Anti-Racist Leadership: How to Transform Corporate Culture in a Race-Conscious World

Building anti-racist companies by design creates great places to work for all.

Business leaders ready to take a bold stance to make the world better for employees, for consumers, and for the greater community: Read this book.

As leaders, you have the unique ability to reach thousands of employees and millions of consumers. It’s time for you to build a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment and, by extension, a more just society.

This book provides a comprehensive plan for leaders who are ready to get serious about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and to create an anti-racist company culture.

As a Black man at the highest levels of corporate America for over thirty years, James D. White has built a deep understanding of how to operationalize and integrate DEI agendas. As CEO and Chairman of the global smoothie chain Jamba Juice, he led a remarkable turnaround to make the company a model of strong performance built on a foundation of a diverse, anti-racist culture. He also draws on the experiences of other leaders at the vanguard of DEI. White writes with his daughter, Krista White, who brings to this book the heart and sensibilities of a younger generation devoted to equity and inclusion and intent on justice.

Practical lessons and real-world examples of techniques used by seasoned experts will empower leaders who, at this urgent moment, are asking themselves what so many have asked James White: What can I do?

You can start by reading this book.

James D. White is a transformational leader with over thirty years’ experience as a CEO and operating executive in the consumer products, retail, and restaurant industries, as well as an experienced corporate director and adviser with twenty years of experience on more than fifteen public and private boards. White currently chairs the board of the recently IPO’d Honest Company and is Executive Chair of the startup Air Protein, in addition to several other boards.

As Chair, President, and CEO of Jamba Juice from 2008-2016, he led the successful turnaround and transformation of the company from a made-to-order smoothie shop to a global healthy-lifestyle brand. He has held senior executive positions at Safeway, Gillette, and Nestle Purina PetCare. In 2020, he launched his own firm, Culture Design Lab, to coach, train, and lead CEOs, boards, Chief People Officers, and Chief Diversity Officers on operationalizing his diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) playbook.

White is regularly featured in the media for his work, including Harvard Business Review, The Mentor, Shark Tank, the Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, Savoy, and Black Enterprise.

You can find James D. White at linkedin.com/in/james-d-white-086ab2153.