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Helps Evolve Centro’s Workplace Culture and Engage Employees to Foster Inclusion, Representation, and Equity in Digital Media Industry
Chicago – August 24, 2021 -- Centro (https://centro.net), a global provider of enterprise automation technology, today announced the addition of Lois Castillo as head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Castillo helps Centro evolve workplace culture, enhance corporate infrastructure and engage employees to foster greater inclusion, representation, and equity in the digital media industry. By adding a business leader who has guided advertising industry companies on implementing internal and external diversity and inclusion programs, Centro is prioritizing an inclusive workplace as it scales and grows rapidly.
Lois Castillo has built a depth of expertise driving diversity and inclusivity at scaled and start-up organizations. Previously director of talent and inclusion at agency Highdive Advertising, Castillo established the agency’s HR organization and architected its practices for staffing, onboarding, training, and employee support. Prior to this role, Castillo held various positions at Leo Burnett, first with a multi-year career working with clients, and then transitioning into roles supporting employee professional development and growth. When promoted as Leo Burnett’s director of inclusion and engagement, she guided numerous aspects of its DEI strategy and goals. Before starting her professional career in the private sector, Castillo served in the U.S. Army for five years. She has multiple accreditations for inclusionary practices and employee development.
“Centro is committed to building a diverse organization that fosters a culture of awareness and drives fairness,” said Joanna Vahlsing, EVP of operations. “Lois Castillo is an accomplished DEI practitioner who unifies and galvanizes professionals at all levels. Her knowledge, vision and fresh thinking brings more accountability and advancement to our DEI programs, which are vital for Centro’s maturity, growth and expansion.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion has been a company-wide priority at Centro and a strategic driver of its business momentum. Castillo’s newly-created cross-functional management role synchronizes, enhances and amplifies the company’s multiple DEI efforts that have been in practice the past few years. Greatly driven by its talent and development group, inclusion efforts have been a key aspect in attracting, developing and retaining Centro’s professional talent.
“Our nationally-recognized workplace culture and consistent year-over-year growth has established Centro as a standard for jointly prioritizing people and profit,” said Lois Castillo. “We want to ensure that diverse audiences and professionals have equal access to the opportunities that forward-thinking companies like ours are providing for the market.”
Centro operates robust programs and has taken multiple steps aimed at inclusivity. Community sponsorships include OneGoal, CodeNation, and Urban Alliance, which serve high school students in underprivileged communities in major cities. It partners with organizations such as COOP, The Boyd Initiative, and Onyx that diversify job applicant pools by providing networking for people of color. Centro provides job candidates with interview guides to ensure equity to make hiring more inclusive. The company also removed college degree requirements in 2020, being mindful of how they have been used to bar certain communities from professional opportunities.
About Centro
Centro (https://centro.net) is a provider of ERP and automation software for digital advertising teams and organizations. Its technology platform, Basis, is the first of its kind SaaS advertising solution unifying programmatic and direct media buying, along with workflow automation, cross-channel campaign planning, universal reporting and business intelligence. It streamlines business operations and optimizes advertising performance by enabling marketers to plan, buy and analyze real-time bidding (RTB), direct, advanced TV, search and social campaigns in a single platform. Headquartered in Chicago with offices covering North America, South America and Europe, Centro has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture.
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Contact:
Anthony Loredo
917-573-4157