Wisdom from Eurest’s Black Leaders: Growth, Leadership, and Taking Chances

Career growth comes from seizing opportunities, learning from experiences and embracing new ideas and perspectives. This Black History Month, learn from three Black leaders who have navigated challenges, honed their leadership skills and built fulfilling careers.

Pictured L-R: Keith Conerly, Natacha Agnant-Jacque and Kingsley Sackey

We invite you to hear perspectives from a panel of Black leaders.

Keith Conerly, Senior Vice President of Operation for our National Accounts team, joined Eurest in 2024, bringing extensive leadership experience in business operations and quality assurance from leading global companies.

Natacha Agnant-Jacque, with over 20 years of comprehensive human resources expertise, currently serves as Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Kingsley Sackey has 26 years with the company and is currently a Resident District Manager in Eurest’s Eastern Division leading a team serving a global life sciences client that earned a Centers for Excellence certification in 2025 under Kingsley’s leadership.

What are challenges you’ve faced in your career and how did you overcome?

Natacha: Being the youngest, the only woman, or the only person of color in the room often led to imposter syndrome. I had to remind myself that I worked hard to be here. Confidence and resilience have been key. I had to build my own self-confidence to be able to show up in these spaces as the best version of me. Failure has never been an option.

Keith: Throughout your career, everyone always looks to go up to the next level. But it’s ok to take lateral steps to broaden your experience. You have to build the toolbelt so that everything that doesn’t look like a nail yields a hammer.

What have you found to be an important skill in leadership?

Kingsley: The most important skill I acquired along my journey—and it wasn’t a day-one realization—was to leave emotions at the door. Approaching situations pragmatically and being able to remain unemotional in otherwise emotional circumstances proved invaluable.

Keith: Do not forget the human aspect of leadership. This has driven me to higher levels. I learned from every single manager I’ve ever had – and not all of them were good – but you learn from both. I bring my own personality to a leadership role.

How do you think about inclusion at work?

Natacha: We have to understand that inclusion is not effective if all team members do not feel included. What is the need in your business and how can one of these initiatives help you with those needs?

Kingsley: About 15 years ago, I attended a session on inclusive management where the facilitator discussed the benefits of inclusive environments. He gave an example of a company struggling with computer software glitches. An Arabic consultant identified the issue quickly because he read the text from right to left, unlike the Western team, which had lost months trying to solve the problem. This revelation was eye-opening for me.

How have allyship and mentorship impacted you?

Keith: Some people can mentor you without even knowing they’re a mentor. I think of those people as my personal board of directors. I’ve had very few managers that look like me, so I learned to work with everyone. I had managers who allowed me to bring my entire self to work, and that helped me flourish.