D4D Futurists: Florian Koenigsberger (Google)
We’re psyched to shout out our people, Florian Koenigsberger — a marketing genius, photographer and brilliant thinker who works at a lil’ place called Google and who has been an instrumental leader at the tech giant supporting their Black and Latinx communities. Beyond employee engagement, Florian has been critical to implementing a higher-level awareness by challenging his colleagues to think and act critically when it comes to the narrative and images of POC as the company builds out their marketing campaigns. Specifically, Florian has engaged his colleagues, via trainings and conversations around stereotypical images, to question why and if the image and stories they’re telling truly portray a spectrum of lived experiences. It’s his dedication, leadership and eye towards nuanced storytelling that makes him a D4D Futurist.
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What is the DEI problem you are tackling and how? — My company has historically struggled to support, elevate and retain its Black and Latinx marketers (BALM). Since 2017, I’ve been a part of the international leadership circle that runs the company’s BALM employee resource group, designed to make Google a place where Black and Latinx marketers can see themselves, be successful, and feel fulfilled.
How did you design this solution? — We have a three-pronged approach: (1) We build community by creating professional connections, fostering long-lasting personal relationships, and providing space for conversation between BALMers at Google; (2) we grow careers by connecting BALMers with mentorship and career development opportunities across the company and; (3) we activate around causes that affect our communities, helping Google Marketing take positive, impactful action in our external campaigns and internal policies while driving accountability among senior leadership.
How do you approach designing “with” not “for” *The Source (community)? — We’re constantly engaging BALMers of all levels of seniority. We’ve created regular and direct forums for senior leadership to hear from our community, as opposed to trying to speak on their behalf. When we get executive updates detailing our progress against our annual goals, we ensure that everyone in the group can ask questions that go directly back to our CMO’s team. We work hard to give everyone a real seat at the table.
What’s one win that you want to shout yourself out for? — None of this work is part of my job. Some folks understandably complain that minorities in tech are too often burdened with solving their own problems, in spite of these companies’ publicly stated commitments to advancing DEI. I lean on Bryan Stevenson here: “you are either hopeful or part of the problem.” I try my best to do the work that is being hopeful.
