Kiersten Barnet

Kiersten Barnet is the executive director of the New York Jobs CEO Council, a nonprofit coalition of CEOs from major employers focused on creating career-ladder opportunities for low-income and diverse New Yorkers. The Council has advanced its goal of placing 100,000 New Yorkers into family-sustaining jobs, with tens of thousands already hired, the majority being people of color. Barnet has positioned the Council as a prominent organization in bridging the gap between education, industry, and community, and in advancing workforce equity at scale.

Before this role, Barnet spent nearly 15 years at Bloomberg, where she led the development of the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, a framework that increased transparency in workforce diversity and social sustainability metrics. Her work influenced global companies to adopt new reporting standards and enabled investors to align capital with their values. Barnet also served as deputy chief of staff at Bloomberg, collaborating on global business initiatives and strategic partnerships.

Barnet has addressed audiences at venues including Davos and the New Economy Forum, and hosted Bloomberg’s "Invested in Equality" interview series. She is the co-founder of the U.S. 30% Club, a coalition of CEOs committed to diversifying boardrooms, and serves on the boards of CareerWise New York and the Washington and Lee Williams School, as well as the investment committee of Project Sunshine. Barnet is recognized for her expertise in inclusive talent pipelines, workforce development, and corporate responsibility.