GEEKS Gone GREAT Chats with Walgreens Chief Diversity Officer Steve Pemberton
by Sheila Marionneaux
About Steve:
Steve Pemberton is Chief Diversity Officer and Divisional Vice-President for Walgreens, the first such person to hold that responsibility in the company's 110 year history. One of America's most inspiring executives, Steve's journey to corporate America has been all but traditional. He has become recognized as one of the nation's leaders on matters of diversity and inclusion and its importance to the growth of the American industrial complex. In 2006, Fortune named Steve Pemberton one of the Top 20 Chief Diversity Officers in corporate America. In 2007, Steve was called to Capitol Hill to provide expert testimony on best practices in diversity recruiting and in 2008 he was named by Savoy as one of The Top 100 most influential African-Americans in corporate America. Steve currently serves on several boards including The Home for Little Wanderers and UCAN to provide guidance and inspiration to children in need. The Pemberton Fund For The Future has been established at The Home For Little Wanderers to assist children aging out of the foster care system.
A ward of the state for much of his childhood, Steve has made opportunity, access and equality pillars of his personal and professional life. His memoir, A Chance in the World, was published by Thomas Nelson in January of 2012. A Chance In The World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home (Thomas Nelson), is his riveting autobiography that chronicles Steve's difficult path through foster care and determined search for his family. It is an inspirational story that crosses generations and cultures, but specifically whispers to those who have had the odds stacked against them. Steve's relentless journey to overcome, find his biological family, and right the wrongs of his parents' past, is a model for all families to follow. It is a true testament of faith, fortitude and forgiveness. A Chance In The World achieved a favorable Kirkus review, was recently featured in People Magazine earning 3.5/4.0 stars, and Amazon reviews give A Chance In The World 5 stars!
Steve is a graduate of Boston College. He is married and has three children.
To Our GEEKS Gone GREAT Readers:
In reading the tragedy to triumph story of Steve Pemberton, readers will experience a gamut of emotions and are likely to reflect on how they personally digest obstacles of great challenge and or painful circumstances in their own lives. Steve’s story is relatable on many levels and is the height of what perseverance and grace under pressure can accomplish. Steve Pemberton has emerged as a debonair, eloquently articulate intellectual and is yet a grounded senior executive in Corporate America. Steve’s life’s path is earmarked of providence.
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http://www.blacksgonegeek.org/Pages/GEEKSGoneGREATSalutesStevePemberton.aspx
2012 IT Job Outlook - Blacks Gone Geek Readers Poll - Survey Results
Stay Current!
To be successful in this ever changing IT industry, you have to know what’s HOT so you can keep your skills current. This is where we could use your help. It’s your opinion that matters. How do you see the job outlook for technology workers in 2012? What is the one thing that job seekers must do in order to advance their careers in 2012?
Survey Results Observations
1) 61% of the survey respondents are IT Professionals (e.g. individual contributor, consultant, contractor) and 23% are in management. This is a demographic consistent with the Blacks Gone Geek online community and also for African Americans in IT.
2) 88.5% of the respondents think the job market is the same or improving and only 11.5% think the job market is in decline. This is consistent with the national sentiment that things are getting better.
3) Careers in the cloud scored high in all categories.
4) Project management and business analysis are still strong career choices, however, the # 1 choice was Cyber Security Specialist.
5) The top 5 IT functional areas:
a. Applications Development/Solutions Delivery
b. IT Leadership & Governance
c. Customer Relationship Management
d. Infrastructure Management
e. Enterprise Architecture
6) Best Advice:
a. Stay current!
b. Network
c. Embrace lifelong learning
d. Update skills and comfort level with new technology, especially in all things dealing with private and hybrid cloud and mobile applications.
e. Be technically proficient and know how the technology translates into benefits to the business process
What is the Wisdom of the Crowd?
The wisdom of the crowd refers to the process of taking into account the collective opinion of a group of individuals rather than a single expert to answer a question. Join the experiment. Join the discussion on the Blacks Gone GeekJob Seekers Forum to share your observations and recommendations.
Thanks! Blacks Gone Geek thanks the 78 respondents who took the time to share their opinion.
For Detailed Survey Results:
http://www.blacksgonegeek.org/Pages/2012ITJobOutlookBlacksGoneGeekReadersPoll.aspx
Hot IT Skills
Web Developer
HTML5, CSS3, XHTML
PHP, SQL, MySQL, Oracle, C#
JavaJ2EE, .NET
Cloud Computing and virtualization (esp. certified in Citrix)
Networking and Network Security (esp. certified in Cisco and CISSP)
Architecture and Engineering in voIP
Adobe Flex, , AdobeFlash
JavaScript, AJAX, and JavaScript Object Notation
Tomcat & Web Technology, JSTL & Expression Language
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator
Mobile Products, Windows Mobile Developers
Collaboration Software (esp. SharePoint)
Cloud Applications (Office 365, Google Apps)
Project Managers (PMP certified)
Business Analysts (esp. with SME expertise in “the business”)
QA Analysts, SQA Engineers
Business Intelligence, Business Objects Developer
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IT Roles and Skill Categories
http://www.blacksgonegeek.org/Pages/ITRolesandTechnicalSkillCategories.aspx
Who's Hiring Now! Report Updated
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