Jermaine suggs

Jermaine “Jay” Suggs’ personal mantra for life is “be relentless in all that you do, and you will always increase your odds to win!” His humble beginnings in Newark, NJ, and his rise within the Johnson Controls Fortune 100 company provide a true example that you can dare to dream big and conquer your goals. His current role as Senior Director of Business Development Strategic Accounts includes leading the team that develops and establishes new business relationships with prospective customers in key Fortune 500 companies and other national account targets throughout North America.

Jay is a fantastic speaker as his skills include motivating and coaching groups into action. He is the CEO and Founder of Suggcess Consulting, which provides impactful inclusion strategies, executive coaching, and sales training to for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Jay’s expertise is leading and cultivating inclusive team development, coaching, and strategic planning. He has extensive experience developing and implementing creative DEI strategies for leadership accountability and employee engagement.

Jay recently served as the Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Building Solutions North America and Business Resource Groups under Johnson Controls. In his D&I role, Jay worked in partnership with the Corporate Diversity & Inclusion team to build and deploy enterprise D&I initiatives within the organization, such as unconscious bias training, talent acquisition, and career development programs for a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries and over 135 years of innovation. His impact in this role was worldwide.

Throughout his career, Jay has earned the highest honor within his organization, the Chairman award, for his work within the inner-city Newark, NJ community. Outside his career, Jay serves as a Board of Trustees member for Children Aid and Family Services. A leading non-profit human services organization in service for over 120 years. He is a mentor for WOMEN Unlimited. This organization provides long-term development programs for high-potential women by integrating the three pillars of leadership: mentoring, education, and networking. He previously also served as a member of the Newark Regional Business Partnership, among other community service organizations.

He has been featured on Hack the Interview on DEI and Navigating your Career, hosted by Adrienne and Loreen Dinkelacker, who recruit for tech companies. Jay also spoke on #reimaginedtogether on How to create space for hard conversations with Carley Marcelle. Her mission is to empower brand leaders to navigate disruption and serve humanity to bring about a better tomorrow.

Jay’s common thread has included a progressive experience building robust, lasting partnerships that uplift companies and communities through all of his endeavors.