How Did I Get Here?

Danielle Brown

Chief diversity and inclusion officer, Intel
from
  • Education
  • Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic School, Waterford Township, Mich., class of 1996
  • Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., class of 1999
  • Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, class of 2008
  • Work Experience
  • 1999–01
    Consultant, mergers-and-acquisitions risk services, PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • 2001–03
    Senior financial analyst, Abbott Laboratories
  • 2003–07
    Sales rep, health systems manager, TAP Pharmaceutical Products
  • 2007–09
    Institutional sales manager, Gilead Sciences
  • 2009–13
    Associate, Accelerated Leadership Program, director, Leader Communities and Programs, Intel Corp.
  • 2013–14
    Chief of staff for HR, Intel
  • 2014–Present
    Chief of staff to the chief executive officer, Intel
  • 2015–Present
    Chief diversity and inclusion officer, vice president for HR, Intel
  • Life Lessons
  • “If a job doesn’t make you think, Wow, I’m not really sure I can do it, it’s not challenging enough.”
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  • “Hire people smarter than you. It’s an honor and a pleasure when my team outshines me.”
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  • “Take the time to interview a diverse slate of candidates, and don’t just rely on your own judgment—put together a diverse panel of interviewers to help you assess.”
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  • 1996
    “I was valedictorian—but there were only 58 people in my class, so, you know.”
  • “My game plan was to be a doctor. That lasted about a year before I realized that I wasn’t actually interested in medicine.”
  • “I was based out of Chicago but was assigned to a big pharmaceutical merger in Frankfurt. I was 22, and everybody thought I knew what I was doing.”
  • Running in Cave Creek, Ariz., 2012
    “You’re juggling a million things at once: a strategy presentation for the board, a staffing issue, an organizational announcement. It’s just fascinating—two-and-a-half years later, and I’m still learning.”
  • At Glamour’s Women of the Year summit, 2016 (second from right)
  • With her grandmother at business school graduation, 2008
  • “It was my first time working in field sales. It was the most fun job I ever had.”
  • “Intel recruits 15 graduating MBAs from the top schools. At my interview, everybody was a genius, and I was like, ‘It’s nice that they invited me, I’ll never hear from them again.’ Then they offered me a job.”
  • With her husband, Justin, in Lisbon, 2013
  • “Intel is one of the first tech companies to make a public commitment to women and minorities in our workforce. We released our 2016 report in February and were incredibly proud to surpass our annual diversity hiring goal.”