Diversity is a phrase that's tossed around, but we actually approach this as a business subject and measure how effective diversity management is in Corporate America.

That doesn't happen in 99 percent of the companies in this country. Even companies who applied to our top 50, if you look at the bottom of the list, very few African-Americans, Latinos or women stand an equal chance of being promoted.

It may have worked in 1950s America. But you can't survive in this marketplace without associating with a wide range of ... people.

What you see at the top of our list is that the companies have roughly a 65/35 ratio of white workers to workers of color. That far outweighs the labor pool in this country.

[There's a business case for diversity that has nothing to do with money, Sen. Oliver told The Hill Times .] If you have 10 visible minorities and you put them in a room to resolve an issue, their conclusions will be much better, ... Conclusions that are diverse are always better than if you have the same white guys in black suits making decisions. We need diverse points of view from diverse people.

It's positive to have more scale, more diversity in funding and business lines. But with any acquisition there are challenges of integration, and with Katrina there are special challenges that are ongoing.