Diversity in the workplace: how much have things really changed? With an increasingly diverse workforce due to changing demographics, the landscape of the labor market and dynamics of the relationships at the workplace are also changing

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, August-Sept, 2005 by Francis Lora

Companies are now trying to be more sensitive to the multicultural composition and distinct makeup of their employee base. Some places have entire departments and segments of their recruiting teams dedicated solely to creating, promoting, and managing diversity and "diversity issues," while others outsource these responsibilities to other companies and organizations. Most places even go as far as to offer "Diversity Training" as if having a varied workforce were an unnatural phenomenon.

Nonetheless, the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way from trying to keep Latinos and other "minorities" out, to trying to bring them in. It seems that more and more large corporations are waking up to the population shift that has been occurring and trying to take advantage of it to capture a larger market share or at least to position themselves to do so sometime in the near future. The questions now, however, are, "how can we take advantage of this changing mindset? What opportunities exist out there for further growth and success? Whom should we look to for help?"

Going the Distance and Beyond

Times have changed. Due to the current corporate climate, we can go farther than ever before in our jobs and find allies and support networks once we get there. Slowly but surely, minorities are making a difference in the workforce; and large corporations are finally beginning to notice. One of the best examples of that is Michael Montelongo, Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing for Sodexho, Inc., the leading provider of food and facilities management services in North America.

As Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Sodexho, Inc., Montelongo is in charge of leading the company's strategic planning and development, including its midterm planning process. This process includes market research, client segmentation and sub-segmentation activities, and strategy development for a $6 billion, 110,000-person enterprise serving more than 6,000 clients. He is listed in Hispanic Engineer Magazine's 50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business. Montelongo earned his bachelor's degree in science from the U.S. Military Academy and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School. However, the more interesting story may be how Mr. Montelongo has gotten to his current position and his analysis of how things are now than what he is currently doing as part of his job.

How did you get to Sodexho USA? Please tell us a little bit about your journey towards your current position.

... With lots of help from many angels along the way. My story is similar to those of other Americans who early in their lives applied their God-given gifts and talents with extensive support from many mentors, teachers, and colleagues and love, encouragement, and nurturing from parents, family, and friends to make the most of opportunities. Having been raised in the Lower East Side of New York City, I was fortunate to have that kind of support culminating in a career of military service with the U.S. Army, extending into a career as a business executive, most recently returning to public service in the Bush administration, and finally leading to this exciting opportunity with Sodexho.

Indeed, it was through the Army that I had my first experiences with leadership and solving problems in large, complex, and global organization. As a result, throughout my career--both public and private--I have been drawn to assignments that were broad and diverse in scope and strategic in nature.

In the U.S. Army, for instance, I served as a congressional fellow in the U.S. Senate, Chief of Staff, Special Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Southern Command, and as assistant professor teaching economics and political science at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I then entered the private sector as director for sales and service support with BellSouth Telecommunications and later joined Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as a senior sales executive and consultant. All these experiences and development were excellent preparation for my most recent role as assistant Secretary of the Air Force in President Bush's administrations. There I served as the Air Force's chief financial officer responsible for a budget of over $120B and financing two major combat operations. I concluded my tenure as acting secretary of the Air Force.

I expect to take the lessons from all these diverse and meaningful experiences into my current assignment with Sodexho and support Dick Macedonia, Sodexho's CEO, and his vision to take a great company and move it to the next level of excellence.

In the process, I expect to give back to my community and the nation through my continuing work with Hispanic Outreach promoting opportunities for minorities and with young adult ministries encouraging young people to strengthen and witness their faith.

How has being Latino been advantageous for you? Do you feel that it has opened up any opportunities for you or has it done the opposite?