Darren Entwistle
President and CEO, TELUS
Corporate Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia
Website: www.telus.com
Primary Business: Telecommunications Company
Revenues: $9.7 billion
Employees: 35,000
2011 CEO in Action
TELUS’ brand promise, the future is friendly, reflects our culture, our values and our desire to make communications technology enjoyable and useful for all Canadians.
Our brand uses the diversity of nature to communicate who we are, what we stand for and what we want to do for our key stakeholders. Just imagine how boring life would be if you walked into a forest and every single tree, branch and leaf looked exactly the same. We as a team recognize that one voice does not speak for everyone.
At TELUS, we understand that a diverse and inclusive environment – in terms of gender, sexual orientation, race, culture and diversity of thought – facilitates a broader exchange of perspectives and better reflects the true makeup of society. I wholeheartedly believe that diversity builds stronger societies, communities and corporations.
At the end of the day, if you want to be a great company that wins in the marketplace through innovation, creativity and a better understanding of client needs, you have to have the best people drawn from all constituencies of society to fully benefit from diversity of thought.
Expressed mathematically, diversity creates a whole that is actually greater than the sum of the parts. Why? Because we are a truer and more genuine, authentic reflection of the society, the markets and the customers that we serve.
For over six years, we have been supporting diversity and inclusiveness initiatives at all levels of our company, starting with an executive values contract with specific accountability for equitable leadership. We also have a Diversity and Inclusiveness Council comprised of team members from all walks of life as well as team member resource groups that focus on integrating more inclusion at TELUS.
We track our progress on being an employer of choice for all through ur annual Pulsecheck survey completed by team members across TELUS and through employment equity statistics that track the percentage of women, Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and people with disabilities in our workforce.
In 2011 and 2012, we will continue to integrate a culture of respect and inclusiveness through:
- Increased education and awareness, using formal and informal learning approaches that clearly demonstrate the value of diversity of thought;
- Strategic partnerships with the Canadian Board Diversity Council, Pride at Work Canada and other diversity-focused organizations; and
- Ongoing community investments and affinity marketing programs to better align and connect with our diverse customers and communities.
Our success is realized through unleashing the power of communications technologies to enhance the lifestyles of our customers. Thus our success can only be optimized through a team who truly reflects and understands the clients that we serve.
Education: BA, Economics, Concordia University; MBA, McGill University; diploma in Network Engineering, University of Toronto.
First Job: Telephone installer and repairman
What I’m Reading: Where Hope Takes Root, by the Aga Khan
My Philosophy: Have the courage to innovate, a passion for growth, a belief in spirited teamwork and embrace change while initiating opportunity.
Family: Married, two children
Interests: Family, history, innovation, human performance, transforming healthcare
Favorite Charities: Go Pink, a program that raised over $2 million that will assist in the early detection of breast cancer and inspired over 800,000 people to turn their Facebook picture pink
