James Ford

• I will drive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within our Legal and Compliance function with an investment of my time, energy, and resources.
• I will make clear that I expect the leaders of the Legal and Compliance function to role-model inclusive leadership and to build diverse, high-performing teams. I will hold the leaders of the function accountable for creating a culture where employees can be themselves, feel a sense of belonging, and thrive to reach their full potential.
• I will use my platform as a leader to advocate for DEI inside and outside of GSK. This will be evident in my conversations, agendas, presentations, and in the way I work.
• I will actively seek input from people who have different lived experiences from me to inform my thinking. I will continuously learn more about how my own leadership style and actions can positively influence DEI.
• I will meet annually with at least three other general counsel in my industry and discuss how to promote DEI internally and among our legal service providers. I will meet annually with at least three law firm leaders and share my expectation that the firms share our Company’s commitment to truly represent us.
• I am a signatory to the European General Counsel for Diversity Initiative and continue to support its initiatives to drive DEI within the profession across Europe to address unique needs and challenges.
• I will meet with my organization’s LCLD Fellows, Pathfinders, Alumni, and other developmental program graduates, to discuss their experiences within the function and seek ways to further support their development and progression.

As a Legal and Compliance function we actively support GSK’s overall, global DEI commitments for our People, our Business, and our Communities, including:

• Accelerating our progress on representation and culture, including ensuring equal opportunity with aspirational targets for female and ethnically diverse representation in senior roles by the end of 2025 and to be recognized as a disability confident employer and in LGBT+ global indices;
• Commitment to Clinical Trial Diversity to represent the real-world disease population in our clinical studies;
• Increase utilization of certified diverse suppliers; and
• Investment in our communities focused on under-represented students entering STEM careers.

And, specifically, for the Legal and Compliance function, we will:

1. Foster an Inclusive Culture

• With input from across all levels in our global Legal and Compliance function, continue to define the Inclusive Culture that we expect from each other (e.g. what it is and what it is not);
• Through engagement across the function, create awareness and understanding of the Inclusive Culture we aspire to;
• Embed this into our daily working practices and expectations of leaders

2. Grow a Diverse Talent Pipeline

• Launch a flagship internship program to build the pipeline of talent for our function and our profession;
• Maximize internal and external development program opportunities for existing, diverse Legal and Compliance employees to support their progression internally;
• The Legal and Compliance Leadership team will actively mentor and sponsor diverse talent within the organization, beyond their own reporting line

3. Expand Third Party Diversity

• In our “RFP” process, increase the focus on the diversity of external counsel and third parties;
• Establish internal ‘secondments’ for diverse external counsel to learn GSK’s Legal and Compliance function and our business and legal challenges to drive deeper and longer-term relationships with those individuals;
• Increase engagement of NAMWOLF law firms

4. Increase Leadership Representation 

• Ensure equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination with our aspirational targets for gender and racial and ethnic diversity in leadership positions;
• Require a diverse short-list of candidates for leadership positions before commencing interviews;
• Our talent management and succession planning process will support our DEI aspirations;
• Focused development and retention of diverse talent.

To learn more about James, click here.