The ability to innovate distinguishes leaders. Kyndryl knows that a strong sense of belonging helps our teams not only feel part of a broader Kyndryl team but also deliver better customer and business outcomes.
This Pride Month, we’re spotlighting three innovative LGBTQ+ Kyndryls from our Kyndryl Inclusion Networks (KINs). These open-to-all networks connect Kyndryls and play a vital role in helping our teams do what we do best. KINs are among the ways the firm provides an environment of integrity, transparency and trust to help enable Kyndryls to focus on innovation and customer service.
Chris Lloyd-Jones, Vice President and AI Consulting Transformation Lead at Kyndryl Consult, is building Kyndryl’s team of Forward-Deployed Engineers (FDEs) to help close the gap between aspirations and reality in AI deployments. Working closely with Human Systems Architects (HSAs), FDEs help ensure that organizations leverage AI in service to human agendas — including critical components of governance, trust and representation. “Integrated teams have broad perspectives,” Chris explains. Such a breadth of perspective is essential to reflecting the constituencies impacted by the technologies we build.
Chris also contributes to international open source and green software standards, holds six Microsoft MVP awards in Artificial Intelligence, and is pursuing a doctorate in Green Software Engineering at the University of East London. “Creating new value and growth requires spotting what others have missed or figuring out chances to do things differently.” Purposeful inclusion is essential to successful innovation across the many countries and cultures where Kyndryl does business, but it requires more than symbolic gestures. “Visibility matters, but a rainbow logo in June achieves little on its own,” says Chris. “It’s about celebrating belonging and making it the default for how we work.”
Vice President and AI Consulting Transformation Lead, Kyndryl Consult
As Associate Director of Change Management, Chief of Staff to Kyndryl’s Chief Human Resources Officer and LGBTQ+ KIN member Doug Gaehle explains, “Pride with Purpose means creating environments where people don’t have to spend energy filtering who they are in order to succeed. My stories, my experiences, my authenticity are an advantage.” When people feel accepted and supported, they are better equipped to collaborate, challenge ideas and bring new perspectives.
“The best ideas emerge when people are allowed to be themselves and learn from one another,” he says. “The era of AI increases the importance of human judgment, trust, empathy and accountability,” says Doug, underscoring the need for integrity, transparency and trust as organizations adopt new technologies.
Associate Director of Change Management,
Chief of Staff
For Senior Lead and Client Technical Solutioner Ben Hughes, “Pride Month is an intentional moment to reflect not only on the struggles the LGBTQ+ community has faced, but also on the role models who have driven progress and continue to address the challenges that remain.” Ben emphasizes the importance of connection and trust, noting that “when Pride is grounded in purpose, it turns that reflection into meaningful action.”
“In both my day job — supporting clients in developing IT Service Management solutions to help them evolve with modern technologies and ways of working — and as Chair of our UKI LGBTQ+ Network, I recognize that technology doesn’t exist in isolation. People, process and governance matter just as much in its development,” Ben says. In his client work, he helps organizations navigate increasingly complex, multi-vendor environments and evolving delivery models, with a growing focus on integration, experience and end-to-end outcomes.
“When people feel included and psychologically safe to challenge ideas and offer different viewpoints, teams are more likely to avoid groupthink and make better decisions, which in turn drive more innovative outcomes,” he continues. For AI systems to avoid reinforcing bias and reflecting the communities they serve, the innovation process must incorporate widely ranging perspectives.
Senior Lead, Client Technical Solutioner
All three leaders point to a future in which adaptability, resilience and human creativity — in addition to technological innovation — shape progress. For them, Pride with Purpose is about helping to ensure that progress leaves none behind.
