In 2016, Ally hired someone who would transform the company and make an outsized impact on the way the company would conduct business. It wasn’t a finance expert, an operations lead or technology wizard. That person turned out to be Reggie Willis, an incredible, visionary leader who created the first diversity and inclusion practice at Ally.
From day one, as the DE&I lead architect, Reggie had a clear vision of what the company needed to accomplish, the roadmap for how to do it, and the most important piece, why it all mattered. He understood the people, the process, the outcomes—all of it. And it’s why Reggie Willis, Ally’s Chief Diversity Officer, has been recognized as one of Savoy’s 2023 Most Influential Leaders in Diversity & Inclusion.
Whether you’ve known Reggie for 20 years or you saw him in an Ally office hallway, you’ll notice his smile. In his smile alone, you will find sincerity, warmth, embrace, and compassion — that’s what Reggie brings to Ally every day. When talking about DE&I, you’ll also notice that he cares deeply about the work, but nothing matters more to him than the people – they are why he shows up every day and why he’s been successful building Ally’s DE&I practice.
Reggie is a mentor. He’s a coach. He’s a listener. The organization could have the highest-ranked DE&I program in the world, and our people would still be talking about that sincerity, warmth, embrace, and compassion. Those attributes drive Reggie personally and form the foundation of Ally’s culture of inclusion.
Reggie’s enduring leadership set the vision, communicated the commitment, and established the direction of Ally’s DE&I journey, enabling us to deliver world-class diversity strategies and programming that are embedded into Ally’s business operations and internal culture. The work Reggie and the DE&I team have done over the past 6+ years has put Ally on the map as a conscientious corporate citizen, known for doing it right.
Because he always starts with the people, Reggie’s leadership included the strategic development of our employee resource groups, or ERGs. ERGs are employee-led, voluntary, open, and inclusive groups that offer employees a sense of community and belonging, connecting people in social and professional ways to encourage inclusive-thinking and build trust across differences.
Our ERGs are central to our DE&I journey and play a critical role in business imperatives, such as policy setting, talent processes like diversity recruiting, leadership development, and high-potential employee identification, as well as product/service development and marketing.
As Ally navigated the pandemic, the ERGs were instrumental in connecting employees across multiple locations, providing opportunities to share, learn, and give back. Even as the world reopened and we came back together in person, the commitment to care for Ally teammates and the community did not wane. Our employees volunteered more than 40,000 hours in their communities in 2022 and donated more than $200,000 to charities and non-profit organizations through ERG-led campaigns.
Since launching in 2017 and with the guidance of Reggie and the DE&I group, the ERGs continue to make a magnificent contribution to our winning culture at Ally. Today, more than 50% of our employees are members of one or more ERGs. Last year, ERGs led and hosted over 250 events that engaged employees through a variety of activities including “Let’s Talk About It” sessions that provided safe spaces for employees to have healthy dialogue around critical, and sometimes uncomfortable, issues.
The collaboration we see within our ERGs is a testament to Reggie’s leadership. He encourages all of us to ‘do it right’ – to be a relentless ally for one another and to keep the focus on people and the outcomes we want to see – more inclusivity and equity in our world. Congrats, Reggie – we couldn’t be prouder of you and your accomplishments.
