Listen to Julia Moulden’s original full interview with Ramesh Srinivasan, DiverseCity onBoard roster member:
Ramesh Srinivasan is a strong believer in the importance of leadership diversity on boards. He sees diversity as a true strength. Not taking advantage of the diversity that exists in our region would mean foregoing a competitive advantage.
When DiverseCity onBoard approached Ramesh, a professor of Hospitality Management, School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism at Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto, about joining the board of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), he was reluctant at first.
Not because he didn’t feel qualified. “I was a little skeptical because my experience with boards were condominium boards, boards of organizations that did educational outreach. And while I had the requisite knowledge, I had no idea as to what it takes to sit on a board that brings in $4.5 billion a year.”
However, after speaking to the organization, he realized that he had much to offer. As a board member, “I was able to talk about quality service, customer service, why it’s so important that there is good engagement between staff and clients who come in.”
“It’s been a learning opportunity. It has taught me how to listen. It has taught me how I can bring a perspective and impress on a large organization that they need to have people like me because in Ontario the stakeholders are a diverse group of people, they are multi-racial, multi-cultural, and we need to have people who are visible minorities who sit on the board.”
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