Latasha Gillespie,
Executive Head of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) for Amazon Studios, Prime Video, and IMDb.
Latasha Gillespie is the Executive Head of Global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) for Amazon Studios, Prime Video, and IMDb. In her role, Latasha is responsible for the development and management of all content related and customer facing DEIA work for the organization. Under her leadership, Amazon Studios created the entertainment industry’s first Inclusion Policy and Playbook, and standardized DEIA into its Greenlight Process. Prime Video is currently leading all streamers in percentage of women and underrepresented film directors. In her current role, Latasha created the Howard Entertainment Program, the first of its kind partnership between a major studio and a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Prior to her current role, Latasha led the Global Diversity and Inclusion Organization across Amazon Corporate where she worked with Jeff Bezos, and regularly briefed both the Board of Directors, and Congressional members on Amazon’s DEIA Strategies and progress. In addition, Latasha is credited for Amazon joining the HBCU Partnership Challenge, and founding Amazon’s Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) annual conference and curriculum.
Prior to Amazon, Latasha spent 20 years in Finance and Human Resources with Caterpillar Inc. She started in the Caterpillar Finance Rotation Program, as an analyst with assignments in Treasury and both North America and Latin America Dealer Organizations. In 2000, Latasha joined the Human Resources department; holding various positions including: Six Sigma Black Belt, Compensation and Benefits Director, and Employee and Labor Relations Director for the organization’s facilities in both U.S. and Mexico. During her tenure with Caterpillar, Latasha is credited for launching the first diversity recruiting team and the company’s Employee Resource Groups. She also held the position as Caterpillar’s Chief Diversity Officer for three years prior to relocating overseas to Singapore to serve as the organization’s Head of Human Resources for Africa, Middle East, CIS/ Russia and Asia Pacific.
Latasha is a celebrated speaker, host, and moderator with organic relationships with Talent, Content Creators, and other influential public figures. Latasha has been called upon to publicly interview several different prominent celebrities including: Chef Marcus Samuelson, Simone Biles, Meagan Good, Barry Jenkins, Jemele Hill, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Congresswoman Karen Bass and rapper and author, Common to name a few. She has moderated panels for Sundance, New York Ad Week, IMDb and Easterseals. Comfortable speaking on both national and international stages, Latasha has been a featured speaker at Stanford University, the Hollywood Commission, the Recording Academy, the Television Academy, the NFL, Rio2C, re:Invent, and CES.
Latasha was recently honored as a 2022 Multichannel News Wonder Woman. In 2021, the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce named Latasha Executive of the Year and she ended the year on the cover of Inclusion Magazine for her leadership in implementing organizational inclusive and equitable practices. She was featured in Variety’s 2021 Women’s Impact Report and Variety’s 2021 Inclusion Impact Report. Latasha was also featured in Forbes in 2020; Black Enterprise Magazine named her one of the 2019 Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity and she is a 2018 Ebony Magazine Power 100 Honoree. Latasha is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and currently serves on the Board of ThinkLA. She previously served on the Boards of the Tri-County Urban League, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale – College of Business Administration External Advisory Board, and City of Refuge. Latasha grew up in the Chicago area and received her degree in Finance from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Latasha currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
