The Council Strategic Alliances

Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD) is a collaboration of three leading national business organizations–-Catalyst, The Executive Leadership Council, and the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR). The Alliance uses a business focus to support and advance the business interests of executive women and minorities in the workplace, including increasing the diversity pipeline in corporate America and guaranteeing the fair representation of women and minorities on corporate boards. In May 2005, the Alliance, along with key partners The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and The Prout Group, released a census report entitled Women and Minorities on Fortune 100 Boards (see www.elcinfo.com) to enhance public awareness about board diversity and to make the business case for inclusion on corporate boards through ABD’s belief that “shareholder interests are best served by promoting the diversification of boardrooms within publicly traded U.S. companies.” A second report will be released in 2008.

The Marathon Club was founded by The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC) — a financial industry association for private equity firms that invested in an ethnically diverse marketplace - and the New American Alliance (NAA) — an organization of American Latino business leaders – to provide access to capital, develop talent, and create deals in The Emerging Domestic Market (EDM). The Executive Leadership Council joined NAIC and NAA in 2004, and are currently working together as The Marathon Club to open avenues for wealth creation within African-American and Latino communities. The Emerging Domestic Market represents a class of minority entrepreneurs, customers, employment groups, and investment opportunities previously overlooked or historically underserved. Through Marathon Club signature programs, like The DealMakers Summit and the Marathon Club Connections (MC2), the organization facilitates the bringing of corporate, entrepreneurial, financial, and public policy interests together to improve the socioeconomic circumstances of minority communities. The organizations have helped to increase the investment capital available to minority enterprises, enhance the number of African Americans and Latinos on corporate boards, and underscore the significance of wealth creation as a tool to support development in minority communities and the nation.