H&M has named its first head of inclusion & diversity for North America.
The fast-fashion company has appointed Ezinne Kwubiri for the newly created position. H&M created the new inclusion & diversity role to find ways to make an impact and further ensure that inclusion and diversity occurs at all levels, and in all areas of the talent lifecycle in its North American operations.
Kwubiri will work closely with Annie Wu, the company’s global leader of diversity and inclusiveness. However, she will report to the new president of H&M North America, Martino Pessina. Pessina, a 17-year veteran who has held a variety of leadership roles at H&M, including business controller and heading up global sales and expansion, oversees over 700 North American locations and more than 18,000 employees. He became president of H&M’s North America operations in September.
In her new role, Kwubiri will develop and implement a transformative strategy to make H&M an even more inclusive and diverse company in North America. She will lead the charge in how H&M thinks about, acts on, and achieves inclusion and diversity.
This includes, but is not limited to, championing key inclusion and diversity differentiators in the organization’s ability to attract, develop, retain and promote the best talent throughout North America. She must also ensure H&M’s global inclusion and diversity philosophy is fully-realized through an operationalized strategy, and consistent and regular evaluation of transparent results that enable the organization to hold itself accountable, track, measure and communicate its progress.
Prior to joining H&M, Kwubiri spent 11 years at Viacom in various roles, including operations and change management.