Gentex Corp., has announced that Joe Matthews, the company’s vice president of purchasing, has been appointed as the company’s first diversity officer. In this new role, Matthews will be responsible for the development and implementation of Gentex’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives.
“We want to ensure that Gentex’s culture is supportive and welcoming to all, which is essential to becoming a world-class organization,” said Gentex President and CEO Steve Downing. “The ideal environment is one in which every team member can be their best while making a positive impact corporately, and in the lives of our employees and the community. Joe’s background and passions make him uniquely suited for this new role.”
Matthews also will provide leadership to Gentex’s newly formalized DE&I Council, a group that is comprised of members from various levels and corporate functions throughout the organization. Its primary role is to help implement diversity programs, training courses and awareness initiatives throughout the organization while supporting the human resources department in recruiting and community engagement. It also guides additional internal affinity groups, such as Women at Gentex, which champions and supports women in the workplace.
Matthews joined Gentex in 2010 as a purchasing manager. In 2013, he was promoted to purchasing director with additional responsibilities for supply chain management. He was promoted to vice president of purchasing in 2014 and is responsible for all direct and indirect material goods and services, as well as supplier diversity.
Previous to Gentex, Matthews held supply management roles at Delphi and Whirlpool Corp. He also worked for Management Engineers (now PwC Strategy&), helping to expand their presence in the U.S.
Matthews graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. In addition, he has a Master of Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, and a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University. He is a native of Gary, Indiana.
