The Eastman Kodak Co.: Antonio Perez
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CEOs Who Get It
The Eastman Kodak Co.: Antonio Perez
ANTONIO M. PEREZ
Chairman & CEO
The Eastman Kodak Company
About Eastman Kodak
Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator, providing leading
products and services to the photographic, graphic communications and
healthcare markets. With sales of $14.3 billion in 2005, the company is
committed to a digitally-oriented growth strategy focused on helping
people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work.
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
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Antonio M. Perez at a Glance
• 2005 - Elected Chairman of the Board of Directors
• 2005 - Elected Chief Executive Officer
• 2004 - Elected to Board of Directors
• 2003 - Joined Kodak as President and Chief Operating Officer
• Prior to joining Kodak in 2003 Perez worked for twenty-five years at
Hewlett-Packard Company as a vice president and a member of the
executive council.
• In 1998-1999 he served as President of HP’s Consumer Business. Prior
to that, he served for five years as President and CEO of HP’s Inkjet
Imaging Business. From 2000 to 2001, he was president and CEO of
Gemplus International.
Education
• Studied electronic engineering, marketing and business in Spain and
France
Awards and Honors
• 2005 - Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology Magazine,
selected for the 50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and
Business list for 2005
• 2003 - Hispanic Business, named its list of 100 Influentials
Memberships
• Member of the board of directors of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
• Member of the Business Council and the Business Roundtable
• Member of International Consultative Conference on the Future
Economic Development of Guangdong Province, China
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the George Eastman House
• Vice Chair, Diversity Best Practices, CEO Initiatives
Antonio Perez: Globally Astute…Metrics-Driven…
Citizen of the World
Like Procter and Gamble, Major League Baseball, Sears and Wal-Mart,
Eastman Kodak Company is an American icon. Since its founding in 1880,
the company has enjoyed an illustrious history of capturing and preserving
memories for families around the globe and as a trusted commercial
partner for businesses. Kodak is not only well-known for its large lineup of
imaging products but also for its service within the communities where it
conducts business.
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From its humble beginnings under founder George Eastman, Kodak has
demonstrated that it cares about people, all people. Eastman, a high
school dropout, was a renowned philanthropist as well as a shrewd business
man who believed that employees should receive more than a fair wage,
thus instituted the first “wage dividend,” from his own personal funds in
1899, a bonus practice that continues today.
His benevolence expanded beyond the company. A stalwart for the
education of African-Americans, in 1924 he signed checks totally $30
million for Hampton and Tuskegee Institutes, historically black colleges,
(now Hampton and Tuskegee University, respectively) as well as
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester. In
explaining the gifts, he said: “The progress of the world depends almost
entirely upon education. I selected a limited number of recipients because I
wanted to cover certain kinds of education, and felt I could get results with
those named quicker and more directly than if the money were spread.”
Continuing the legacy of Eastman, Antonio M. Perez, named CEO in 2005
after two years as president and chief operating officer, is leading the
company through some challenging business times while maintaining the
original values of giving back to employees and community.
Hailing from the small Spanish fishing village of Vigo, Perez is the son of a
fish merchandiser who exemplified core values and a code of behavior that
defied the need for lectures or written edicts. “My father never wrote a book
about the values of the Perez family but we all knew exactly what they
were,” said Perez. “He did not have to make speeches to us during dinner,
but we learned how to treat others solely based on his behavior, from the
time he woke up in the morning until he went down to bed at night.”
Perez said that he exercises his commitment to diversity like his father
demonstrated the family values. “It is about behavior. I can say a lot but, at
the end of the day, it is what I do that matters,” he said.
He learned about diversity and how to respect differences very early in life
when he assisted his father in the business. Not to his liking, but by his
father’s mandate, Perez worked in the business for four summers while in
high school. “My father woke me up every morning at 5 a.m. and I
basically worked until noon while we bought and sold fish. I experienced
some demanding personalities and this is how I learned to deal with
diversity.”
As a port town, Vigo attracted a variety of cultures and nationalities and the
influx of these differences brought its share of conflict, according to Perez.
“Ports are famous for being tough, rough places. You had all kinds of races,
nationalities, religions, and languages, which naturally led to
misunderstandings.”
After those four years, he had made friends with a diverse set of people
and had a much better appreciation of why people behaved differently than
he thought they should. “It was a great learning experience even though I
dreaded every day of it. I got to see first hand how people act according to
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
38 1990 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 466.8209 (866) 476.7044
www.diversitybestpractices.comCEOs Who Get It
their own set of rules and values, and how important it is to understand
what they think if you want to create harmony.”
