Beyond Diversity; Fostering an Inclusive Culture at Best Buy

Best Buy is proud to host a conversation about diversity and inclusion in tech. At Best Buy, we value everyone’s talents, life experiences, beliefs and backgrounds so our employees can relax and be themselves. Our goal is simple: Unleash the power of our people and utilize their unique talents, experiences, beliefs and background to create an engaging work environment and a world-class retailing operation.

We recognize diversity goes beyond gender and cultural background. It extends to sexual orientation, disabilities, new parents returning to the workforce, age and beyond. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion where panelists share real life experiences about fostering an inclusive culture that embraces our differences and provides employees an environment where they can bring their whole selves to work

Discussion topics include:

• What has shaped our panelists' thinking and how they approach supporting diversity and inclusion
• Ways they have gone about finding advocates and advocating for others
• Ideas for how each of us can help welcome diversity and foster a more inclusive tech organization
• Ideas for implementing and supporting D&I strategies in your own organization

Moderator

Matt Furman - Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer

Matt Furman is the chief communications and public affairs officer for Best Buy Co. Inc. In this role, he oversees internal and external communications, government affairs, corporate responsibility and sustainability, community relations, as well as the company’s in-house production studio and event planning functions.

Prior to joining Best Buy in 2012, Mr. Furman was the vice president of corporate affairs at Mars Chocolate, the manufacturer of such iconic brands as Snickers, M&M’s and Dove. He previously held senior communications positions at Google, CNN and in the administrations of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Furman has a law degree from the American University School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is admitted to practice law in several jurisdictions, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Panelists

Brittani Uribe - Web Developer, Communications A bilingual engineering professional with a focus in digital communication, strong, passion for all things tech and deep-rooted brand love. Skilled in client services, client experience, communications, event management, web development and design.

Bryan Brandau - Director of Web Operations, BestBuy.com. As the Director of Operations for BestBuy.com, Bryan is responsible for infrastructure operations and technology that powers core ecommerce functions such as cart, commerce, catalog, search and browse for all BestBuy.com and Digital properties. He is a hands on technical leader who insourced all Bestbuy.com infrastructure operations previously managed by vendors.

John Hardy - Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Experiential Learning John is passionate about helping others to recognize and invest in their own passions and potential. He and his team currently drive Best Buy's Diversity & Inclusion strategy, partnering with leaders across the organization to create sustainable strategies for recruiting, developing, engaging, and retaining talent. He aspires to build organizational cultures that help people find their greater purpose, both inside the workplace and in within our communities

Sara Heitkamp - Senior Manager, Web Operations, BestBuy.com Sara is a Senior Manager of Web Operations leading the Associate Facing Web Operations team. Sara’s role is to manage day to day oversight and activities related to Associate Facing Web Operations including production support, technical web duties and initiatives in support of maintaining highly scalable web applications and services for the global web properties of BestBuy.com

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