Ann Bookout
Ann Bookout
Global Head of Culture and Fulfillment, Impellam Group
A sheer passion for leading change with empathy has enabled Ann Bookout to thrive as a diversity, equity and inclusion agent. Although she only recently joined Impellam as the Global Head of Culture and Fulfilment, Bookout has been working on DE&I for years.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been growing into leadership roles where I developed DE&I strategies for large organizations at the local, regional and global levels,” she explains. “It’s been an exciting journey, especially as these efforts have accelerated and intensified.”
Bookout has quickly engaged global leadership to align on the commitment to establish Impellam Group as the organization for “people with purpose.” One of her proudest accomplishments has been to bring more structure and guidance around Impellam’s in-house diversity council, in addition to launching six business resource groups in North America focused on critical elements of diversity within the organization that will soon go global. “As a result of the incredible success of the council and business resource groups, we’ll be launching them in the UK and APAC regions in the coming months,” she shares.
Bookout is an ally for gender equity and mentors the University of Delaware’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. She also serves on the YWCA of Delaware board of directors and spoke on the topic of DE&I at SIA’s 2022 CWS Summit Europe, which took place in early May.
For the industry to drive change, it’s imperative to be thoughtful and forceful toward bringing diverse voices represented and visible in every conversation, Bookout says. “We need to start with ourselves, as an industry. What role do we play in addressing systems of inequity? As we develop sound strategies for our own organizations, this gives us the credibility and opportunity to partner with customers to influence collective change.”
Bookout regards her children as a significant motivation and influence for setting the right example for the world to follow. “As a parent, it’s critical for me to be a role model committed to equity, especially given my own privilege,” she says. With the philosophy of stewardship — leaving everything better than she found it — Bookout looks forward to bringing change in the workforce solutions ecosystem by focusing on meaning and purpose beyond just the financial results.
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