Robert Sanchez
Chairman and CEO, Ryder
Headquarters: Miami, FL
Education: MBA, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Miami
First Job: Clerk at Carvel Ice Cream
What I’m Reading: The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
Best Advice: Be trustworthy and people will follow you.
Inspiring Innovation
We embrace diversity and inclusion at Ryder because, in a very real sense, it keeps us competitive. As the world becomes more mobile and connected, demographics are changing—more women and minorities are in the pool of available talent, and represented among our customers and prospects. It’s essential to have a workforce made up of individuals who contribute a variety of approaches and perspectives, because this helps us capture a broader range of market opportunities.
Because having the best people is what differentiates Ryder from our competition, attracting and retaining top talent is one of our five strategic priorities. This means we must be inclusive of people with different backgrounds and experiences who can bring innovative perspectives to our business. This diversity helps to improve the effectiveness of our solutions, which is critical for our long-term growth and competitiveness. From our Board to the front lines, Ryder benefits from having teams of diverse, experienced, ethical people, sharing ideas to better serve each other, our customers, and our communities.
Diversity also supports our company values of trust, collaboration, innovation, expertise, and safety. If we respect people from different backgrounds, with different experiences and perspectives, we can establish trust and improve collaboration. This enhances our ability to work together and develop innovative solutions. When people are able to work to their full potential and feel like their contributions count, we maximize expertise. Supporting our customers effectively also includes taking care of one another to make sure we stay safe on the job.
Managing a diverse workforce in itself is not as challenging as leveraging it to drive innovative thinking. Having great leaders, and employees that are engaged and willing to contribute not only their skills but their thoughts, is the true challenge. At Ryder we strive to have both engaged employees and inclusive leaders. Of course, ongoing training on the value of diversity and helping all people manage their biases is also important, but a diverse workforce’s value is only really achieved when the dynamics are engaged for the good of our customers, our organization, our communities, and each other.
That is why leadership plays a critical role in harnessing diverse talent to drive competitive business success. At Ryder, diversity starts at the top, with me. I chair Ryder’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, which includes cross-functional business leaders from across the organization charged with guiding the company in achieving our three diversity goals: To increase diversity representation by becoming an attractive employer for diverse talent; developing the diverse talent we already have to drive our corporate strategy; and driving innovation and growth through diversity of thought.