Best Buy welcomed the inaugural Blacks in Technology conference, BITCON 2018, to its headquarters in Richfield, Minnesota, on Saturday.
It was a moment that Greg Greenlee, who founded the Blacks in Technology nonprofit 10 years ago, always dreamed about.
“I started this because the representation of black men and women was unbelievably low, and I wanted to give this community a platform to learn, connect and grow,” he said. “Tech companies often don’t know where to look for talent from this community, and we hope this movement helps open up doors and provide opportunities.”
Supporting Greenlee’s mission was Best Buy Chairman and CEO Hubert Joly, who spoke to the nearly 200 conference attendees.
“We are committed to attracting, developing and retaining diverse talent,” Joly said. “It’s an imperative. My commitment is that I can help create an environment where we can be the best versions of ourselves and, if we can do that, there’s a lot of good things that can be unleashed.”
Diversity has been a top priority in recent years for Joly, who joined Best Buy in 2012. Last year, he signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.