About Roger

Roger Crockett is an accomplished diversity executive, speaker on inclusive leadership, writer, and author of the forthcoming book about the journey of Black CEOs in Corporate America. He has a strong track record of successfully implementing strategic inclusion initiatives across global organizations.

As Vice President and Global Head of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity for Western Digital Corp, the world’s largest data infrastructure company, Roger led a 60,000-person business to measured improvements in diversity and inclusion. He is known for his inspirational and collaborative style, highly effective at influencing executives to apply equitable business processes and adopt inclusive leadership behaviors. The objective of his DEI leadership is to improve performance, delight customers, and enhance a culture of belonging.

Roger’s philosophy is to lead with Equity, practice Inclusion, and drive Diversity. He is a passionate proponent of the "business relevancy" of EI&D – that is, demonstrating not only the business case, but how EI&D leads to improved results in the specific tasks and responsibilities business leaders are charged with delivering each day.

Roger has spent more than a decade either leading inclusion and diversity for global organizations or advising them on inclusion strategies and best practices. Before Western Digital, Roger was Senior Partner at inQUEST Consulting, which provides D&I advice and leadership training. He also founded R.O. Crockett Leadership Advisory and co-founded Global Performance Partners Inc., firms excelling at thought leadership and inclusive business strategy.

Earlier in his career, Roger was the Chicago Deputy Bureau Chief for BusinessWeek magazine and a contributing writer for Harvard Business Review online. At BusinessWeek, he authored several award-winning articles about powerful companies, executives, and trends. For example, he wrote an insider’s account of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s first “Silicon Valley Project,” which explored tech companies’ diversity challenges.

He penned “iPod Killers,” a cover story about the transformative rise in smartphones, and he co-authored the cover story that introduced the world to Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company.

Roger is a recipient of the 2015 “Business Leaders of Color” award from Chicago United, joining luminaries Michelle Obama and former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Prime Impact Capital (NYSE: PIAI.U), and he is an influential member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Racial Justice & Equity Committee.

Roger is a graduate of UCLA and earned a Master’s degree with honors from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

He lives just south of San Jose, CA, with his wife.