Atlanta software company SalesLoft hired its first executive dedicated to an ongoing commitment to diversity.
Salesloft named Cherie Caldwell as its head of diversity, equity and inclusion, tasked with shaping and executing the company's diversity initiatives, according to a Feb. 16 announcement.
Caldwell, who has two decades of experience in corporate and startup human resources, will also lead SalesLoft Cares, an initiative of employee resource groups that focuses on building company culture, increasing awareness and education and community engagement.
SalesLoft, which reached unicorn status earlier this year after a $100 million raise, is a customer sales engagement platform that has about 500 employees and expects to hire about 150 more this year. The company has offices in Atlanta, London and Guadalajara.
The company put out a statement on Juneteenth expressing its support for the Black Lives Matter movement and committing to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Those initiatives include establishing employee resource groups, expanding its employee donation matching program, internal unconscious bias training and diversifying its leadership team.
“These last 12 months, as challenging as they were at times, have been full of growth for SalesLoft, especially around our [diversity, equity and inclusion] commitment,” SalesLoft co-founder and president Rob Forman said in the announcement.
Caldwell has about 10 years of experience doing diversity and inclusion consulting for corporations, colleges and nonprofits through Caldwell Consulting, where she worked as a managing partner, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She has held leadership positions at Comcast Cable, Home Depot and Delta Air Lines, according to her LinkedIn.
Caldwell said in a SalesLoft blog post the social justice and equity protests last summer led her to want to be in a company “open and ready to lead the way" in terms of diversity and inclusion.
