James Loduca is the chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Nike Inc., where he leads a global team of DEI professionals working to make Nike “the most diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible company in the world.
Loduca’s professional highlight from the past year is “building a world-class DEI team for a world-class company during a time of great turbulence in the industry,” he says.
He takes a data-driven and people-centered approach to solving complex, enterprise problems, and leverages his twenty-five-year expertise to develop strategies that drive progress at every stage of the employee life cycle. Loduca is one of the few openly LGBTQ+ Latino leaders in the field and has dedicated his life to addressing systemic inequality, uplifting underrepresented people and communities, and accelerating change at top Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to joining Nike, Loduca was the vice president of global inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility at Twitter (now X) and a founding member of Salesforce’s Office of Equality and Office of Ethical Use of Technology. He has served as a member of the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee to US Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, senior advisor to the Obama Administration on healthcare equity, and chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.
How does your Latino heritage influence you as a leader?
My Latinidad and LGBTQ+ identity are gifts. Throughout my career they have helped foster entrepreneurship, resilience, empathy, and curiosity about the lived experience of others. Today, as a leader I consider them superpowers that help me unlock creativity and innovation in a way that is uniquely me.
Outside of work, what are you passionate about and why?
I am passionate about creating a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible future for everyone. This shows up in my volunteer work at my kids’ schools, in my community, and in nonprofit organizations I support. I am a proud former adviser to the Obama Administration on health equity and US House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on LGBTQ+ issues.
The Alumni Society’s theme of this year is Leadership for a Changing World. What does it mean to you to lead in a changing world?
Change doesn’t just happen. People lead the change. In a changing world, we have an opportunity—and responsibility—to be the change we want to see on behalf of the people and communities we serve.
What major changes have you observed in your industry over the past year?
There is a small but loud minority of people working to intentionally mischaracterize the work of DEI. It’s nothing new. It’s happened throughout history every time we’ve as a society collectively moved in the direction of expanding more rights and freedoms to everyone. We should see it as a sign of progress. We should also understand our role, which is to push back and be clear about what this work is. At its core, DEI is removing workplace barriers that disadvantage any particular person. It’s impactful, and it’s uncontroversial. And we need to be clear and consistent in communicating that every opportunity we get so this effort, like so many that proceeded it, ends up in the dustbins of history.
What are you doing to ensure you remain a nimble and adaptable leader during these changing times?
One of the most important things we can do as leaders—and human beings on this planet—is to stay curious. I strive to be endlessly curious and insatiable when it comes to my ongoing learning
and that learning only happens when we relentlessly ask questions. It’s also an essential tool in fostering more empathy, connection and community in society.
