Dr. Johné Battle

Dr. Johné Battle has been recognized by Who’s Who for 2023, by the LA Times as a Top 50 DEIA Leader, and by the National Diversity & Leadership Council has one of the Top 100 Diversity Officers for 2021, 2022, and 2023. He recently received the prestigious honor of Inclusive Innovation for Leaders who mean Business award. His work has been featured in Fortune Magazine, he has the graced covers of INCLUSION magazine and Diversity Professional magazine and was recognized at the CAA 2023 Inclusion Innovation Summit for the Inclusion Innovation Stars Who Mean Business award. He is renown as a global Business Executive and thought leader who brings the powerful combination of skillful talent development and human capital expertise. His deep understanding of human relations, personal branding, diversity and inclusion, and organizational performance have led to a successful history of business transformation and human capital counseling.

He currently is the founding partner and CEO of The Inclusion Genius, LLC, and the Senior Vice-President and Chief Diversity Officer for Dollar General Corporation, a $38+ billion-plus retailer with more than 19,000 convenient, easy-to-shop stores in 48 states making Dollar General the largest retailer in the United States. Dr. Battle owns the strategy for diversity, equity, and inclusion for over 170,000 associates; working across the organization using belonging indexes, talent-flow analysis, inclusive leader assessments and other data to make data-based decisions. Prior to joining Dollar General, Dr. Battle was a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry where he led clients through large-scale cultural transformation and assisted with holistic DEI leadership development, employee engagement and employee branding efforts that enabled clients to attract, develop and retain their talent while meeting their business goals.

As the Global Director of Talent Development for Johnson Controls, a $30 billion-plus global diversified technology and multi-industrial leader, Dr. Battle was responsible for the development of global strategy related to career development; culture and employee engagement, including diversity and inclusion solutions; an external executive coaching program; performance management; and components of onboarding. He established the tools and approach to help employees navigate their careers successfully, ensuring leaders understand and fulfill their roles in the career development of their teams. As Senior Partner of J.E. Battle & Associates, LLC. Dr. Battle headed up talent development, leadership development and change management interventions for MTV Networks, SAIC and Clayton County Public Schools – Leadership Academy.

Earlier, Dr. Battle was with Walmart Stores, holding concurrent roles of Senior Human Resources Director, Merchandising and Distribution, and Co-Chairman of Talent Development, UNITY Associate Resource Group. He was recruited to be the strategic business partner and executive coach for three senior vice presidents and one vice president in the merchandising business unit, with a combined 30,000 associates and more than $100 billion in annual revenue. He partnered with executives to develop talent management strategies that are still in operation today.

At J Rushman Group, a boutique consulting firm operating exclusively in the retail sector, Dr. Battle was Senior Director of Strategic Processes and a Human Capital Consultant. His primary client was TJX, a multinational off-price retailer that owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods brands. He was leader of a team working closely with senior leadership on the Corporate University Global Strategy for Leadership Development.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Battle was Senior Vice President of Operations for Gridiron Technologies LLC. This was the first company to leverage the EA Sports John Madden video game technology to create virtual reality simulators to improve player/coach communication. The technology was launched with Louisiana State, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Colorado, and the University of Maryland. After early success, the NFL adopted the technology with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and New Orleans Saints. Dr. Battle was recruited to oversee all operations in the U.S. and held P&L and budget responsibilities for $16 million and seventeen direct reports. This position followed Dr. Battle’s time with MSL Combines LLC, a company that created on-demand talent management technology to allow major colleges and universities to source for student-athletes to provide scholarships.

Prior to this, Dr. Battle was Director of Human Resources for L3 Technologies LLC, a professional technology firm. He began his career as Director of Artist Repertoire and Marketing with Warner Bros. Records, where he established artists such as Prince, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Eric Benet, and oversaw the soundtrack for “A Thin Line Between Love & Hate.”

Dr. Battle’s community involvement is extensive, including being a Student Athlete Mentor for Georgia Institute of Technology, a Guide Right Program Coordinator for Kappa Alpha Psi, a Leader with Taskforce for Alignment at Goizueta Business School, and a member of OCA Atlanta Chapter. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the UPENN CLO for Executives, Webster University Business School, and Mercer University Penfield College. He is also a guest lecturer, keynote speaker, expert facilitator, and a sought-after speaker and thought leader at industry conferences on the topic of Intentionally Building Inclusive Leaders!

Dr. Battle received his doctorate in Work-Base Learning Leadership from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned a Master of Education in Learning Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a Master of Business Administration in Organizational Behavior from Emory University Goizueta Business School, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercer University. He holds several education and leadership certificates through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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