Extreme Networks Debuts Corporate Social Responsibility Council

Extreme Networks has formed a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) council and named Katy Motiey as chief sustainability officer. The vendor also appointed Kimberley Basnight as head of diversity and inclusion.

The mission of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) council is to promote sustainable development, corporate philanthropy, and empower people within and outside of the company. The new roles for Motiey and Basnight extend their existing positions at the company as chief administrative officer and chief of staff/office of the CEO, respectively.

“As a diverse and increasingly socially responsible employer, our board of directors and our leadership team are committed to creating and adopting meaningful policies and practices that improve our environmental footprint and expand diversity, equity and inclusion among our employees, partners, customers, suppliers, and business communities,” said Ed Meyercord, president and CEO of Extreme Networks.

Rethinking Priorities

So why now?

Extreme Networks’ Katy Motiey

“2020 has forced a necessary cultural reset, causing individuals, communities, governments and entire nations to rethink their priorities, and reevaluate what they stand for and what they’re going to do about it,” Motiey told Channel Futures. At Extreme, we’re so proud of the thousands of customers we serve every day — supporting enterprises running newly remote workforces, helping hospitals deliver telemedicine to patients, and enabling schools to provide remote learning to students. Yet, we understand our role extends beyond technology. We feel a passion and sense of urgency to do more. We are acting now to formalize all of the efforts we have been undertaking in an informal way.”

Motiey, Extreme’s first chief sustainability officer, has been with the company for five years. In that role, she will lead the strategy and governance of Extreme’s 2025 sustainability plan.

Over the next five years, Extreme’s goal is to make improvements in relation to philanthropy, community, sustainability and environmental impact. The company is setting goals to share with investors, customers, suppliers and employees.

Extreme’s chairman of the board recruited Motiey to develop a “turnaround team” to restructure corporate performance. She has more than 20 years of employment law experience.

According to Meyercord, Motiey was a driving force in building Extreme’s Women’s Leadership Council, started in 2018. That council supports women’s growth and leadership development through education, coaching, mentoring and sponsorship programs.

She is also the corporate sponsor of the company’s partnership with the American India Foundation. It is a nonprofit devoted to accelerating social and economic change in India.

Diversity and Inclusion

Basnight has been with Extreme Networks for more than four-and-a-half years. She has more than 20 years of experience in executive program management, strategic planning, and organizational change management and operations. Basnight spearheaded Black at Extreme (BEX), an employee resource group.

Extreme Networks’ Kimberley Basnight

“This … group champions and facilitates workplace diversity by embracing cultural, ethnic and racial differences. The group provides programming that promotes inclusion in recruitment activities, offers professional development, and enables a more collaborative and diverse work environment,” said Basnight.

Looking ahead, she will expand the company’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts.

“We’re focused on taking steps to attract, engage and hire diverse talent, as well as increase diversity in leadership roles. But diversity is only one piece of the puzzle. Fostering greater inclusion is difficult and not something easily tracked or measured,” she said. “To promote inclusive behavior, we are forming additional employee resource groups and councils that can serve as employee-led communities and change agents. We also want to make sure we’re providing forums to amplify the voices of our employees while gaining their perspectives. Finally, we’re committed to having ongoing, open dialogue with our employees and training to communicate our D&I related goals and progress.”

In fact, Extreme has already made diversity and inclusion an ongoing and long-term priority.

“We’re actively doing the work as we speak to create a more diverse, equitable business community, and we will continue doing so,” said Basnight.