Moving six times in seven years, Keith Powell was willing to do what it took to take advantage of opportunities to advance his career. Kieth has a passion for helping under-represented employees succeed and uses his 20-plus years of corporate experience to coach those individuals to achieve their potential. On today’s episode, Keith talks with Alan about being a black executive in the tech world. He shares his career journey, gives advice on steps to take for career advancement, and offers valuable input on promotions and career changes. You don’t want to miss this episode!
In This Episode:
[05:02] Keith speaks about his career journey and how being black had an impact
[8:57] Keith’s role and how he is a DEI warrior
[21:30] Advice to navigate an uneven playing field
[25:05] How to help people understand their value
[31:06] Changing the percentages of under-represented people in groups
[39:06] Personal examples of effective negotiations
Key Takeaways:
Be excellent in your role but also get involved in other projects and show you are willing to work hard and excel in those too. Overperform.
Align your passions with your companies to gain visibility.
Networking is important and sponsorship is make or break.
Keith Powell is a Chief Operating Officer in private education with over 20 years of corporate experience in the U.S. and Canada. For most of his career, Keith led global Finance and Operations functions for Fortune 1000 companies in the automotive, chemical, consumer and commercial goods, e-commerce, and smart home industries. After getting a taste of the top of Corporate America, Keith joined a start-up private equity firm, took a shot at an e-commerce start-up, and began advising entrepreneurs on start-ups, including working with the family of Golden State Warriors legend, Al Attles, on various philanthropic and business ventures. Keith also has deep roots in philanthropy – sitting on numerous local, state, and national Boards over the past 20 years. Keith was the “first” or the “only” quite often climbing the corporate ladder. Having mentored and coached hundreds throughout his career, Keith continues to share practical, digestible advice to underrepresented employees as a co-host of C-CRETS, which is a career advice platform offering career coaching services, online courses, and topical content through blogs and a podcast. Keith also holds an MBA from the Kelley School of Business in Indiana.
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