From Columbus Business First, Women of Influence is an interview series showcasing some of the most powerful women in the Central Ohio business community. Hosted by Eleanor Kennedy, Assistant Managing Editor.
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episode 5: Newsmaker: Origin Malt's Victor Thorne on the business case for diversity
Origin Malt’s mission is more than bringing barley back to Midwest farms.
Co-founder Victor Thorne also wants to increase diversity in an industry of farming, malting and making beer and spirits where there aren’t many people of color.
Thorne is multiracial. His father’s family is from Barbados while his mother’s side is from rural Clermont County here in Ohio. In this episode of Newsmakers, he talks about that experience — both its privileges and its problems.
He’s been detained by police and questioned about his “nationality” and he’s had his credentials questioned because of the color of his skin.
“Even though three of my siblings went there, I was told the only reason I got into Harvard was because I was Black,” he said.
It hasn’t deterred him.
Thorne’s professional roots are in technology and startups but his latest venture with Origin Malt, aims to make barley a big crop in the Midwest again. He talks about the need for diverse hiring throughout the beer and spirits supply chain and how that can be better accomplished.
More than half of Origin Malt’s staff is female, while two of its six board members are Black — so it is practicing what it preaches.
But how can these industries improve? Thorne has thoughts.