2021 DEI AWARDS RECOGNIZE THOSE ACTING TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN ADVICE I nvestmentNews is proud to present our fourth annual Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award individual winners and rm nalists. Our 2021 honorees are superstars when it comes to boosting awareness of the need and the importance of creating a more diverse nan-cial advice profession. The InvestmentNews staff and advisory board of industry experts pored over hundreds of nominations to select 15 individuals and 16 rms to be highlighted for their efforts to create a more inclusive culture. Please use the stories on these DEI pages as inspiration to encourage diverse individu-als to join the nancial advice profession and to convince rms that they can enact policies and programs that will boost diversity, equity and inclusion. The rm pro les posted online at dandiIN.com include contact information so that any-one with speci c questions on implementing these practices can reach out for help. Please visit dandiIN.com for more coverage of industry diversity, additional information about our honorees, including videos, and details of our Sept. 21 event to celebrate all our winners and nalists. — Liz Skinner, senior projects editor Pro les written by Evan Cooper KEEPING A SHARP LENS ON RACE IN AMERICA AND IN FINANCIAL SERVICES T BY JEFF BENJAMIN Visit dandiIN.com 8 | InvestmentNews August 9, 2021 he year 2020 was a tipping point in multiple ways across cultures, economies and attitudes that drove people toward self-re ection and sometimes vocal and violent expressions of frustration and anger. It will go down in history as the year a global pandemic shut down nearly everything and inadvertently cleared the way for a narrower focus on racial inequities and the system that’s accused of perpetuating them. Against that backdrop, the efforts of Shundrawn Thomas might seem almost subtle, but they’re not. In fact, little about Thomas, the president of Northern Trust Asset Management, is subdued, although his demeanor and general presentation suggest other-wise. Without preaching or even get-ting agitated, Thomas talks about “the unfortunate deaths of people of color not being a new thing” even though they drew a lot of attention in 2020. “I can track the story of my own life in the years leading up to that point,” he said. “The difference last year is it was occurring in the midst of a pandemic that created an envi-ronment where you have everybody’s attention.” When Thomas was promoted to president of the $1.2 trillion asset management division in 2017, he became the rst person of color ele-vated to the top tier of management at Northern Trust Corp. Thomas, 47, has worked in nan-cial services since 1994. He joined the Chicago-based asset manager 18 years ago and moved up through the ranks by doing exactly what he would suggest to anyone trying to nd success at any endeavor. “You have to really focus on the discipline of being a consummate pro-fessional, and provide more service than you get paid for,” said Thomas, sounding pretty understated for a man who doesn’t seem to have many gaps in his schedule for what most of us might describe as down time. In addition to his demanding day job, he is a husband and father of two boys and he’s involved in his church and active in alumni affairs at his alma mater, Florida A&M, as well as the Toigo Foundation, which fosters career development for un-derrepresented talent. He’s also written four books, the most recent of which is “Discover Joy in Work” (IVP Books, 2019). CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO The 2021 winner of the Investment-News Excellence in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Lifetime Achievement Award is not the kind of person who seeks recognition for his success or status as an African American in an industry where women and minori-ties in leadership are still rare. But Thomas appreciates and enthusias-tically shoulders the opportunity to challenge the status quo, and to help make success stories like his more common. That side of Thomas was on full display in the fall of 2020 when he penned what has been described as a letter to corporate America, re ect-ing on the state of race relations in the workplace, and in his heart. The essay, which was published last September by InvestmentNews , launches into the topic with the example of a 29-year-old Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was shot seven times by police after appearing to ignore their orders. In his clas-sic style, the essay offers a direct message and call to action through masterful writing that is personal and informative, and simultaneously deadly serious and nonthreatening. “Race, racism and racist ideas have impacted me in tangible ways through my life and career,” he wrote. “What is remarkable, however, is the current shift in the dialogue about race and the increased acknowl-edgement of the unique experience InvestmentNews.com