The PhD Project and Thought Leader James Rhee Explore Leading with Kindness

MONTVALE, N.J., Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Acclaimed investor, founder, CEO, goodwill strategist and educator James Rhee's TED Talk on leading with kindness, systems change, and the future of business and work has already garnered more than one million views since its launch in December. The PhD Project hosted a watch party followed by a Live Q&A on Thursday, January 20, 2022. This special virtual event gave attendees an opportunity to view the talk and then participate in an interactive discussion with Rhee, moderated by Jeanne Johnson Holmes, PhD, of RiskVersity.

"The PhD Project was thrilled to host this watch party and invite all who were interested in learning more about James Rhee's inspirational story," said Blane Ruschak, President of The PhD Project. "His insights into how investing in a culture of compassion at work can reshape business have never been more relevant or needed."

In 2013, Rhee, a long-time private equity investor, volunteered to serve as CEO of an insolvent Ashley Stewart, a clothing company catered to plus-size women in Black communities. By using two core principles – kindness and math – Rhee reinvented the company by introducing a new perspective on the systems underlying work, capitalism, and race. As founder of Red Helicopter, Rhee is catalyzing and investing in leaders and future leaders. At Howard University, he serves as the Johnson Chair of Entrepreneurship, Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Senior Adviser to the Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership. He is also Executive-in-Residence and Strategic Advisor at the MIT Leadership Center, and he holds an appointment as Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also serves on the board of JP Morgan Chase's Advancing Black Pathways, Conscious Capitalism, and the CEO Action for Racial Equity. In his TED Talk, he explores an alternative set of systems in business and life – an important lesson we can all use in our lives, classrooms and organizations.

"It's only fitting that the first public deconstruction of my TED talk was a Q&A moderated by my friend Jeanne Johnson Holmes, Ph.D. (she/her) on behalf of The PhD Project community, said Rhee. "For 27 years, this non-profit has created and supported a pipeline of Black, Latinx/Hispanic, and Native American PHD business school faculty members."

ABOUT The PhD Project
Founded in 1994, The PhD Project works to increase diversity in the business world. Through its unique model, the nonprofit organization's Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic American and Native American members pursue business PhDs with the intent to become university faculty, serving as role models and mentors to underrepresented students who aspire to a career in business. Since its launch, the project has been responsible for quintupling the number of underrepresented professors, administrators and academic leaders at an extensive list of academic programs, helping more than 1,300 former business professionals and undergraduate students receive their doctoral degree. The  PhD Project also includes close to 300 students currently enrolled in a business PhD program. For more information on The PhD Project, webinars and sponsors visit www.phdproject.org and follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.             

SOURCE The PhD Project