Sponsored by:
2011 Diversity Leadership Award
John W. Kozyak
John W. Kozyak is a founding partner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, a Miami-based, twenty lawyer firm specializing in commercial litigation and bankruptcy.
He has been recognized by Best Lawyers In America, in every edition since it was first published in 1983. This year, he was recognized as one of Florida’s Top 100 lawyers in Super Lawyers and as one of the top 500 lawyers in the nation by Law Dragon. In addition, John has been consistently ranked as one of the top bankruptcy lawyers in Florida by Chambers USA.
John is a Fellow in both the American College of Bankruptcy and the American College of Trial Lawyers. John regularly plays a major role in bankruptcy courts across the nation, representing business owners, lenders, creditors’ committees, and major creditors, and he has been appointed a trustee and receiver in major cases. In addition, he has frequently written and lectured on bankruptcy and workout issues and has participated in seminars in many states.
John has passionately promoted diversity and inclusion in the community, with particular emphasis on mentoring programs for black law school students throughout Florida and in St. Louis. The minority mentoring programs at the University of Miami and St. Thomas Schools of Law are now named after John. During the past ten years, he has personally matched more than 900 black students throughout Florida with judges and lawyers, who serve as mentors. The highlight of the mentoring program is the Minority Mentoring Picnic, which last year attracted more than 3,000 minority law students, lawyers and judges. The picnic is supported by numerous law firms and bar associations.
In 2004, the firm received the Supreme Court Chief Justice’s Law Firm Commendation in recognition of its commitment to providing free legal services to those who cannot afford legal fees. In 2006, Mr. Kozyak received the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award and the Florida Bar’s highest award for humanitarianism, The G. Kirk Haas Humanitarian Award. In 2007, John received the ABA’s “Spirit of Excellence” award for his work promoting diversity. Earlier this year the Anti-Defamation League presented him with its Jurisprudence Award.
As a global airline serving a quarter of a million customers daily from around the world, American Airline takes pride in the important part it plays in bringing people together. American is more than an airline. It is a global company that connects people from many different cultures and communities. And it will only be successful if the experience it delivers, and the environment it creates, is welcoming and respectful for everyone.
From hiring the industry’s first African American flight attendant in 1963, to the first female pilot in 1973, to the creation of a supplier diversity program in the 80’s and a diverse segment sales teams in the 90’s, American has a long history of leadership. For American, diversity isn’t just an inspirational goal. It’s the way American does business.
American’s focus on diversity and inclusion is embedded throughout its organization, reaching up to the Board of Directors and extending across its team from the newest hire to the most senior executive. One of American’s staunch champions of diversity is its Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Gary F. Kennedy, a 27-year veteran of the company.
Mr. Kennedy leads by example, by implementing a structured minority counsel program to benchmark and grow American’s use of diverse talent, by participating in organizations that promote diversity in the legal profession, and by taking a personal interest in the pipeline initiative. Tandem to those efforts, Mr. Kennedy recently formalized a pro bono program for American’s Legal Department, in which his legal team provides legal services to indigent clients.
Mr. Kennedy is a member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and a past member of the Women’s Center of Tarrant County. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has also served as a volunteer case worker for CASA of Tarrant County and as a mentor in the Texas Wesleyan/American Airlines mentorship program.
In addition to receiving American’s top honor, the Earl G. Graves Diversity Award, for his focus on diversity, Mr. Kennedy also has received the following awards:
2009 Minority Corporate Counsel Association “Employer of Choice” Award
2009 Allies for Justice Award from the National LGBT Bar Association
2009 TMCP Corporate Counsel of the Year Award
2009 Fort Worth Business Press Power Attorney Award
2008 Texas General Counsel Forum Magna Stella Award
2008 Corporate Counsel Diversity Award from the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association
2003, 2007 Dallas Business Journal Best Corporate Counsel Award
