HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS' JUSTIN D'AGOSTINO NAMED AN OUTSTANDING LGBT+ EXECUTIVE ROLE MODEL IN 2019 LIST

As recognition of his ongoing leadership and commitment to the LGBT* community, Herbert Smith Freehills’ Justin D’Agostino has been recognised as an OUTstanding 100 LGBT+ Executive, presented by Yahoo Finance, for the seventh consecutive year.

The annual OUTstanding rankings recognise the top 100 executives across the globe who have made a difference in gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT*) workplaces.

Justin D’Agostino is Executive Partner for the Global Dispute Resolution practice, the Asia region and the US at Herbert Smith Freehills. He is also the Executive Sponsor of the firm’s global IRIS Network for LGBT* staff and allies, which has grown from the network he first launched in 2007. Externally, Justin is a Top Table Stonewall Ambassador, a mentor with the Queer Straight Alliance in Hong Kong, a proud supporter of and mentor with Pink Dot, and recently hosted a CEO roundtable in Hong Kong with Out Leadership. Justin has also personally supported events in favour of marriage equality across Australia and supported the firm’s involvement in the marriage equality campaign in Northern Ireland, and in L’Autre Circle in France. 

“I am once again very proud to be included in this prestigious list” said Justin. “ I take great pride in the work we are doing at Herbert Smith Freehills to build an ever-growing inclusive culture. LGBT+ is an integral part of our wider strategic drive on diversity and inclusion and it is great to receive recognition for the work we do in driving cultural change right across the network, both as an individual but also as a firm.

This is the seventh year that OUTstanding has published The Leading LBGT+ & Ally Executives and LGBT+ Future Leaders Lists, and the first year it has partnered with Yahoo Finance. Justin has been listed since its inception.  OUTstanding is a professional membership organisation for global businesses. It works directly with LGBT+ and ally leaders to promote inclusion in the workplace, drive change, challenge stereotypes and inspire future generations. OUTstanding is part of Involve, a membership organisation championing diversity and inclusion in business.

Founder & CEO of INvolve, Suki Sandhu OBE, says,

“We’re delighted to be celebrating another fantastic group of people from across the globe who are collectively driving cultural change and creating workplaces where everyone can succeed. LGBT+ discrimination is still prevalent in a lot of the world’s biggest economies, but highlighting the work of successful role models changes people’s perceptions. They demonstrate that you can be successful and out at work, but most importantly inspire the next generation of LGBT+ leaders.”