Inclusion Paradox Sighting: American Female CEO of Dutch Company Brings Profitable Diverse Perspective and Stresses Crosscultural Competence

In a Wall Street Journal  October 12, 2009 article on “inside outsiders” writer Joann Lublin profiles global publishing giant Wolters Kluwer’s CEO Nancy McKinstry and how her differences led to a positive impact on the organization’s bottom line. “I was able to use my differences to make change,” she is quoted as saying.   And given the need for new ways of doing business due to new competitive pressures, she goes on to say that a male Dutch leader would have faced “more pressure to maintain the status quo.”  She is also a believer in providing her executives with challenging crosscultural opportunities to be able to move promising products faster across borders. This included asking leaders to run the offices in countries not their own despite resistance that “you can’t have a Spaniard running France.” “We are a global business,” she replied.  ”We will overcome these cultural differences.”

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