Rendel Solomon, who recently worked in a Chicago-based private equity firm, is a leading voice for diversity in finance. He is the founder of the One Stock One Future, an initiative which aims to turn one million youth into public company shareholders. He serves on the Board of NASP and West Side Forward, and he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Latin School, which he himself attended.

In this wide-ranging discussion we discuss Rendel’s roots in the West Side of Chicago, his path through education and his mentorship under the watchful eyes of some giants in the industry. We discuss minority-run firms and how their fortunes are not improving as they should, and discuss his bold vision to spread equity ownership more widely, and into some unlikely corners. This vision is grounded in the ABCs of his One Stock One Future initiative – Attitude, Behaviors and changing the Conversation. We see how this can be translated beyond share ownership into driving more inclusion and more opportunities in the financial services industry.

We talk about the wealth and opportunity gap, and how this thwarts progress and finally discuss the importance of creating a sense of belonging within the investment industry, and why all roads lead to inclusion.