Diversity at TPCI

“I am not interested in the status quo.

I want to know how things can be different and better.”
Valerie Phillips, President & CEO

Our Staff
People of Color 33%
Female 50%
Male 50%

We believe in the talent and potential of each employee who works for TPCI. The words of J. Irwin Miller, Cummins Engine Company CEO and founder, exemplify our guiding principle:

“In the search for character and commitment, we must rid ourselves of our inherited even cherished biases and prejudices. Character, ability, and intelligence are not concentrated in one sex over the other, nor in persons with certain accents or in certain races or in persons holding degrees from some universities over others.

When we indulge ourselves in such irrational prejudices we damage ourselves most of all, and ultimately assure ourselves of failure in competition with those more open and less biased.”

J. Irwin Miller
Cummins Engine Company CEO (1951-1977)

Valuing Essential Elements

Business goals and personal values converge at TPCI, Phillips affirms, “Although the ultimate purpose of business is to increase sales, I want to attract customers who have the same value system.”

This includes support for education and respect for each individual, no matter what his or her color, gender, sexual identity or background.

Remembering Her History

In the late 1950’s, it was difficult for a black man to find work. However, the progressive thinking of Cummins Engine Company CEO, J. Irwin Miller, enabled her father to carve out a career at Cummins Engine Company and support his family.

Education also figures high on Phillips’ list of essential values. She is the first in her family to go to college, and later went on to earn her MBA with sponsorship from her employer, Cummins Engine Company (now Cummins Inc.).

“All these things I cherish, and I realize that not all companies open these opportunities to minorities like me. As a child, I never would have thought that these opportunities would be available,” explains Phillips.

Building on the Past

Growing the business is important. At the same time, Phillips wants to make sure that the company does not lose sight of the values that got it where it is today. She says, “Dad ran the business quietly, but I want to run a business that boasts of its origins.”

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