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Leading OutLoud

LGBT@Work – Leading Outloud

Richard Sypniewski, CEO of Sagin, LLC, spoke at the LGBT@Work Conference event in Madrid, Spain on July 5, 2018 hosted by the IE University & International Business School.  The theme of the conference was titled “Leading OutLoud” which featured prominent speakers and leaders in the LGBT Global community including Richard Sypniewski, CEO of Sagin, LLC and CityLvn; Hyung Hak Nam, President of UN-Globe of the United Nations; Charles Myers, Chairman of Signum Global Advisors and Finance chair of the Obama and Hillary campaigns for president.  Joel Brown, Chief Visionary Officer of Pheumos in San Francisco; Selisse Berry, Founder of Out & Equal; Pedro Pina, Global VP Client & Agency Solutions at Google; Luisa Ercoli, Global Diversity Manager for Barilla; Marta Fernandez Herraiz, Founder of LesWorking; and Santiago Iniquez, Executive President of IE University.

Rich’s talk focused on the values his father taught him growing up on the Southside of Chicago which he referred to as, “Hands, Mind, Heart”.  These values he translated into the meaning of working hard, developing your mind and always following your heart.  He profiled and reflected on his life from graduating undergrad with his degree in accounting and working with Arthur Andersen in Chicago.   He went on to obtain his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management which further developed his mind.   However, it was in his talk that he explained how coming out when he was 32 was when he really began to follow his heart and fulfill his goals and dreams.

There were approximately 300 attendees at this year’s conference and they became energized and inspired as Rich’s talk and energy lifted the room when he began to explain how his career was lifted and grew when he came out and began doing things with passion and purpose.

LGBT@Work 2018

Rich told the group, “when you are out you are leading”.  He went on to encourage the audience to focus on themselves because their success is within and not tied to the company they work for.

After the conference, many of the attendees stated they were inspired by Rich’s talk and how they were motivated to make a difference in the world and that Rich’s experience was an inspiration in leadership.

Rich stated that anytime he has the opportunity to learn, educate and lead by example through public speaking and engagement with younger generations it excites him about the future.

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