At Collibra, we strive to make sure that everything we do aligns with our company values. And our number one value is: We are one Collibra.
What does that mean? As a global company with offices located in every corner of the world, and a diverse group of employees from various backgrounds, cultures and beliefs, it would be easy to operate in silos and stick with the people with whom we have the most in common. But that’s not how we do things; we operate as one company; one community; one family.
That doesn’t mean we don’t acknowledge and celebrate diversity; on the contrary, we have a variety of employee resource groups where staff can find common ground with colleagues who have similar interests. But these groups are not exclusive. They each receive company-wide support, and are open to anyone who wants to be a part of the group. That’s the spirit of One Collibra.
The Pride community across Collibra offices is perhaps one of the best demonstrations of One Collibra. I, along with Nitya Shekar, Sr. Manager, Learning and Development, Rafael Ugolini, Frontend Engineering Manager, Alex Dubois, Front End Engineer, Jimmy Groh, Sr. Manager, Workplace & Real Estate, Claire Boger, Director Education, and Jarlath Doherty, Chief People Officer (who also serves as our Executive Co-Sponsor along with Philip Carty, Chief Revenue Officer) founded this group with the hope of fostering an inclusive, welcoming environment where people of all gender identities and sexual orientations can grow and succeed within Collibra while being their authentic selves.
When the group started, the Pride Team delivered a company-wide kick off meeting, detailing the Need, Mission, and Leadership team, and inviting Collibrians to engage with the group by becoming a member or an Ally. Since then, Collibrians (both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ) continue to support the group by fostering open discussions about specific topics in our Slack channel, and participating in various office social events including happy hours, guest speakers, training, and more.
You can really see One Collibra in action from mid-May through early July, when Pride communities are celebrated around the world. At Collibra, our offices coordinate special company-hosted events to coincide with local Pride celebrations. In Brussels, employees enjoyed a Friday afternoon office happy hour, and then joined together the following morning to attend the Brussels Pride parade together (sporting their special Pride edition of One Collibra swag, of course!). Later this month, our New York employees will also be celebrating together ahead of the World Pride parade in NYC on June 30. Our other EU and UK based employees will be following suit around their local Pride events as well.
Philip Carty, one of the group’s co-executive sponsors, shares why he supports the Collibra Pride community’s efforts, and what he hopes the group can do for the company:
“I have a profound belief in open societies where diversity is celebrated in all its forms. In fact, I thrive in environments that are open, even while having the fundamental belief that we are more the same than we are different. For me, it is an honor to sponsor and support this community and I look forward to participating as we go along. One Collibra!”
As Pride events continue around the world, I hope that the One Collibra attitude can expand into the world outside of our company walls, and that people everywhere can feel the same sense of community and support, no matter who they are or where they live, every day of the year.
One Collibra. One World. One Love.
