Meet Bill: Demonstrating the Power of Empathy and Advocacy

Tapping into different voices, perspectives, and experiences helps businesses solve problems, reveals new opportunities to grow, and encourages contributions that better support people and communities. At Henkel North America, diversity is a path to progress, innovation, and impact. Our employees and partners are united by our purpose: Pioneers at heart for the good of generations. They collaborate to tackle challenges, find solutions and open new perspectives – allowing us to deliver products, services, and innovations that enrich and improve everyday life.

We invite you to “meet” our pioneers in our series, “Pioneers for Good.”

Introducing Bill Downs

For nearly four decades, Bill Downs has been more than an HR Business Partner at Henkel North America—he’s been a steady force for empathy, intention, and community. Based in Richmond, MO, Bill works to ensure that every employee feels valued, supported, and seen.

“I’m proud and honored to be leading a small but mighty HR team. During my time at Henkel, I have been incredibly fortunate to work alongside coworkers at multiple locations and with countless organizations and charities,” says Bill.

Bill extends his lifelong commitment to helping others beyond Henkel, volunteering with organizations such as Relay for Life and March of Dimes, as well as local food drives and education institutes. His dedication to fostering communities both within and outside of Henkel exemplifies his pioneering spirit.

Resilience Through Advocacy

Bill’s advocacy efforts are rooted in resilience and personal crossroads. Bill experienced complications from surgery that led to lasting mobility challenges. Coupled with significant personal loss, these experiences took a toll on his mental health. Through these challenges, he transformed adversity into advocacy, becoming a voice for inclusion and accessibility.

“Through my life I have learned that we’re not alone,” Bill shares. “Whether we have seen or unseen disabilities. Sometimes we need to ask for help; and help is real and it’s there.”

This insight inspires Bill to center his leadership around intention and empathy and has been the driving force behind his work with Henkel’s Awareness of Visible and Invisible Disabilities (AVID) Employee Resource Group (ERG). AVID aims to create a workplace where employees have the opportunity to be seen in a way that celebrates the uniqueness of every individual.

“Every time I meet someone new that has a disability, it opens up new avenues of focus areas [for AVID] and ways we can innovate to be advocates for accessibility,” Bill explains.

Driving Impact Across Henkel

Through many projects and initiatives, AVID has made significant strides in promoting accessibility and inclusion. One notable achievement was recommending the use of NaviLens smart code technology in partnership with all® free clear laundry detergent— a groundbreaking step toward making everyday products more accessible for people with visual impairments.

Bill's work with AVID makes an impact across Henkel. They organize education webinar events partnering with other ERGs such as Henkel’s Military ERG and organizations such as Disability IN. Bill also supports a monthly newsletter which is a collaborative effort of the HR Operations and D & I teams and distributed to employees at our manufacturing facilities. The newsletter highlights culturally important moments through spotlights of different ERGs while connecting all Henkel employees to relevant resources.

His accomplishments with AVID are not solely inspired by his compassion and high regard for others, but also a reflection of his lived experiences. Having his own challenges with mobility strengthened his passion to advocate for employees with both visible and invisible disabilities, ensuring that no one at Henkel ever feels alone or overlooked.

When it comes to being an ally to those with visible or invisible disabilities, it’s extremely important that people actively educate themselves, advocate for accessibility and inclusion, listen empathetically, offer support without assumption, and with permission, amplify voices for a more inclusive society.

Bill Downs, HR Business Partner at Henkel North America

In 2025, Bill had the honor of accepting the Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion award on behalf of Henkel, alongside his longtime colleague and friend Angie Parker, Senior Manager in Diversity and Inclusion. The recognition is a symbol of progress for inclusion in the workplace. “This award doesn’t mean we have everything figured out. It means we’re doing the right things and pushing forward to change,” Bill says.

Bill’s approach to leadership is grounded in purpose, resilience and empathy. Bill has shown how to face personal challenges and to foster an environment that encourages everyone to feel empowered to push forward and thrive.  As he quotes from Finding Nemo’s Dory, “Just keep swimming.”