MEET THE NEW BOARD CHAIR

Incoming NKY Chamber Board Chair, John Hawkins, looks toward the present, future of region

By Tabari McCoy Scooter Media

JOHN HAWKINS IS THE PRESIDENT

and CEO of Management Performance International (MPI Consulting), a Cincinnati/NKY-based human resrouces management consulting and capability development company. A well-traveled executive, keynote speaker and corporate trainer, Hawkins – a Mississippi native who has had a home in Union, KY the past 20+ years – began his career at Procter & Gamble, ultimately becoming Head of Customer Marketing in Brazil. Leaving P&G to become a Vice President for Kellogg’s, he would later join Novartis Medical Nutrition as SVP, Acute Care and Home Care. After the sale of the division to a competitor, he joined Glendinning Management Consulting (a WPP company) as its VP of Consulting, working out of Montreal before returning to the United States in 2009. He acquired MPI in 2011 enroute to achieving a bevy of awards and accolades, the most recent being named among Consulting Magazine’s Top Consultants of 2022 in the Excellence in Client Services category.

This September, Hawkins adds the latest accolade to his extensive resume as he assumes the role of Chair of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber) Board of Directors. Get to know the incoming chair as he talks about his goals, the significance of this new role and what gives him hope for the future of the NKY metro’s business community. Q: You are not a new face to the NKY Chamber having been actively involved for years. How has your previous experience as a Chamber member helped prepare you for your role as Board Chair?

Hawkins: I've always tried to give my time and treasure, in earnest, toward making our community better and more inclusive. I have felt welcomed and appreciated and valued in that process over the years. We have a wonderful group of people who lead the NKY Chamber, who care deeply about the community, and want the best for it and its businesses. I'm very humbled by it, certainly grateful and will bring the best of my ability, skills, talents and experience as a business executive and leader to try to help make a difference in this community.

Q: What specifically do you hope to accomplish in this upcoming year?

Hawkins: We’re in the process now of working through our strategic plan following the most recent Board of Directors annual retreat. My goal certainly is to try to help us to bring the collective influence of the NKY Chamber to life.

One of the things I hope I can bring is a deeper understanding and appreciation for the need for our community to be more welcoming and inclusive; I think we are certainly well on our way in that regard. As the community becomes more and more diverse, it's going to be even more important that we remain committed and intentional with our efforts ensuring our community is living up to its full potential as an inclusive and welcoming community for all business types and people – female, male, veteran, disabled, LGBTQIA+, people of color, etc.

Q: What do you see as the top businessrelated issue(s) that need to be addressed in the Northern Kentucky business community? Hawkins: The truth of the matter is that we’re not broken, and we don't need to be fixed. In that regard, my job is pretty easy because of the previous leadership that we've had in the role of board chair, people like Garren Colvin, Dan Cahill and others before them. We've benefited from these outstanding leaders who care about this community.

My goal simply is to continue to try and lead the charge of being that beacon of light around business and industry in reinforcing that the Northern Kentucky metro is ready for and open for business. That way, we can have a positive impact that sets us up for the future success of generations to follow.

Q: Why do you think the NKY business community is heading in a positive direction?

Hawkins: First and foremost, when you see the climate for business in the NKY metro and the work that's being done collectively in the spirit of the One NKY initiative, the work collaboratively between the NKY Chamber and groups like Tri-ED and the Greater Cincinnati Regional Chamber, it’s encouraging. There are numerous things that the NKY Chamber is doing very well that have contributed to organizations like Amazon, DHL and Kroger expanding into Northern Kentucky, among many others.

One of the things that I would like to see as we move forward is the ability to continue to attract more minority-owned businesses into our region and ensure that we have the right types of programs and platforms in place to support that. That support could be in the vein of supplier diversity, programs and initiatives, and small business incubators, which attract entrepreneurs of all backgrounds into our community. We certainly got started this past year through the work of the NKY Chamber’s DEI Committee and various initiatives that have come out of that, such as our DEI partnership with Fifth Third Bank, the IDEA Summit in partnership with St. Elizabeth, and now the ongoing DEI Summit educational series. Those things are all important and foundational.

PICTURED: (clockwise from top left) Panel discussion at the 2022 IDEA Summit in June; Recognition from the National League of Cities at the 2022 City Cultural Diversity Awards; Recognition at the 2021 NKY Chamber Annual Dinner as the Walter Pieschel Volunteer of the Year award recipient; Hawkins with his sons at the Met Club.

Q: Being the first African American to chair the NKY Chamber’s board, what do you feel your term says about both the NKY Chamber itself and the business community?

Hawkins: I haven't really internalized it quite frankly, in terms of what it means to be the first African American in this role. I do understand the significance of it and what it represents so far as a clear, visual symbol that Northern Kentucky is changing and that it is open to all different races and backgrounds – we've had female leaders of the chamber in the past.

I'm the first African American, but as I think about the relationships that I've been able to build over the last decade or so with the different folks in and around the NKY Chamber, we don't see each other through the lens of color. We see each other through the lens of capability. That’s the truest testament of the growth of an organization – when people can be embraced and opportunities provided because of what they represent, based on their character and hard work and their results, and it’s not simply about gender or about race.

Are those visual elements important? Yes, because representation so that everyone can see themselves participating in the fabric of the community is important. It's important that we continue to create opportunities so that everyone can see themselves participating …That’s the truest testament of real diversity coming to life.

Does that mean that Northern Kentucky is without the opportunity to continue to get better from a racial and ethnic diversity standpoint? No. We want to be mindful of it and intentional about it. That creates a sense of awareness that everyone can participate and be successful in our community. Q: For those that have yet to meet you, what do you want them to know about you as both a business leader and a person?

Hawkins: I'm someone who cares deeply about his family, his community, his business, and his faith and tries to live by being a positive example.

I am not originally from this community. I grew up in Mississippi and have lived throughout the world and South America, Europe and Canada, but I've come back to Northern Kentucky, I have spent many years and raised a family here. We've planted our flag here and we call Northern Kentucky home.

For someone who’s traveled as much as I have, to come back to this place and to be as involved as I am, speaks to the type of community that we're capable of building. We can be a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds and from different parts of the world. They can come here, be successful, raise a family, and also have an impact on their community. I hope that, through my experience, I get to be the amplifier to reenforce that message not just here locally, but to other parts of the country so that when people think about Northern Kentucky, it really stands out in a very positive way first and foremost. NKY