Press Releases: National
November 1 , 2007
Kaiser Permanente CEO Receives Diversity Leadership Award
OAKLAND, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Halvorson was among seven chief executives who received the CEO Diversity Leadership Award from the Diversity Best Practices organization at their Diversity and Inclusion LeadershipSummit & Gala on November 1, 2007. Halvorson also delivered the keynote speech on diversity initiatives in the health care sector.
Halvorson was recognized for the personal passion for diversity he has brought to his leadership at Kaiser Permanente. "As CEO, George Halvorson combines the rare qualities of first-hand diversity knowledge, personal diversity commitment, and purposeful action to integrate diversity into critical aspects of our business and organizational culture," said Ronald Knox, Kaiser Permanente vice president and chief diversity officer, who introduced Halvorson at the awards ceremony. "He leads diversity by example and holds himself and his senior executive colleagues accountable for results. He has raised the bar for CEO diversity leadership."
Kaiser Permanente is a national leader in diversity programs and has successfully translated its diversity into better quality for patients through its culturally competent care and linguistics programs, as well as effective marketing, workforce diversity, and community outreach.
Kaiser Permanente was named one of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc magazine in 2007 and 2006. It has received a 100 percent rating on the Corporate Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign for the past three years, and it was awarded the Recognizing Innovation in Multicultural Health Care Award by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
In selecting the award winners, the Diversity Best Practices Leadership Award Committee nominates those CEOs who are leading organizations that they have determined are "best in class" diversity leaders based on rigorous CEO diversity leadership standards and criteria.
Diversity Best Practices is a prominent corporate diversity membership organization where diversity thought leaders share best practices and develop innovative solutions for culture change. Through research, benchmarking, publications and events, DBP offers members information and strategies on how to implement, grow, measure, and create "first in class" diversity programs.
The other recipients of the 2007 Diversity Leadership Award are:
- The Coca-Cola Company CEO and Chairman E. Neville Isdell
- Johnson Controls Inc. Chairman John M. Barth
- Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
- MGM Mirage Chairman and CEO J. Terrence "Terry" Lanni
- Monster Chairman and CEO Sal Iannuzzi
- Sears Holdings Corporation President and CEO Aylwin B. Lewis
- Wachovia Corporation Chairman and CEO G. Kennedy Thompson
The study was funded in part by a grant from Merck & Co. Inc.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
