Energy Future Holdings’ Kim Rucker faces adversity, finds power at the heart of diversity

Growing up in Chicago’s inner cities, Kim Rucker’s childhood, like a prism, reflected a colorful pattern of tensions, challenges and opportunities. It was the ’60s, a critical point in our nation’s history and a time when issues around race relations took center stage both on the sidewalks and in the courthouse.

In the throes of that racial unrest was Rucker, a child born to a white mother and a black father – who later divorced – and a child who didn’t have the choice of whether to confront adversity or the luxury of ignoring diversity.

“It was not an option for me to start thinking about issues of race and diversity, because by definition of who I was, blended with these two cultures, I was confronted with it,” Rucker recalled, describing how she was bombarded by issues that centered on where she fit in and how she was perceived.

Still, Rucker, now more seasoned by life’s peaks and valleys, chooses to zero-in on the beautiful aspects of Chicago, her childhood, her family and the journey that shaped her into the optimist that she is today – a person grounded by her faith, spirituality and a rich appreciation of human nature. During Energy Future Holdings’15th annual Celebration of Diversity, where Rucker was the keynote speaker, she noted that she is blessed and benefits from the amazing and sustaining support of her family and friends. She also acknowledged the many soldiers who came before her, laying a path and a foundation for her journey.

That journey brought Rucker to Energy Future Holdings Corp. where she currently serves as senior vice president, secretary and chief governance officer. Among many tasks, she and her team manage the board of directors and the related governance associated around board matters, corporate secretarial functions and compliance matters. Moreover, Rucker is the company’s chief compliance officer, and strives to set the right tone at the top to enable the energy giant to do the right thing and function effectively.

Her life experiences make her well suited for the tasks.

Whether she was babysitting dogs, selling fruit or scrubbing graffiti off the bathroom walls, Rucker grew up determined to reach her goals – and to have a job. That determination took her to the University of Iowa, where she graduated with highest honors with a bachelor’s of business administration degree in economics. Rucker went on to Harvard Law School and earned a juris doctor degree, fulfilling her very personal quest to tap into what she described as America’s power center.

“The law defined me as three fifths of a person,” Rucker explained. “The law defined me as property; the law defined whether or not my parents could legally marry interracially; the law defined whether I could vote. So for me, it just seemed logical. I wanted to better understand the power [of the law] and hopefully, in some very small way, be able to harness it for the positive.”

The law of diversity

It was not long after Rucker earned her law degree that she was she faced with a tremendous opportunity to grow as both a professional and as a person. She was working with a senior partner at a law firm, a man set in his ways and sometimes critical of women and minorities. His view and comments about women and minorities were evidence of his generation and life experience, but Rucker, eager to obtain legal skills, thickened her skin and looked past the “rough and prickly exterior,” as she explained, “and saw something in his heart that was good.” Over time, the two developed a level of respect and trust unparallel to even the most sincere of relationships.

“I took the time and I took the punishment, and it was painful, in terms of how hard I worked and how hard he worked me, ” Rucker recalled, “and the obstacles I had to overcome to earn his trust … but it was one of the most beautiful relationships I had in my life; because not only did I get what I wanted in terms of skills, but we developed a mentoring relationship where he took me under his wing and helped me understand the law and the law firm and life. We “The most important lesson that I have learned is never to underestimate the importance of living life to the fullest each day and touching people and being touched by people from the heart each day; that is the battle front I am passionate about. Only then is there a true opportunity to change hearts, breakdown fear, destroy misconceptions and forge true relationships of trust and respect.” — Kim Rucker ended up being able to talk about things in a safety zone where you would have never imagined at the start of our relationship.”

The impression that Rucker and her colleague, now deceased, made on each other was profound and was, as Rucker described, a bridge to many of the special and supportive relationships with her law firm colleagues.

“He taught me a lot about not giving up on people and not giving up on relationships and about finding the pearls in individuals even though they’re rough on the outside,” Rucker pointed out.

“He smoked a wonderful tobacco,” she continued. “When I smelled that tobacco I knew he was close; I knew his wisdom was close to me. There are times since his death where I think I smell his tobacco and that smell is a calming influence of his wisdom over me.”

Hand-to-hand, heart-to-heart

These types of relationships coupled with the challenges Rucker has met as a result of her heritage make for her sensible perspective on diversity. Rucker’s approach looks beyond the obvious to understand human nature’s resistance to a homogenous existence.

“At the root of diversity issues are fear and anxiety; if you don’t get past the fear and anxiety, you never get to the ugly, uncomfortable underbelly of diversity and racial issues that must be addressed,” Rucker pointed out. “ It is simply human nature, we don’t like change or uncertainty. By definition, to conquer diversity you have to go to a place you often don’t know or are not comfortable. Until your hands are clean and until you peel back those very uncomfortable onion peels, you aren’t ready to play the diversity game.”

Defining diversity as a linking of people’s hearts, the game of which Rucker speaks is played on both the personal front and corporate fields where the same fears of the unknown that hamper growth on personal levels also inhibit progress in corporations. Rucker calls on corporate leaders to take responsibility and to positively influence the diversity platform.

“You have to build relationships across and within vertical and horizontal lines. It’s the responsibility of those of us in positions that have the abilities to make change,” she said. “It is your job to make a difference in the daily interactions with people. There are many here at the company who have taken this seriously and moved the ball,” Rucker noted as she expressed gratitude for their commitment and leadership.

Corporate leaders, according to Rucker, also need to understand the value proposition associated with a robust diversity initiative, where a diverse internal workforce is reflective of a corporation’s diverse customer and stakeholder base. To go further, diversity must be its own identity, objective and mission, extended through a corporations’ social responsibility network, and “at the table and in all critical discussions,” Rucker pointed out. The concept of valuing people, caring about people, doing the right thing and setting the tone from the top should be woven into and throughout the corporation.

Yet, even on a corporate level, Rucker fervently believes in the hand and the heart as the sources for winning the game.

“One of the most critical ways to breakdown fear and anxiety is in handto- hand combat. We underestimate the importance of basic humanity in making a difference,” Rucker said. “The most important lesson that I have learned is never to underestimate the importance of living life to the fullest each day and touching people and being touched by people from the heart each day; that is the battle front I am passionate about. Only then is there a true opportunity to change hearts, breakdown fear, destroy misconceptions and forge true relationships of trust and respect.”

She continued, “There is a lot of work to do. You can have a diverse company, but if there is not a true sharing, person-to-person, and if there is not a true relationship built on trust, then I don’t count that as a victory. It’s about hearts, not faces.”

Editor’s note: As of press time, Rucker has accepted the position of senior vice president and general counsel with Avon Products Inc.

Up Close with Kim Rucker

My favorite business role model is: Former Medtronic CEO, Bill George and African-American businessman, Reginald Lewis

The last book I read was:
Tough Choices: AMemoir by Carly Fiorina

Five guests at my fantasy dinner party are: Denzel Washington, Paul Robeson, Maya Angelou, Joel Osteen and Winston Churchill

My ideal vacation is: Freeport, Bahamas

I’m happiest when: my kids are happy