Nneoma Maduike, member of SFNet’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness Committee interviews Anthony C. Hood, PhD, executive vice president and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer of First Horizon National Corp. Dr. Hood is responsible for cultivating and expanding First Horizon’s strategic leadership in developing and implementing programs and initiatives that advance the Company’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.

First Horizon has been touted as an example of an organization that is taking deliberate steps to create an inclusive culture.  What has been the mission and commitment of the company with respect to this goal?

First Horizon is not new on its D&I journey. We have a rich history of programming, including associate resource groups, D&I Council, Diversity Impact Awards, and strategic hiring initiatives to name a few.  Our associates regularly serve on the boards of nonprofits and industry groups committed to advancing DEI. Our very own Henry Sosa, vice chairman of the DEI Committee of SFNet, is a prime example of that commitment.

While we’ve long been committed to diversity (i.e., representation) and inclusion (i.e., belonging, authenticity, psychological safety), we’re being very intentional about placing greater emphasis on equity—which involves recognizing, quantifying and eliminating disparities in areas such as access to capital, procurement, charitable giving, hiring, professional development, promotions, retention, compensation, etc. Efforts to advance diversity and inclusion are unlikely to be successful if equity is not centered. As a result, we now refer to our efforts in this space as DEI rather than just D&I.

DEI is rarely successful without the full buy-in of management.  What is the participation of your management team? How did the company determine areas of concern? What policies were adopted?

Tone is always set at the top and for us that has been the leadership of our president and CEO, Bryan Jordan. Bryan is an active participant in much of our DEI-related programming such as when he opened our 2021 MLK Day celebration by discussing the personal significance of Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. 

Members of our executive management team also set the tone by mentoring underrepresented associates and serving as executive sponsors of our associate resource groups and DEI Council. 

In addition to our executive team, our board of directors have really leaned into our efforts to advance DEI, particularly in the context of our activities related to ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). Since I’ve been with the company, DEI has been a permanent agenda item of every quarterly board of directors meeting. That sends a clear signal that DEI is not just an HR program or public relations tactic—but rather is a strategic priority for of the corporation.

How has both diversity and inclusion qualitatively and quantitatively contributed to the success of the company over the last decade? Why do you attribute this to DEI initiatives?

At First Horizon, we refer to our culture as Firstpower. Our company has been very intentional about embedding DEI within our Firstpower culture. By doing so, we believe that Firstpower serves as a competitive differentiator in an industry where differentiation is becoming more challenging to demonstrate. 

One of the ways we assess the impact of our DEI efforts is through our Associate Value and Leadership Surveys. These are regular assessments that allow us to keep a finger on the pulse of our organization and adjust our DEI-related programming accordingly. 

When we look ahead to the next decade of DEI, we recognize that our work must be much more tech enabled. Our efforts must be grounded in industry best practices and our decisions guided by advanced data analytics and insights. Only then will we be able to accurately measure our success and tell our story effectively.