Judges, Criteria, Process

Courtney Schroeder

Courtney Schroeder is General Mills’ Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DI&B). In this role, he is responsible for building on General Mills’ 30-year legacy of diversity and inclusion leadership. During his time, Courtney launched the Courageous Conversation platform, led the execution of the first Employee Network Summit, and introduced the concept of belonging in the workplace.

Courtney received his undergraduate degree in Business Economics and Political Science from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He is a proud alumnus of both Management Leadership for Tomorrow as well as the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management.

Outside of work, Courtney serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Project for Pride in Living, a Twin Cities based housing and workforce development non-profit.

John Lafkas

John Lafkas is Senior Editor, Cases and Pedagogy at Harvard Business Publishing. He has co-authored several cases and was previously an instructor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his M.A. in Management.

Kim Eric Bettcher

Kim Eric Bettcher leads the Center for International Private Enterprise’s (CIPE) Policy and Program Learning (PPL) department, including knowledge management and applied research. PPL facilitates the international exchange of good practice, lessons learned, and policy options for democratic and market transitions. Dr. Bettcher has created numerous program resources for CIPE on democratic governance, private sector engagement, entrepreneurship ecosystems, public-private dialogue, and other themes. He also manages the secretariat of the Free Enterprise & Democracy Network.

Bettcher has published articles in the Harvard Business Review,  Party Politics,  SAIS Review, Diplomatic Courier, and the Business History Review. He has taught as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy and was previously a research associate at Harvard Business School. Bettcher holds a Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

Shaista E. Khilji

Dr. Shaista E. Khilji is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the South Asian Journal of Business Studies, and Professor of Human and Organizational Learning & International Affairs at The George Washington University, where she teaches graduate level courses on Leadership, Change, and Diversity & Inclusion.

Her research focuses on issues related to macro talent development, diversity & inclusion, humanizing organizations/ leadership, and individual experiences with inequality. She has published several articles in tier-1 scholarly journals, including the International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of World Business, Human Resource Management Review, and the Journal of Product Innovation Management, and presented more than 50 research papers at various international conferences. Her book, entitled “Globalization, Change and Learning in South Asia”, is a representation of the diversity of her research. She has taught and trained diverse audiences in Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, United States, Canada, India, Morocco, and Pakistan. She has consulted with US and Canadian governments, higher educational institutions (in Singapore, Canada, Pakistan, Morocco, India and Cuba) and several organizations in the private and non-profit sector globally, including working on President Obama’s initiative to develop transparent culture in the federal government. She has also served as a co-principal investigator on a $1 million grant from the US State Department, entitled, “Development in Pakistan through Women’s Empowerment”.