The Elton John AIDS Foundation is pleased to share that Chairman David Furnish and CEO Anne Aslett have been ranked in this year’s annual Outstanding LGBT+ Role Model List. David Furnish was recognised in the Top 20 of the Outstanding Top 100 LGBT+ Executives Role Model List and Anne was included in the Outstanding Top 50 Ally Executives Role Model List, respectively.
Published annually by INvolve, the global network and consultancy championing Diversity and Inclusion and supported by Yahoo Finance, the list recognises positive role models within the workplace, and further underlines the need for positive LGBT+ role models to drive diversity and inclusion.
“I’m deeply honoured to be recognised in the Top 20 of this year’s Outstanding Top 100 LGBT+ Executives Role Model List,” said David Furnish, Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “At the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we have been fighting for more accepting and inclusive rights for LGBTQ+ people for 30 years. We are proud to now be the second largest HIV philanthropic funder of LGBTQ populations globally. Our mission is more important than ever during such a pivotal moment in the movement for equality for LGBTQ+ people, and I carry this honour proudly as we continue working to achieve a more compassionate and equal world for all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people.”
Those included on the Outstanding LGBT+ Role Models Lists were nominated by their peers and colleagues and selected based on the work they’ve accomplished to advance LGBT+ recognition and inclusion both within their own company and in their communities and beyond. A panel comprised of global business representatives selected the Role Models within three categories: Top 100 LGBT+ Executives, Top 50 Advocates, and Top 100 LGBT+ Future Leaders.
“Being recognised in this year’s Outstanding Top 50 Ally Executives Role Model List means so much to me,” Anne Aslett, CEO of the Elton John AIDS Foundation said. “Through my work at the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we tackle systems change to evolve homophobic laws and advocate relentlessly for equal standards of HIV care in countries which criminalize same-sex relationships. It’s critical for organisations like ours to step in and fill those urgent gaps for the LGBTQ community who desperately need our help in some parts of the world. No one should live in fear of being punished for who they are and who they love.”
The Outstanding Role Model List is one of three sets of role model lists produced annually by INvolve, championing diversity and inclusion in business; the others are focused on Women and Ethnic Minority role models. View the full list of Outstanding Role Models HERE.
“I’m so thrilled to be celebrating this global group of trailblazing Executives, Future Leaders and Allies who are driving meaningful and tangible change for LGBTQ+ employees across our global businesses,” Founder & CEO of INvolve, Suki Sandhu OBE, said. “All the individuals within these lists are championing inclusion and, most importantly, leveraging their expertise and knowledge to drive inclusion initiatives and strategic change within their organizations. It’s vital that LGBTQ+ employees can succeed and achieve authentically, and these Role Models are essentials drivers of change who are smashing barriers to progress to create more inclusive organizations.”
