Frost Bank
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Longtime banker Karen White became Frost’s chief diversity and inclusion officer in June 2021 but had been a banker with Frost for eight years before that. This is her first position as a diversity and inclusion official, but it’s something that has been important to her throughout her life.
After growing up in New Orleans, she completed a degree in music education from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., and an MBA from Texas Southern University. Along the way, White worked at a couple of credit unions and with the National Credit Union Administration. She served as the chief financial officer at two nonprofits and worked at the United Way of Greater Houston and NationsBank before joining Frost Bank. At Frost, she drew on her experience working in nonprofits to help serve them as Frost customers.
“When I heard that our CEO was creating a position for a chief diversity and inclusion officer, I was interested in it right away,” White said. “I’d built a reputation as a person who’s inclusive and respectful of everyone. I treat everyone with dignity and grace. I felt like this was something that I wanted to do, that I could help fulfill the vision that the CEO has.”
White feels her mandate is to help us make all people’s lives better every single day. “It’s right in line with our core values, and it’s about making sure that everyone belongs.”
Since taking on the role, White has worked with all of Frost’s lines of businesses to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging both inside the bank and in the bank’s interactions with the public. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion follow all the lines of our businesses,” she says. “It’s not like a piece over here that we just pulled into the picture.
The fact that I’m reporting to the CEO says a lot to me — that I will have the authority that I need, and I will have his backing. And that’s why I’m extremely proud to have been offered this position. When it comes from executive leadership, that says to everyone that this is a priority.”
