July 25, 2022
Suggestions
July 25, 2022
Twenty-five years ago, Damian Gardley began his professional path as a co-op student in process engineering. Since then, he has had varying experiences in operations, marketing, product management, and sales. These different responsibilities and experiences contributed to Damian becoming the Vice President & General Manager for the U.S. Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) Channel, where he is responsible for managing the overall business relationship with our OEM partners whom we supply lamps and electronic components.
A passionate golf player when the time allows, he also enjoys discovering unique culinary experiences and traveling to spend time with family.
DE&I is embedded at a foundational level in our culture at Signify. In fact, it’s a tenant in our Global 5 Frontiers Strategy outlined in Being a Great Place to Work! It flows down from our global strategy to our markets and local teams, where we hire the best and brightest individuals from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, genders, races, and nationalities.
As part of the Americas Management team, we work to create an environment of transparency and trust, where individuals are encouraged to share their unique talents and insights with the team daily.
I strongly believe our differences yield unique perspectives that allow us to approach situations from varying angles to provide a more robust solution.
In a fast-paced environment like we have at Signify, it’s essential to have diverse perspectives to drive impactful results, as we seek new ways to address multifaceted challenges.
Recently the lighting market experienced an unprecedented amount of expeditious technological transformations, as well as significant headwinds caused by the global pandemic. Despite these rapid changes and challenges, my team is still required to meet our strategic objectives.
Having a diverse team of professionals who are empowered, encouraged and comfortable with sharing their varying perspectives to collaboratively solve problems, allows me as a leader to not only have a more holistic/complete approach to addressing challenges but to transform challenges into opportunities.
Historically the OEM team is high-performing and the ability to effectively work together continues to drive our success.
As a minority, and someone who has often been one of the youngest members of my workgroups throughout my career, I have firsthand experience of what it’s like to feel unheard. I want to ensure that others don’t have this same experience.
So, it’s paramount that we build an environment where individuals can show up as their true selves and where differing and dissenting views are encouraged. As a leader, I make a concerted effort to create a team dynamic that encourages authenticity, innovative thinking, and values individuality.
This, in my experience, allows for a team that not only shares freely but also allows for the voices to be truly heard.
I am extremely proud of my personal engagement in furthering DE&I at Signify and on my team. For the past three years, I have been an Executive Champion for DE&I in the U.S. Market which has allowed me to design, develop and launch our Connect Point Groups with other passionate individuals.
These groups help foster a safe and inclusive environment for employees to leverage a broad network of colleagues to enhance their career and personal experience at Signify. I also sit on the local and Global DE&I Board to ensure that equitable policies, innovative practices and inclusive approaches are utilized within the organization.
Most importantly though, is that I consciously make an effort to listen to and value all my colleague’s unique perspectives, as well as share my own. This allows for mutually beneficial growth!
Signify Corporate Communications
Email: communications@signify.com
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.
