Clayton E. Judge III is the Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Converse and Jordan brands at Nike. As a spearhead of inclusion for such a highly visible corporation, Judge takes his responsibilities very seriously. Having already achieved great success in the past with organizations such as the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and MillerCoors, where he helped the organization dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, Judge’s Supplier Diversity Program at Nike has thus far produced similarly impressive results – the company was able to boast nearly 1 billion dollars spent on contracts with diverse suppliers to date.
Judge credits the success of this program to the development of a unified corporate approach to DEI that focuses on four key pillars: community, representation, education, and development. With this unified approach, Judge is able to generate leadership buy-in and make DEI an essential part of organizational culture at Nike; supplier inclusion isn’t just an item on a checklist for them, but something that Judge has helped make one of the organization’s core values.
Favorite Quote: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.” — Nelson Mandela