Lenovo’s Calvin Crosslin on Cultivating Inclusive Culture, Employee Advocacy, and Listening at Scale

This week, Jessica sat down with Calvin Crosslin, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Lenovo, a global technology company known for its innovation in PCs, devices, and smart infrastructure. In this conversation, Calvin reflects on his path from HR leadership to driving global diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. He shares how listening—at scale and with intention—became central to Lenovo’s culture-building efforts, and how the company’s commitment to people-first values has shaped everything from employee resource groups to executive accountability. Calvin also unpacks Lenovo’s approach to authenticity in leadership, the evolution of its DEI framework, and why real progress requires both top-down support and grassroots energy. He speaks candidly about navigating difficult conversations, bridging cultural gaps across regions, and measuring what truly matters in culture change. From workforce strategy to community engagement, Calvin’s story is one of empathy in action, strategic listening, and a belief that inclusion drives innovation. About Calvin Crosslin Calvin J. Crosslin, Vice President of Human Resources at Lenovo, is also President of the Lenovo Foundation and Lenovo’s Chief Diversity Officer. Lenovo is a $57 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #248 on the Fortune 500 and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. As President of Lenovo Foundation, Lenovo’s charitable and philanthropic arm, he leads a global team in Lenovo’s philanthropic mission to empower under-represented populations with access to science, technology, engineering & math education, as well as employee volunteerism and crisis response. As Chief Diversity Officer, Crosslin drives corporate vision, goals, strategies, and performance metrics for Lenovo’s Diversity & Inclusion Office, supporting Lenovo’s global workforce, executives and HR leaders to create an inclusive and innovative workplace. As Vice President of Human Resources, Crosslin is the HR Business Leader for Lenovo’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief Security Officer, serving as the HR liaison for Human Rights and Labor Standards under Lenovo’s corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance framework.  Crosslin is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and serves in numerous committee and board leadership roles in the non-profit sector at the national, state and local RTP levels. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-crosslin/ Lenovo: https://www.lenovo.com   Host: Jessica Kriegel Website: jessicakriegel.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel Instagram: @jess_kriegel Culture Partners Website: culturepartners.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/culturepartners