Netflix announced the hire of Vernā Myers as the company's first vice president of inclusion strategy. Myers, an inclusion strategist for the past two decades, has helped a wide range of corporations address issues of race, gender, sexual orientation and other cultural differences to create more productive work environments.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Vernā is also the author of Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing and What If I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People. She has been an active speaker at TED and has also contributed to numerous publications including Refinery29, The Atlantic, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review.
In this newly-created role, Vernā will help devise and implement strategies that integrate cultural diversity, inclusion and equity into all aspects of Netflix’s operations worldwide.

Myers said in a statement: “I have been a longtime fan of the inclusive and diverse programming and talent at Netflix, and then I got a chance to meet the people behind the screen. I was so impressed by their mission, their excellence, and decision to take their inclusion and diversity efforts to a higher level.
Jessica Neal, the company’s head of talent, added: “Having worked closely with Vernā as a consultant on a range of organizational issues, we are thrilled that she has agreed to bring her talents to this new and important role. As a global company dedicated to attracting the best people and representing a broad range of perspectives, Vernā will be an invaluable champion of our efforts to build a culture where all employees thrive.”

Myers arrival not only comes at a time where the company looks to drive in other forms of revenue, but as it looks to reach its next set of customers in a global expansion effort.

It also comes as the company fired former communications chief Johnathan Friedland after he used n-word on multiple occasions to the streaming service’s staff. Rachel Whetstone, formerly head of communications for Facebook with time spent at Uber and Google, replaced Friedland earlier this month.