Demystifying Diversity - Ernie Lyles

Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection Builders

SPECIAL EPISODE: Diversity Matters in the Middle Market, brought to you by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and Connection Builders.
Ernie Lyles was always incredibly ambitious, and at the Howard University School of Law, Ernie gained the confidence which made him realize what he was capable of. Starting his finance career with a summer internship at a bulge-bracket investment banking firm, he excelled. Ernie Lyles is the founder and CEO of The HiGro Group, a New York-based private equity firm focusing on middle-market companies. Ernie shares his view on how diversity offers organizations a competitive advantage and why properly understanding and embracing this complex concept is the best way to optimize success.

Key Points From This Episode:

• What Ernie's path to investment banking looked like, and the success his company, The HiGro Group, has experienced over the past five years.
• The complexity of the concept of diversity, and the importance of having a universal understanding of it.
• Why having diversity in your organization gives you a competitive advantage.
• Limits of having a homogenous workforce.
• The history of Howard University, and what Ernie gained through being educated there.
• Disadvantages of not being exposed to the achievements of people who look like you.
• The summer internship that changed the course of Ernie's life.
• Examples of the many different layers of diversity.
• Advice for leaders who want to enhance diversity within their organizations.

The HiGro Group
Ernie Lyles on LinkedIn
ACG DEI Committee Mission and Resources
Connection Builders
Alex Drost on LinkedIn