Hattie Hill
Business Leader | Class of 2022
Hattie Hill, as a pioneering business leader and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) consultant, is a senior executive and transformational leader with more than thirty years of experience in diversity and inclusion strategy, board governance, profit and loss management, and risk mitigation for multinational industries.
Born and reared in Moro, Arkansas, Hill grew up on a farm with her mother, Carrie Flowers, and five sisters. She credits her solid Arkansas upbringing with helping to build character at an early age and instilling virtues of hard work and respect for others—traits that have served her well throughout her career. Hill is a graduate of Arkansas State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s in rehabilitation psychology.
As Founder and CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises, Hill serves as a strategy growth and development consultant for many of the world’s largest multinational companies such as IBM, McDonald’s and Southwest Airlines, among others. Her influential work spans across more than 70 countries worldwide.
Currently, Hill serves as the President & CEO of the T.D. Jakes Foundation. Launched in January 2020, the foundation provides the skills, education, and training to lift communities; increase diversity, inclusion, and gender equity; and to power the modern global economy through science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) jobs. She is leading those efforts through a $100 million fundraising campaign while utilizing her experience as a connector of people and opportunity to focus the foundation’s strategy on bridging the gap between human potential and companies seeking talent.
Previously, Hill was President & CEO of Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), the premier leadership development organization for the food service industry responsible for accelerating the advancement of women and gender equity. After taking the helm at the ailing organization in 2013, she set a new strategic direction focusing on stronger overall organizational performance. She is credited with driving up WFF’s revenue by 25 percent, increasing its membership by 20 percent, and growing attendance for the organization’s flagship events by 20 percent.
In 2017, Hill helped leading food service companies around the world—representing both billions of dollars in revenue and millions of women employees—by spearheading a first-of-its-kind partnership between WFF and the gold-standard Women in the Workplace Study conducted by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org. This unprecedented collaboration resulted in cutting-edge research and solutions essential to retaining top talent, gaining targeted consumer insights and increasing profits by empowering women.
Hill is a celebrated author and highly sought-after speaker who is often quoted in top-tier media outlets such as Oprah, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. In addition, Hill is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named to Forbes’ Top Texas Women in Business, selected as EY’s Inclusiveness Champion of the Year and featured on National Restaurant News’ 2018 Power List, as well as receiving Dallas Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader Award, the Dallas Women’s Foundation’s Maura Award and Working Woman’s Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.