Out on the Street recently expanded to form Out Leadership, a model for collaboration across industry lines in order to help develop initiatives in the future that help support and leverage LGBT opportunities.  This new project brings together leaders throughout the business world, including top executives and senior leaders in financial services, law, and insurance fields.  Together they will work  to develop programs and initiatives that can help to impact businesses and drive LGBT equality forward.

Ken Mehlman is a member of the Out on the Street Leadership committee, and has been since 2011.  As he puts it, “Out Leadership will help members succeed while making a positive impact. It will help smart businesses share effective tools to recruit and retain the best talent and enhance true meritocracy throughout our firms and society.”  Ken Mehlman is a Member and Global Head of Public Affairs at KKR, which is one of Out on the Street’s 2014 member firms.  Other 2014 member firms includeBarclays, Bloomberg, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Moody’s, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Prudential Investment Management, RBC Wealth Management, RBS, UBS, Vestar Capital Partners and Wells Fargo.

Out Leadership was founded by Todd Sears, a former investment banker and diversity leader, and he focuses on the idea that LGBT inclusion and business diversity is a boon for businesses, driving success in a new way.

The group plans to launch two additional industry verticals later this year that will be organized by Out Leadership: Out in Law and Out in Insurance.  Out in Law will host its inaugural summit in March in New York.

Both of these programs plan to develop business-focused dialog in the law and insurance fields, and all of these programs will work together to develop ideas and programs that are cross-industry. One such program will be the OutNEXT Emerging Leaders program, which Out Leadership has already begun and which will work to create opportunities for LGBt leaders in New York, London, and Hong Kong.