in the U.S. Bank Consumer Banking group, and a Greater Los Angeles market leader, he is in a position where he can carry out that philosophy on a major scale. “I’m proud of the work I do in my community, and in the market I lead for U.S. Bank. I feel fortunate that I work for a company that understands that serving your community is an expectation.”
Darrell actively serves on several boards in the Los Angeles market, including the University of California, Santa Cruz, Valley Industrial Commerce Association, Bet Tzedek, Latino Business Chamber of Commerce, and the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. He also has served on the board of Junior Achievement and the Urban League of Los Angeles. Darrell is recognized as a change agent with expertise in revitalizing organizations, building brand equity and affecting positive growth. “I witnessed the power of a strong advocacy for change when my mother walked alongside Cesar Chavez. This gave me a deep-rooted passion for organizations who strive for the betterment of the underprivileged in our communities.”
Right now, Darrell is most excited by the change happening within his workplace. “U.S. Bank has always valued diversity and inclusion – and the fact that U.S. Bank makes serving communities a priority is one of the biggest reasons I chose to work here, and the reason I’ve stayed here for more than 10 years. But serving communities isn’t strictly about numbers. What U.S. Bank does for our communities is important, no doubt. I mean, our own employees donated more than $2 million dollars and reported 260,000 hours of volunteer service in 2013. That blows my mind! It’s incredible to see the impact our donations and volunteer hours make. But it’s about more than what we do. It’s about who we become, as employees, as leaders, and as U.S. Bank.”
“I strongly believe that to thrive as a bank, we must embrace diversity and inclusion. U.S. Bank is an enormous network; we have more than 3,100 bank branches and 17.9 million customers across the country. Think about the diversity of the backgrounds and perspectives represented there. Our global employee population – 67,000 strong – needs to reflect that same diverse population.”
As an executive sponsor for the U.S. Bank Diversity and Inclusion Council, Darrell partners with other senior leaders and the Board of Directors to define what diversity and inclusion means to the bank, and how they can promote that message internally and within the communities they serve. “Diversity and inclusion isn’t a new concept – businesses have long understood that to recruit the best employees, it’s essential that employees are engaged and feel like they belong. But we’re going beyond that. Diversity and inclusion is a part of our business plan; it’s ingrained in our culture.”
How does a corporation the size and scope of U.S. Bank ensure that they’re fostering a culture that is diverse and inclusive? Darrell says, “Something we do here at U.S. Bank is that we ask our employees to help us shape that culture. That message is coming from the top down.” The U.S. Bank Board of Directors is one of the most diverse of any Fortune 500 company in the United States. Below the Board is an Executive Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee – a group of senior leaders, of which Darrell is a part – who creates U.S. Bank’s Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan, ensures it aligns with the overall business plan, and sets targets for how the bank will measure success. There is also a Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Council, made up of employees from across the bank. The council is responsible for executing on the strategic plan, championing inclusion initiatives within their lines of business, and making sure the strategic plan aligns with U.S. Bank best practices.
One of the best examples of how U.S. Bank embraces diversity and inclusion is the U.S. Bank Development Network, which boasts 60 chapters across the United States and Europe. It’s run by employees, and offers personal and professional development opportunities through more than 1,800 events each year. “The variety of opportunities the Development Network offers is amazing. It’s anything from saving for college, to how to train for a marathon, to panels featuring our CEO and other managing committee members. Whatever our employees want to know about, there’s probably an event.”
One of the newest initiatives, launching in 2015, is the rollout of business resource groups. Like the Development Network, these groups are managed by employees, centered around topics that they’re passionate about, and impact the business. Darrell says, “When people talk about diversity and inclusion, often they mean ethnicity, gender, age or sexual orientation. But we need to open our minds and think beyond that to include our diverse perspectives, work experiences, lifestyles and cultures. We need to respect and value all those differences. And I think the business resource groups are a great way to bring together every aspect of diversity.”
“I truly believe that I work for the best bank in the United States. We’re committed to our employees, we’re committed to our communities, and we’re committed to our customers. I’m thrilled with what we’ve achieved in the 10 years I’ve been with the bank, and I can’t want to see where we can take us in the next 10 years.”
