Developing diverse talent into leaders takes more than good intentions — it takes the right support at the right moment. We asked Klaas de Vries, Managing Partner at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, to share his perspective — and what the partnership with Roots Inspire looks like from where he sits.
What value does Roots Inspire add to your talent strategy?
Talent development only works if it reflects the reality of the people going through it. Access to senior mentors who have faced similar challenges matters. It can shape how our ethnocultural colleagues grow and develop as leaders. Because these mentors are external, it can be easier to work on things that are difficult to raise internally. That is what Roots Inspire brings to us.
How did you get started and what results are you already seeing?
We started our collaboration with Roots Inspire through the Emerging Leaders Programme and have enrolled 14 senior associates so far. Recently, six of our partners have joined the in-house sponsorship track, working on how they can create a more equitable environment within their own teams. We have also started programming for our more junior associates, so that support is there from the very beginning of a career at De Brauw. Building that foundation early is what makes the difference in the long run.
What does this partnership mean to you personally?
It means our colleagues are getting mentoring that genuinely fits their experience and career aspirations. There is real work still to do on ethnocultural inclusion, both at De Brauw and across the legal profession. I do believe that through our current efforts on DEIB and improving ethnocultural diversity, we are building something that will last. That matters to me.
