Sparks & Honey Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Apprentice Program: A Testament to Its Commitment to Diversity
Company Promotes Sharon Foo to Managing Director; Charged with Overseeing Program in Addition to Other Culture and Talent Initiatives
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NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- sparks & honey, the technology-based cultural consultancy and industry leader in cultural intelligence, has launched a brand-new internship program, the Senior Cultural Apprentice Program, specifically for individuals with 30 years of professional experience. This unique internship has paired apprentices with millennial strategists to support client deliverables, enhance the daily culture briefings and contribute to a special culture forecast report on the Future of Work. The program is being overseen by Sharon Foo, who has recently been promoted from Client Partner to Managing Director of sparks & honey’s New York and Chicago offices, a newly-created position.
A driving force of sparks & honey’s growing business is recruiting a diverse workforce – at all levels – that reflects the many cultures, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives of the global community. It’s this commitment to diversity and inclusiveness that was a major impetus for creating this apprentice program. Day to day, the apprentices take on a number of tasks including data aggregation and mining and analyzing cultural intelligence. The apprentices have also been integral in exploring the concept of “unlearning and reskilling” – helping the team to think differently about how they work, while they work - which will be a key subject area of the Future of Work report.
For this inaugural run, the company brought on Gwen Kelly, a client-side marketer who has spent the last decade at Walmart, Inc. driving both multicultural marketing and diversity and inclusion initiatives for the company. And Sharon Lewis, a veteran marketing strategist who has worked with brands including Citibank, Saks Fifth Avenue, American Express, Sprint-Nextel and the United Way, among others.
“Gwen and Sharon came to us seeking a third act career opportunity. Not only are they getting the opportunity to learn new skills and soak up the culture of our company, they are teaching our teams invaluable lessons, drawing on decades of experience and success from their own careers. It’s been such an invaluable experience for everyone involved – a truly collaborative initiative,” said sparks & honey Founder and CEO, Terry Young. “And Sharon Foo is the perfect person to spearhead the program – she brings her fearless can-do approach to every task she takes on and sees every aspect of our quirky culture as an opportunity to embrace as her own. She cares deeply about the talent here - helping nurture, mentor and inspire teams.”
As an openly gay CEO, Young has built many dimensions of diversity and inclusivity into the DNA of the consultancy. From Japan, Singapore and Brazil to Germany, Russia and Pakistan, among other countries, sparks & honey’s employees represent a large range of cultures and ethnicities, and span the spectrum of sexual orientation, gender identity and age. “It’s this diversity of experience that leads to diversity of thought, which continues to have the most significant impact on our client work and how we’re able to look at culture from so many different angles,” commented Young.
Foo’s own background is a great example of the diversity that is commonplace among the company’s staffers. Born in Singapore, she has lived and worked in various countries including New York, London, Hong Kong and Australia, fully immersing herself in different cultures over the years. As Managing Director, Foo will be responsible for recruiting and retaining top talent, generating new business, as well as growing and nurturing the existing client base – this new role was created to strengthen internal collaboration across all offices, facilitate shared learnings, and optimize resources. She will report directly to Terry Young.
To inquire about the apprentice program or apply to become one of sparks & honey’s next apprentices, reach out to: apprenticeprogram@sparksandhoney.com.
About sparks & honey: sparks & honey is a technology-based cultural consultancy delivering game-changing insights and growth strategy to businesses and organizations around the world. Leveraging a unique suite of proprietary tools, algorithms and a global network of human scouts to identify emerging cultural trends and industry shifts, sparks & honey helps organizations stay relevant - and ahead of the curve - in a fast-changing world. Recognized by Deloitte Insights for its industry defining business practices – the company was the focus of a case study in March 2018 - sparks & honey is a part of the DAS Group of Companies.
About the DAS Group of Companies
The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.
Press Contact:
Christine Perez O’Rourke
DiGennaro Communications
christine@digennaro-usa.com
212.966.9525
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