Supply Chain Now Equity in Action: How Inclusion Leads to Supply Chain Innovation
Sep 22, 2025
Join Lushentha Naidoo, Managing Director of the European Supplier Diversity Program, who has journeyed from apartheid-era South Africa to global supply chain leadership. She shares her transformative experience at Unilever, emphasizing caring as a leadership superpower. Lushentha discusses how supplier diversity enhances innovation and resilience, dispelling the myth that it's merely charity. Discover insights on creating inclusive cultures, widening the supplier funnel, and the actionable strategies from ESDP’s mentorship programs and Inclusive Procurement Academy.
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Saving Jobs With Factory Reinvention
- At Unilever Lushentha led a transformation that repurposed a factory to save jobs.
- They converted a home-care site into a plastic recycling plant and retained about 90% of roles.
Diversity Fuels Creative Solutions
- Diversity of thought enabled the creative solution to save jobs.
- A mixed team challenged assumptions and found an out‑of‑the‑box circular-economy answer.
Begin Purpose Work With Small Steps
- Start small if you want to pursue purpose while staying in a corporate role.
- Support ERGs, join DEI boards, and create psychological safety before making big career moves.