We partnered with Color of Change on the search for an Executive Vice President, Operations & Impact. Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. As a national online force driven by 7 million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
Our work resulted in the appointment of Charles Fields to the role.
In 2018, Fields was hired by Lambda Legal as the organization’s first ever chief operating officer. He managed the organization’s first ever collective bargaining agreement and transformed the organization’s operations strategy, processes, and controls, resulting in a greatly improved P&L. He led the organization’s “first response” to the Covid-19 Pandemic and ensured stability through unprecedented circumstances.
In 2015, Fields was appointed as Deputy Secretary of State for New York. Overseeing the two largest Department of State divisions: licensing and corporations, he differentiated himself as a senior member of a key Governor’s taskforce that addressed worker exploitation in New York, returning $2M in wages to thousands of individuals in the salon industry and inspiring further reform.
In his role as Deputy Secretary, Fields also successfully restructured the New York State Athletic Commission and helped enable NYSAC to successfully sanction and operate the state’s first professional Mixed Martial Arts event in New York State that broke attendance records and delivered $2M in net new tax proceeds to the state. It also was one of the most viewed pay-per-view events in UFC history.
Prior to joining government, Fields managed large-scale technology projects as a management consultant to Fortune 100 companies that notably included Goldman Sachs, Prudential (Insurance), and the Celgene Corporation, a leading multibillion dollar biotechnology company. For all his clients, he delivered insights and addressed complex strategic problems with a technological lens to guide senior management through operational modernization, prioritization, and scale realization.
Fields is a DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) champion. He has lived and worked abroad in Africa, Europe, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Away from work, he is a certified professional ski instructor, race coach, and avid golfer.
Fields holds a BA in Economics from Boston University. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School.
