David Popwell on diversity challenges
From MOTM EP10: David Popwell/Lynne Walker First Horizon · · Memphians On The Move
“The biggest challenge in diversity and inclusion is customer-facing roles. We want our workforce to mirror the communities we serve to better connect and grow revenue, because if everyone looks like me and thinks like me, nothing changes.”
On , David Popwell, Senior Executive Vice President & Senior Strategic Executive at FIRST HORIZON CORP, spoke about diversity challenges during MOTM EP10: David Popwell/Lynne Walker First Horizon on Memphians On The Move.
About David Popwell
In a September 2019 appearance on the podcast "Memphians on the Move," David Popwell, then president of banking at First Horizon, discussed the company's diversity and inclusion strategy. Popwell described the approach as "diversity plus affinity equals inclusion," which he said involves employees understanding their differences and valuing commonalities. He stated that First Horizon runs diversity and inclusion "like a business," with bank management meeting quarterly to review workforce data and hold leaders accountable. Popwell reported that between 2015 and 2018, the company increased the percentage of women and people of color in its top three salary levels from 33% to 41%, and increased men of color in senior management from 1.3% to 8.5%. Popwell emphasized the business rationale for diversity, saying the company wants its workforce to "look like the markets that we serve" to foster creativity and increase revenue. He noted that the biggest challenge is in customer-facing roles, and argued that "if everyone looks like me and thinks like me, nothing changes." Popwell also highlighted First Horizon's Community Reinvestment Act lending, stating the company lent $93 million to people of color and $30 million in low-to-moderate income mortgages in the prior year. He described the company's culture, which he called "First Power," as a competitive advantage, with diversity and inclusion as core components.