Nicole Cokley Dunlap Joins Bed Bath & Beyond as Chief Diversity Officer

August 24, 2021  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

Cokley Dunlap brings more than 25 years of expertise to her role and will report directly to Lynda Markoe, EVP and chief people and culture officer. She will begin in her new role in September.

Cokley Dunlap comes to Bed Bath & Beyond from Macy's Inc., where she held roles with increasing levels of leadership responsibilities across Bloomingdale's and Macy's Inc. in human resources, employee giving, diversity and inclusion, and store management. She served as vice president of diversity & inclusion strategy since 2019 and built strategies that helped drive diversity, engagement, performance, and business growth. Before that, she was Bloomingdale's vice president, diversity & inclusion, employee giving and human resources business partner. Cokley Dunlap also serves as co-president of BRAG, a non-profit organization that prepares and educates people of color for executive leadership roles in retail, fashion and related industries.

As part of its ESG strategy, Bed Bath & Beyond made a commitment to become a Top 10 retail employer by 2030 by creating an equitable, inclusive work environment where all associates feel at home and can thrive. The company has set diversity, equity, and inclusion goals to reach at least 50% women representation and at least 25% racial and/or ethnic diversity at all levels by this time. Cokley Dunlap will oversee the strategy and execution of these goals as well as partner across the enterprise to build stronger relationships with customer communities and diverse business vendors. Her focus on implementing programs that drive inclusion and belonging will further advance the company's people-powered focus as well as create and sustain its talent engine. 

"Nicole is a consummate leader with tremendous relationships and expertise in DE & I and will help us deliver change that is needed within our company and the communities we serve,” said Markoe. “Building our community, both inside and outside the company, is of paramount importance as we execute against Bed Bath & Beyond's transformation plans. One of our five key practices in our strategic transformation framework is championing diversity and community, and we are pleased to appoint a Chief Diversity Officer as talented and proven as Nicole." 

"As a values-driven company, I am excited to be a part of Bed Bath and Beyond's transformation to advance the DE&I goals,” said Cokley Dunlap. “With an emphasis on associates, customers and communities, I look forward to working across the organization to optimize DE&I initiatives to drive innovation and business results.”