Carhartt Hires Senior Diversity Leader, Instagram Launches Grant Program
In an effort to create a more diverse company, Carhartt has hired Todd Corley as senior vice president of inclusion and sustainability.
Corley will join the company Monday in this newly created senior leadership post. He will have direct responsibility for diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, sustainability initiatives, community partnerships and corporate giving.
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Corley will report to president and chief operating officer Linda Hubbard. He is taking on this full-time role eight months after consulting with the workwear brand. During that time, he helped “navigate conversations and implement improved internal inclusion practices,” according to the company.
Corley is founder of the TAPO Institute, an organization that advocates for inclusive leadership. He also previously served as a corporate officer for Abercrombie & Fitch. Corley teaches human resource development at Villanova University, highlighting how diversity and inclusion can create a strong corporate culture and improve a brand’s reputation.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based Carhartt has more than 5,300 employees worldwide. The family-owned business is managed by relatives of its founder Hamilton Carhartt.
In other diversity-related news, Instagram’s official design account @design has started #BlackDesignVisionaires, a grant program to empower Black designers and Black-led businesses. The effort is in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum.
The program was developed with Chicago Mobile Makers, Inneract Project and The Hidden Genius Project, which are each trying to create community and career pathways for young Black designers. In total, $130,000 in grants will be awarded this fall.
Applicants will have their work reviewed by talent that includes Gagosian’s Antwaun Sargent, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, urban planner and architect Toni Griffin, designer Heron Preston and Jungalow founder Justina Blakeney. The grant recipients are expected to be announced in late November or early December, according to a spokeswoman for the project.
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