Inclusive Excellence
This panel brings together a distinguished group of industry leaders and experts to discuss the critical role of diversity and inclusion at the highest levels of decision-making. It features speakers who are champions of diversity in various sectors, sharing their insights on building inclusive environments, overcoming hurdles to leadership growth, and cultivating a leadership landscape that truly reflects and embraces a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.
Moderator – Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions
Shari Hubert is associate dean of admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she is responsible for overseeing recruitment and admissions for their Daytime and Accelerated Daytime MBA, Weekend Executive MBA, Global Executive MBA, and six Specialty Masters’ Degree Programs.
Prior to Fuqua, she was associate dean of admissions for the Full-time and Evening MBA programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Hubert has extensive experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and entered higher education after working for the Peace Corps as director of recruitment within the Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection, the senior vice president of campus recruitment for Citi’s Global Bank in North America and as the manager of campus relations for GE.
Immediately after receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000, Hubert worked as a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, managed a leadership program for the Partnership for NYC and ran the United Way campaign at NBC. Finally, she began her career in sales and marketing at Merck and Co., Inc., after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in French from Dartmouth College in 1992. Shari volunteers with the Animal Protection Society of Durham, Meals on Wheels and serves on the Boards of the Empower Dance Foundation, Harvard Business School’s African-American Alumni Association, Harvard Business School Women’s Association and the Forte Foundation Advisory Council.
Danielle Squires, Head of Diverse Segments, Wells Fargo
Danielle Squires is a Managing Director and the Head of Diverse Segments and a member of the Operating Committee for the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) division of Wells Fargo.
As the leader of CIB Diverse Segments, she is responsible for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into every aspect of the business by developing products and services that drive greater access to capital for diverse clients, as well as advising corporate clients on strengthening and delivering on their DE&I goals. Her team focuses on diverse-owned, diverse-led companies, as well as Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and diverse-owned broker-dealers and underwriters across the platform.
Danielle joined Wells Fargo in 1999, working first in the Leveraged Finance group and then moving to roles in Foreign Exchange Derivatives and covering Global Financial Institutions. For much of her over 20-year career, Danielle has been structuring and marketing interest rate hedging solutions for corporate, commercial, brokerage, real estate, and wealth management clients across the United States. Prior to her current role as Head of Diverse Segments, Danielle led Wells Fargo’s Southeast Commercial Rates & Foreign Exchange Team. She has been a regular presenter at industry and professional conferences regarding interest rate hedging, U.S. economic outlook, as well as the global market transition from LIBOR to SOFR.
Over the course of her career, Danielle has found ways to help advance diversity, equity, and inclusion both within Wells Fargo and in the communities she is a part of. She currently serves on the Board of Wells Fargo’s Black and African American Executive Forum and is a member of the CIB DE&I Advisory Council. Outside of Wells Fargo, Danielle is a member of Duke’s Women’s Impact Network and National Alumni Association Board, and is a Past President of the Duke Black Alumni Association. In the Charlotte integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into every aspect of the business by developing products and services that community, Danielle currently serves on the boards for the Novant Medical Group and Trinity Board of Visitors at Duke University.
Danielle holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Comparative Area Studies and Italian from Duke University with a concentration in Economics. She currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and twin daughters.
Jennifer McCollum, CEO, Linkage, Author, ‘In Her Own Voice’
Jennifer McCollum is on a mission to create better leaders and workplaces, by advancing women and promoting inclusivity.
She’s an accomplished CEO, speaker and consultant, and the author of the new book “In Her Own Voice: A Woman’s Rise to CEO.” This book uses data and personal stories to shed light on the unique challenges women face on their journey to leadership, providing actionable insights for aspiring leaders and organizations. Jennifer has presented on hundreds of stages, podcasts, and webcasts across the globe and been featured in publications ilke The Wall Street Journal, Leader to Leader, Fast Company, Forbes, and Psychology Today.
Jennifer was the first female CEO at Linkage, a global leadership development firm dedicated to “Changing the Face of Leadership.” With over 25 years of experience building teams and organizations, she has a unique talent for crafting powerful visions and inspiring teams to turn them into reality. Her expertise includes how to close the gap to gender equity; why the most effective leaders are inclusive leaders; and how to demystify inclusion for leaders and organizations.
Neelu Burugapalli, MBA ’05, COO Wholesale Lending, Wells Fargo
Neelu Burugapalli is the COO for Wholesale Lending Operations at Wells Fargo. In this role, Neelu is responsible for strategy and business management functions required to run the organization. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Neelu was Data Support Executive for Enterprise Data Strategy, Governance and Operations for Bank of America. In this role, she was responsible for integration of process management and data management in order to build capabilities to identify and manage data risks; she implemented common framework to govern and oversee Authorized Data Sourcing Strategies and had execution oversight for the strategy. In addition, she also lead Enterprise Data reporting and analytics.
Neelu has a dynamic and progressive career across several core business areas including data management and strategy, technology transformation, operational excellence, strategic planning, operations and risk management. She held various leadership positions at Bank of America in Technology, Mortgage Fulfillment and Servicing, Third Party Management, Anti Money Laundering and Global Banking and Markets Operations. Neelu, originally from India, has an undergrad in Engineering, attended Eastern Michigan University for Master’s in Technology and Duke University for Masters in Business Administration.
Neelu is actively involved in the community. She was a steering committee member of the Carolina’s LGBTQ+ Network, Year-Up Mentor, and chairs the Parents Board at Charlotte Country Day School. She runs a family trust with her husband to support women’s education.
