Elevation Through Innovation
A Panel
Julie Coffman
Partner and Chief Diversity Officer at Bain & Co.
Julie Coffman is a partner and Chief Diversity Officer at Bain & Co. She is the leader of Bain’s Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practice, as well as a leader in Bain’s global Organization practice.
Julie works with clients across industries and regions to develop and deploy effective DEI strategies to meet the needs of their organizations and external partners. Some of her recent client engagements have included leading a DEI ambition-setting and strategy design effort for a global private equity fund for use internally and across its portfolio of companies and supporting the creation of OneTen - a coalition of employers committed to hiring one million Black Americans into family sustaining jobs without requiring a college degree. Internally, Julie leads Bain’s global DEI strategy and mobilization efforts for our people, our business and our communities. She is also the founding chair of Bain's Global Women's Leadership Council, which is focused on increasing the number of women in Bain's leadership ranks.
Julie has co-authored several articles on racial and gender equity and has extensive experience leading organizational redesign efforts to improve both leadership effectiveness and build a more inspired and productive workforce.
Julie is active in her local community, having served on the board of the Northwestern University Settlement House and co-chairing the board of the Rowe Elementary School (a charter school in Chicago). She is also a member of the Chicago Network of Women Business leaders.
Julie earned her BA from Wesleyan University in Mathematics/Economics with highest honors and her MBA at Stanford University, where she was recognized as an Arjay Miller scholar. Julie also earned her MA in Educational Administration.
Melissa Donaldson
SVP and Chief Diversity Officer at Wintrust Financial
Melissa Donaldson is the first chief diversity officer at Wintrust, where she partners with leadership to establish diversity and inclusion strategies for business success, employee engagement, and positioning Wintrust as an employer of choice and responsible corporate citizen. She established the ubiquitous One Wintrust masthead as a unifying guidepost, established the annual executive diversity forum assembling internal top executives, and launched Paired To Win to accelerate the development of a multicultural senior leadership bench. Prior to joining Wintrust, Melissa was director of diversity networks and communication for Walgreens, where she implemented regional diversity councils, set strategies to enhance employee engagement, spearheaded the award-winning Walgreens Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report, and produced the inaugural WBA Global Executive Women’s Conference. Previously, she served as CDW Corporation’s first director of inclusion practices and led the company to earn the Exemplary Voluntary Efforts Award from the U.S. Department of Labor in 2008.
Crain’s Chicago Business named Melissa one of the Top Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Executives in 2021. She has published work in Profiles in Diversity Journal, Diversity Executive, and Workforce Management magazines and is a frequent speaker for numerous organizations and conferences, including the Northwestern Intersections podcast and Career Mix on SiriusXM satellite radio. Other accolades include Chicago United 2021 Business Leaders of Color, Most Influential Women in Commercial Banking by Crain’s Chicago Business, Women Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal, and Diversity Officer Leadership Award recipient from Diversity Best Practices.
Melissa holds Master of Science in communication from Northwestern University, Master of Science in administration from Central Michigan University, and Bachelor of Science in management science from Wright State University. She is an adjunct lecturer in the Northwestern University Master of Science in Communication program and serves on a variety of boards and councils including Chicago Sinfonietta, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, Financial Services Pipeline Steering Committee, Chicago United Leadership Council, and UCAN Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council. Melissa is a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow, and member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and The Links, Inc.
Gbile Adewunmi
Executive Director, Power Systems Strategy at Cummins
Gbile Adewunmi has been leading strategy for the Power Systems Business Unit since Feb. 2021.
Gbile joined Cummins in 2012 as a Manager in the Corporate Strategy group. In 2013, he joined Parts organization where he led the Global On Highway Accounts and Global Product Management teams. In January 2017, Gbile moved to South Africa to lead the Engine Business and Parts Organizations for the Africa Middle East region. In March 2019, he moved to Ghana as Managing Director for the North and West Africa Distribution Business.
Prior to joining Cummins, Gbile was an Investment Banking Associate at Credit Suisse and in the Advanced Engineering group at Delphi Electronics & Safety.
Gbile has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Gbile is a graduate of the Cummins Global Leaderish Development Program and a current participant in the Cummins Executive Development Program. He is passionate empowering others to fulfill their potential.
Gbile, his wife Mo, and their two daughters are based in Indianapolis, IN. Gbile is a TV junkie, an avid sports fan, loves reading and enjoys exercising
Bill Bradley
Senior Consultant at Leading NOW
Bill Bradley comes with more than 35 years of experience in change management, diversity & inclusion, operations, and consulting experience leading and transforming individuals, teams, and organizations to deliver exceptional results. He has held a number of executive level roles with demonstrated success leading organizations to exceed business objectives in the telecommunications, education, service, manufacturing, and technology industries. A passionate change agent, Bill leads, inspires and teaches to deliver business and employee growth. He is highly effective at solving complex business problems and ensuring improvements realized are sustained.
Previous executive leadership roles include VP/engagement leader/sr. consultant for Senn Delaney Culture Shaping Services at Heidrick Consulting, co-founder and managing principal at Pendleton Solutions Group LLC, principal at Akela Corporation, senior vice president of operations at APC Workforce Solutions (dba ZeroChaos), chief operating officer at Carter Brothers Technology, group general manager at ADT Security Services, regional vice president-network services at XO Communications, general manager strategic sourcing and shared services at AT&T, and general manager customer service at Ameritech.
Bill holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University, Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Akron. He is pursuing a Doctorate in Education from The University of Pennsylvania with anticipated completion in December 2021.