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Jonathan McBride

Partner

Los Angeles

Jonathan McBride is a partner in Heidrick’ Los Angeles office and global managing partner of the Inclusive Leadership Practice. He is an advisor to boards, CEOs, and leadership teams on matters related to culture, people, inclusion, and belonging. Jonathan is also a member of the Heidrick Consulting Global Leadership Team.

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Jonathan's expertise

Experience

Prior to joining Heidrick, Jonathan co-founded Gradient Consulting, a small advisory firm created in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, to help organizations evolve their cultures and build better teams.

Jonathan is the former global head of inclusion and diversity at BlackRock where he served on the operating committee and held other leadership roles. While at BlackRock, he and a co-worker helped launch the Science of Diversity and Inclusion Initiative at the University of Chicago. It is now housed at the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership at University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to BlackRock, Jonathan was appointed in 2013 to serve as director of the presidential personnel office for the Obama White House. He joined the administration as a special assistant to the President and the deputy director of the Presidential Personnel Office in 2009. During his tenure he led initiatives including co-chairing an initiative to reform management and ‘work’ in government. Prior to serving in the White House, he was the chief strategy officer of Universum, a global employer branding company, and served as the company's most senior consultant to companies and organizations looking to attract and retain top talent.

In 2000, Jonathan co-founded Jungle Media Group. Jungle's magazines, websites, and live events served a variety of audiences including MBAs, JDs, college students, African American young professionals, and Hispanic young professionals. Jungle Media was nominated for three National Magazine Awards. He also was an associate at Goldman Sachs and a legislative aide to United States Senator Herb Kohl at the start of his career.

Education

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, MBA in Finance

Connecticut College, BA in Economics and U.S. History

Philanthropy and Service

While in Washington, Jonathan helped start an initiative to develop solutions for improving cross sector leadership that became the Cross Sector Leadership Fellowship Program at the Presidio, San Francisco, California. It is now housed within the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine.

He is a current board member of Connecticut College and a former board member of the National Urban League.

Thought Leadership

Insights by Jonathan McBride

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Are Your Leaders Inclusive? Here’s How to Be Sure

Ellen Maag | Jonathan McBride

Businesses across sectors have made increasing efforts to identify and court diverse talent and leadership as part of greater emphasis on DEI agendas.

93% of executives we surveyed across multiple countries said that DEI matters more to their companies now than in 2020. Multiple EU countries have mandated 40% female representation on boards, and France now requires transparency on gender gaps among senior managers and 40% female representation by 2026, with large financial penalties to come in future years for those failing to reach the goal. That said, it’s not just about representation. Inclusiveness matters, and research suggests diverse teams generate higher performance on dimensions including trust and decision-making, up to 4x improvement over less inclusive groups.

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INSIGHTS

Three tactics for retaining your best people

Ed Manfre | Jonathan McBride | Sharon Sands

Retaining the right leaders is more crucial than ever. But in rapidly changing times, many companies don’t know where to start anymore. A few are taking promising steps that may offer others useful insights.
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