ATLANTA, GA (November 1, 2021) — INROADS alumnus Darryl Willis has been recently appointed to INROADS, Inc.’s National Board of Directors. Willis serves as corporate vice president for the Energy and Sustainability Industry at Microsoft. He is eager to be able to bring his many years of expertise full circle to the organization that helped him start his career years ago.
“INROADS has had a profound impact on my career and my life, and as a result of this, I am humbled and honored to join the board of directors,” said Willis.
INROADS is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering innovative leadership development programs and creative solutions that identify, accelerate and elevate underrepresented talent throughout their careers. For more than 50 years, INROADS has served as a global leader in providing career equity solutions.
“Darryl has proved himself time after time as a supporter and unique source for INROADS,” said Forest T. Harper, Jr., INROADS president and CEO. “As an alumnus of the program, he understands firsthand the impact of INROADS and shares in our mission to create more opportunities for our future, diverse leaders.”
“We are so excited to welcome Darryl to the INROADS national board. He is committed to advancing diversity within the workplace, and we are ready to serve with him to create positive experiences and more opportunities for our youth,” said Yvette Smith, INROADS national board chair and SVP of Customer Success and Business Transformation at F5 Networks.
Willis is an accomplished senior executive with expansive experience leading businesses across the energy industry. Prior to joining Microsoft, he served as vice president of Oil, Gas and Energy at Google Cloud and as the president and CEO for BP Angola based in Luanda. At Microsoft, Willis blends his technical and strategic acumen with his deep knowledge of the global energy sector to drive digital transformation for organizations within the power and utilities, oil and gas, and mining sectors. The globally distributed team Willis leads drives a priority industry for Microsoft, focused on leveraging technology innovations to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources that help our society thrive.
As an accomplished global senior executive with expertise leading businesses across the energy industry, he has a proven track record of delivering growth and improving profitability for enterprises in the United States, Russia, Asia and Africa. Willis has earned the reputation as an inspiring leader who develops people, builds high-performing teams, and gets business results.
He earned a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University with concentrations in Managing Global Businesses and Social Responsibility, a Master of Science in Geology and Geophysics from the University of New Orleans, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Literature from Northwestern State University. He currently lives in New Orleans.
Willis is looking forward to working with fellow board members to pioneer strategies for INROADS to continually support and develop talented youth nationally and globally.
About INROADS
Founded in 1970, INROADS delivers innovative programs and creative solutions that identify, accelerate and elevate the development of underrepresented talent throughout their careers. Through this development, students become equipped for corporate and community leadership that affects community renewal, social change and elevates economic status and quality of life. INROADS has graduated more than 30,000 alumni into full-time professional and leadership positions with more than 1,000 corporate partners. Currently, INROADS serves nearly 1,000 interns. Learn more at INROADS.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn: @INROADSInc.