Dalila Wilson-Scott came to media conglomerate Comcast in 2016, after 16-plus years at JPMorgan Chase & Co., to head up the NBCUniversal Foundation and community impact activities as a senior VP. In October 2020 she was promoted, adding on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as executive VP and chief diversity officer.
She still oversees all philanthropic strategy for the company, with a focus on advancing digital equity through Project UP, Comcast’s enterprise-wide initiative to advance digital equity, connect people to the Internet, advance economic mobility and open doors for future innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers and creators, backed by a $1 billion commitment to reach tens of millions of people through programs and community partnerships.
Coworkers and industry colleagues say she is the ideal person to handle those disparate and important tasks.
“When I think about Dalila, the following words come to mind: She’s sophisticated, savvy and passionate,” Lynn Charytan, Comcast’s executive VP and general counsel, said. “She’s really passionate about what she does. She’s really savvy about how to get it done and how to work with people and how to work the issues. She’s just a class player.”
A Leader Inside and Out
Since adding the DE&I role, Charytan said, Wilson-Scott has “really just upped our game in the space,” providing thoughtful leadership, bringing in inspiring speakers and forging important partnerships. “She’s a great face outward for the company but also a great leader inside the company.”
Wilson-Scott’s boss, Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, said: “Dalila’s passion for social justice and equality and the impact she is having is remarkable. She has built relationships with wonderful partners who we work with every day to make a difference — whether that’s advancing digital equity though Project UP, or our ongoing commitment to DE&I. Dalila is driving change both within Comcast and across the communities we serve and I am thrilled to see her recognized in this way.”
Wilson-Scott said Comcast’s more recent efforts to promote digital equity — including Comcast RISE, a multiyear initiative to help Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned small businesses by providing marketing and technology upgrades — builds on a track record encouraged by Roberts’s leadership.
I think we all know that striving for racial equity is a long-term fight.”
— Dalila Wilson-Scott
“What’s incredible is, unlike a lot of newly named CDOs, I’m here at a company that has taken this seriously for over a decade,” she said. “That says a lot about the data we’ve disclosed, how we think about our own hiring, programming on our networks. That’s a great place to be.
“That said, I think we all know that striving for racial equity is a long-term fight.”
The pandemic raised awareness of inequities in people’s access to health care, access to the internet and effective use of technology and how they impact careers and lives, she said.
“When companies are choosing the issues that they impact directly, obviously for us, it’s a lot about connectivity and how we think about narrative and storytelling,” Wilson-Scott said. “It makes sense for who we are as a brand, but also that’s the place where we can have the most impact. It is about economic justice at the end of the day.”
Wilson-Scott said she grew up in a mostly African-American neighborhood in Chicago “but we actually moved around a lot.” Her father, an Air Force veteran, is African-
American and her mother is Vietnamese; they met during the Vietnam War.
She went to New York University as an undergraduate and then graduate school so “a lot of people link me to New York City, but it’s interesting being in different parts of the country and having different perspectives.”
A Force for Inclusion
Maria E. Brennan, the president and CEO of The WICT Network, observed that “Dalila brings a wealth of experience to her vital role at Comcast NBCU. As a staunch supporter of women and diversity, equity and inclusion for all people, her leadership style inspires others to take action and make a difference. She is a force for any industry, and we are fortunate Dalila chose ours.”
Wilson-Scott, whose non-work activities revolve around her 16-year-old, 13-year-old and 10-year-old children, said she was looking forward to in-person industry events again, including the one saluting her fellow Wonder Women.
“I will say it’s the women that have helped me figure out what are the differences in media, what do you need to know and what do you need to watch out for, and that’s been great,” she said. “You know, I spent 17 years in financial services. That’s a whole different ball game.” ■
