About
Meet deb elamPresident and CEO, Corporate Playbook™
Deborah Augustine Elam is a visionary senior executive whose consummate leadership emboldens teams to confidently take positive and constructive action. As one of the country’s foremost experts in Diversity & Inclusion her passion and guidance have transformed the organizations she has led. Her thirty-year career has enabled her to launch a Strategic Solutions consulting firm, Corporate Playbook, an Executive Coaching and where she serves as President and CEO.
01. TRAILBLAZER
Deb was GE’s first-ever black female corporate officer. Her role as Global Chief Diversity Officer placed her in the top 185 of 300,000 employees.
02. disrupts the status quo
The unprecedented launch of Dining with Deb™, an innovative dining experience that brings together professional women crossing racial, religious and political lines and driving meaningful connections and conversations.
03. accolades
Deb has received numerous accolades, including 50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy from Inside Philanthropy, Women of Excellence Legacy Award from the National Association for Female Executives, and Women of Power Award from the National Urban League.
About Deb
Making History
Deb was GE’s first-ever black female corporate officer. Her role as Global Chief Diversity Officer placed her in the top 185 of 300,000 employees. In Deb’s decorated thirty-year career at General Electric (GE), she led GE’s philanthropic efforts through the GE Foundation’s $130M
budget and GE Volunteers, to tackle some of the world’s most critical challenges across health, education and skill attainment. Today she is one of the foremost experts and champions of leadership development, diversity, inclusion, and philanthropy. Corporate Playbook’s offerings of specialized executive coaching and the strategic development of leaders to advance their professional endeavors form the bedrock and culmination of Deb Elam’s life work.
Impacting All Women
In 2018, Deb launched Dining with Deb™, an innovative dining experience that brings together professional
women across racial, religious and political lines to drive meaningful connections and conversations. The
inaugural event sold out at 200 attendees. In 2019, it grew by fifty percent to 300 women, sold out again, and had
a long waiting list.
more about deb
Education & Accolades
An alumnus of Louisiana State University, Deb holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Her career catapulted after graduating from Southern University, where she earned a Master in Public Administration. For her steadfast contributions in diversity and philanthropy, she was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from Clarkson University in 2016.
Elam has earned a lifetime of accolades, including but not limited to: one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business; and one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Philanthropy. She is also a recipient of the Women of Excellence Legacy Award by the National Association for Female Executives, and a recipient of the Women of Power Award by the National Urban League.