Case Study: Brown-Forman boosts diversity and leadership advancement with Lindenberger Group mentoring programs

Brown-Forman - Customer Case Study

Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s and other liquor and wine brands, needed to improve diversity in its senior leadership and create a better way to develop and retain top talent. With a largely homogenous executive team and a desire to encourage employees to advance internally and relocate to Louisville, the company turned to Lindenberger Group for help with mentoring-based recruiting and leadership development tools.

Lindenberger Group worked with Brown-Forman’s leadership and a diverse employee committee to build a comprehensive mentoring program, including mentor selection, training, protégé matching, and effectiveness measurement. The program delivered stronger career advancement and job assignments, higher job satisfaction for mentors and protégés, and became a long-term recruiting asset; women and minorities grew to about 20% of executives, and the initiative earned the Athena Award for Excellence in Mentoring twice.

Brown-Forman