The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is significant in many ways. Historically significant, of course, but there is also a great emotional importance to those Americans who have felt disconnected or ignored by our representative government.

This president offers a sense of accessibility to government that many citizens have never thought possible.

The blending of Kenya and Kansas, of red states and blue, of crisis and diplomacy. He represents the makeup of America itself—a stew pot of cultures and belief systems, with no single ideology claiming primary importance.

Profiles in Diversity Journal has invited leaders in the business world to offer their thoughts to the leader of the free world by posing the question,

“If you had the opportunity for a one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama, what advice would you give him as he begins his term as President?”