Quita Highsmith is Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.
At Genentech, Quita was selected as the first Chief Diversity Officer in the 46-year history of the company and reports to the CEO. She is responsible for enterprise-wide strategic initiatives that drive business impact by: investing in commercial efforts, stakeholder engagement, research innovation and community relations.
Prior to becoming the CDO, she held leadership roles in Commercial and Government Affairs of several companies (Genentech, Sanofi, Aventis) where she impacted and improved revenues. Because she recognized the need to diversify clinical research, she co-founded Advancing Inclusive Research® an initiative to embrace equitable access.
Quita is an advisor to Cerebral, a mental health startup company and Artis Ventures. She is also committed to community service by working with non-profit boards such as, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Northwest Kidney Centers, and The Genentech Patient Foundation, serving on the Audit Committee.
Quita received both a MBA degree and an Advanced Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University, as well as her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky.