Declining the offer to take over his father’s business, Perez set out to see
the world, moving to Madrid to further his studies. In this larger
multicultural city, he was exposed to even more diversity. After school, he
joined Hewlett Packard in Madrid and later in Barcelona, and described his
initial entré into that new community as “shocking,” because even though it
was the same country, the culture was very different from Vigo. ,. But
those differences were minor in comparison to the culture shock he
experienced during his five years in Germany.
“If I thought Spain was diverse, I was in a completely different world in
Germany, (encountering) the mentality, the language and everything else,”
Perez said. Rounding out his multicultural experience, he spent a year and
a half in the United Kingdom, 12 months in southern France, and 15 years
in California before planting roots in upstate New York. Perez said that the
expanse of his experience has taught him that the world is very complex
with multiple cultures facing the challenge of figuring out a way to live and
work together. “I have lived in so many different places, so many different
houses and so many different cultures that I can tell you it is complex. At
Kodak, our business is a microcosm of this complex world.”
Although Perez sees a change, he said that Europe continues to view
diversity as an American issue. Personally having witnessed myriad diversity
situations in Europe, he thinks some may be even bigger than the concerns
with which the U.S. is wrestling. The difference, he said, is that the United
States openly talks about the issues while Europe tends to not bring
attention to differences.
“You name it, there is every type of difference in Europe including
language, culture, religion and it is even more difficult because the
attitudes have been ingrained for a longer period of time than here in the
U.S.”
Serving the Global Customer
Getting diversity and inclusion right might well be the key to unlocking
Kodak’s recent sluggish market performance. The Rochester, N.Y.-based
company’s foray in to the digital world was viewed as late, but Perez has
been praised for his innovation in quickly positioning Kodak away from its
staple, silver halide photography, to a concerted focus on digital imaging.
The transformation has been painful, necessitating massive downsizings
and divesture of physical plants.
But Perez’s global astuteness might just be the prescription to catapult the
company to a new level. In a published statement, Perez said, “Guided by
the insights of diverse customers and employees, Kodak is transforming
itself to serve new markets. Through diversity of thought and innovation, we
will continue to deliver breakthrough products that delight customers. And
our journey of diversity and inclusion--while never complete—will help us
better serve those who have come to trust Kodak.”
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
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www.diversitybestpractices.comCEOs Who Get It
Clear Metrics
Underscoring that the business case for Kodak is clear and compelling,
Perez said his charge is to ensure that everybody in the company not only
lives the letter but the spirit of diversity. Starting with comprehensive
strategic business planning, diversity is a core component. Every business
leader is required to complete a plan that outlines goals, objectives and
challenges and how he or she intends to meet them. Key to the plan is
identifying diverse customer segments.
“As a company we probably have just about as diverse a customer base as
anybody, and their needs and wants are constantly changing,” Perez said.
“To understand them, we have to know them and look like them.”
Perez has established robust metrics to assess the top leaders of the
company. “As the saying goes, what gets measured gets done. And
sometimes it is not that they do not want to do it, but they have other
priorities and they will first work on what is being measured,” he said.
Kodak’s diversity metrics are linked directly to leaders’ bonuses. Every year,
Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Community Relations Essie L.
Calhoun conducts one-on-one sessions known as “Personal Qualitative
Factor Assessments” with the heads of each business unit, evaluating them
on recruitment and retention, talent building, penetration of multicultural
markets and promoting a winning and inclusive culture.
As a means of monitoring the culture, Perez personally conducts “Can We
Talk?” sessions with his Executive Council and different diverse groups.
“These are what I call from-the-heart gatherings where we hear first-hand
what different constituencies are experiencing. They bring up the tough
issues and this is what I want to hear,” he said.
In addition, to give voice to the eight affinity groups, he has breakfast with
each one once a year. “I am behaving better this year, rather than at 6:30
a.m., we start them at 7 a.m.,” he laughed. He said that there are always a
lot of actions that emanate from these sessions and the company is
serious about addressing them.
Diversity is also a main topic once a quarter at his Executive Council
meetings. In addition, once a year, the top 220 leaders come together and
diversity is always on the agenda. “It is just a way of life for us, just like any
other business topic like quality, pricing, product portfolios. Diversity is not
different and no less important,” Perez said.
Making Progress
There is no easy road to success, according to Perez, because diversity is a
tough issue, but he thinks the company is making progress and doing
better than most. He acknowledged his predecessors for laying the
groundwork. “I am happy with what we are doing. I know that there are a
lot of people who are committed. I like the way the managers talk and how
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
40 1990 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 466.8209 (866) 476.7044
www.diversitybestpractices.comCEOs Who Get It
they behave. They are not dressing up the issues. They are really tackling
the tough concerns.”
Admitting that it is difficult to maintain employee morale in the wake of
large-scale layoffs, Perez said that he has to work even harder to convince
employees that the company is serious about creating an inclusive
environment. “We have the extra difficulty of the transformation that we are
undergoing. The company will be smaller in the future as we transfer to
digital technology and it means fewer opportunities to hire new people,” he
said.
