Vernā Myers will be stepping down from her role as Netflix‘s head of inclusion strategy at the end of September. Myers, who was the first to ever serve in the position for the streamer when she joined in 2018, will remain as an advisor to Netflix while returning to her self-titled consulting company, The Vernā Myers Company.
Upon Myers’ departure, Netflix’s vice president of inclusion strategy Wade Davis, who has worked under Myers for the past four years, will be promoted to oversee the team.
Former NFL player Davis has previously consulted on inclusive corporate culture for companies including Google, Procter & Gamble and Viacom (now part of Paramount Global).
“Vernā has had an immense impact on Netflix over the last five years and I’m glad we’ll still get to work together and benefit from her deep expertise,” Netflix chief talent officer Sergio Ezama said. “I’m very grateful for everything that she’s done to help strengthen our collective inclusion acumen and capabilities so that we can make Netflix a place where everyone feels welcome and can thrive.”
Ezama added: “Wade is a strong and well-respected leader at Netflix — so a great person to build on our commitment, taking our inclusion work to the next level.”
As first head of inclusion, Myers launched numerous strategic interventions and built awareness across the company through the release of Netflix’s first inclusion report in 2021. She created a curriculum for Netflix that has seen more than 600 execs globally participate in small group workshops on leading inclusively over the past year.
Under Myers, the inclusion team has grown to encompass employees in all regions and functions across Netflix to focus on “culturally relevant” practices in hiring, compensation, onboarding, feedback, growth and development.
“I will be returning to my consulting company working across global organizations and industries, while continuing to advise Netflix,” Myers said. “It’s hard to step away from the company and this role because of how much I love Netflix and the people here. I’m so excited for the talented Wade Davis who will be taking the lead of the I&D work along with our incredible Inclusion Strategy team and I can’t wait to see the continued progress we all will make together.”
