May 10, 2021 – Charlotte Business Journal:
After working for various companies on development as well as legal and real estate matters, Jose Luis recently moved into the nonprofit world. He’s the new chief operating officer at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont.
During a recent interview, Luis told CBJ that he’s keeping two overarching questions in mind as he continues a listening tour while getting to know the organization and his new colleagues:
“How are we going to serve our mission more effectively? And how are we going to connect to our customers and the people in our community more effectively?”
In all cases, Luis said he wants to improve and expand while maintaining a close watch and emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as sustainability and environmentally friendly processes.
Goodwill’s operations in the Charlotte region encompass 26 retail stores and 30 donations sites with annual revenue hovering around $60 million in recent years. The nonprofit employs 950 people.
Ninety percent of revenue goes toward the mission of helping people find jobs and career coaching. In 2020, Goodwill had 1 million donor visits, bringing in a wide range of clothes and goods that are sold in the stores.
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What made you interested in this job and moving to the nonprofit sector?
It was the mission. Changing lives through the power of work.
And having known Goodwill — there’s one close to my house — and you know certain aspects of it, but the more that I learned about it through the process, the more excited and fascinated I was by all of the services that we provide to our community.
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With your retail background, how do you think changes in retail overall might affect Goodwill and its existing and future stores?
Just 30 days in, I can’t make specific predictions, but absolutely (there will be differences). I think there are opportunities across the board in how we serve our community and our customers.
Check out Charlotte Business Journal’s full article (LINK).