And like many large corporations, Kodak has had its share of tough
concerns. Complaints by some African-American workers that Kodak
engaged in inconsistent pay practices prompted the company to voluntarily
make wage adjustments for some African-American employees in 2001.
More recently, a lawsuit filed against the company alleged racial
discrimination. Perez does not take these allegations lightly, one of the
main reasons he spends so much time listening to employee concerns.
In 2001, Kodak proactively sought outside advice to strengthen it diversity
focus, assembling a blue ribbon external advisory panel comprised of
diversity experts from law, academia, and business. The panel, chaired by
Eric Holder, a former U.S. deputy attorney general, conducted a two-year
review of Kodak’s diversity and inclusion efforts and offered
recommendations to further strengthen Kodak’s long-term diversity
initiatives.
The panel’s recommendations covered three key areas:
• Global Values and Globalization - make the Kodak values a standard
for all Kodak employees worldwide.
• Leadership and Human Capital - focus on recruitment, retention, and
leadership initiatives to build a more-diverse workforce.
• Preparing the Workforce of Tomorrow - foster internal and external
education initiatives that help educate current and future workers.
The extra efforts are paying off and the outside world is taking notice.
Kodak has consistently received recognition for putting processes in place
to create an inclusive work environment. Named by DiversityInc as one of
its top 50 companies for diversity for five consecutive years (2001-2005)
and Black Enterprise’s top 30 companies for diversity (2005 and 2006),
Latina Style’s Top 50 Companies for Latinas (2005) and Black
Professional top 25 companies for African Americans (2005), the
company is clearly doing something right.
Also excelling in supplier diversity, Kodak reached its goal of spending 10
percent with minority- and women-owned businesses in 2005, a year
earlier than its target date. Over a five-year period, the company increased
its spending with these firms by 200 percent.
Perez has personally been honored by external groups for his
accomplishments in diversity and currently serves as vice chair of the
Diversity Best Practices CEO Initiative.
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
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Perez is committed to maintaining the momentum because of his firm
resolve that diversity is a critical element in Kodak’s turnaround.
What Others Say About Perez
Amy Friend, board member of the Lambda (LGBT) Network at Kodak,
lauded Perez for his personal commitment: “Antonio has direct contact
with all eight of Kodak’s employee networks. He meets regularly with each
board and challenges us to challenge him and the senior Kodak leadership
team to go after the hard stuff. He’s also had his senior leadership team go
through the “Can We Talk?” workshop in the last year to better understand
what it means to have an inclusive work environment for LGBT employees.
He ensures that it is standard to have senior leaders participate in
employee resource group (ERG) events and that each network has both an
active executive corporate champion and management sponsor. He also
sets the expectations that each business unit and organization include
diversity strategies in their annual business plans. When I talk with leaders
from other company ERGs [employee resource groups], I have realized
how unusual it is to have this level of involvement and contact time with
each of the ERGs.”
Belimar Velazquez, worldwide marketing manager, Oncology Solutions
Group, Health Group and president of Kodak’s women’s network said:
“Antonio Perez is first and foremost committed to diversity of thought. He
encourages all Kodak employees, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity or sexual
orientation, to engage in healthy debate. By this means, he encourages all
viewpoints coming from the employees’ knowledge and experience to be
heard and understood so that we can continue to grow as a company and
as individuals.”
Tim P. Vaughan, co-president and founding member of Empower
Employee Network, is impressed with Perez’s listening ability. “I was duly
impressed with the level of personal interest and commitment that Antonio
demonstrated at a recent meeting with the leadership of our employee
network. He listened to our stories intently, asked probing questions and
made personal commitments to our board on several action items. He
understands both the personal and professional growth benefits of diversity
at Kodak.”
Ana Alejandra Galindo, senior research analyst, Corporate Business
Research, commented on Perez’s involvement at a recent employee
resource group breakfast. “At our last breakfast meeting he said
something along the lines of: ‘I live it in my own skin.’ He was referring to
fact that people, by nature, tend to associate more to those who look like
them, but that we (people at Kodak) all must strive to truly represent the
community where we live and the customers we serve. He was saying that
people many times are not aware of their own prejudice, and hence much
less be able to address the issue of representation.”
© 2006 Diversity Best Practices
42 1990 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 466.8209 (866) 476.7044
www.diversitybestpractices.comCEOs Who Get It
In Summary
Share Moments. Share Life, one of Kodak’s award winning advertising
campaigns from a few years ago, aptly describes how Antonio Perez is
transforming the company. Spreading his global wisdom with a broad
array of constituents on a regular basis, he is beginning to shape a new
future…to generate a new image.
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1990 M Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 466.8209 (866) 476.7044 43
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