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A global assignment changed John Tantillo's life.

Until KPMG sent him to Bermuda, Tantillo lived a very "traditional" existence. He grew up in Garden City, Long Island, the youngest boy in an Italian Catholic family with six kids. He studied accounting, took the CPA exam and joined KPMG out of college. He dated women and was expected to lead a conventional life.

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Then he was asked to do a rotation in Bermuda. "Suddenly, I was wearing shorts to work, with knee socks and a blue blazer," he says. "Most people in the office were expats and the atmosphere was different. Up until that point, I had not been able to accept my sexual orientation--being away made it easier. Slowly but surely, I started telling my friends."

Tantillo came out at 29 and has been in the same relationship since he was 30 (he's now 45). He's become a tireless champion of LGBT rights at KPMG and now is a partner in advisory practice, leading the firm's Northeast financial-services internal-audit practice.

He says, "I became a partner in 2001, and in 2004, a good friend of mine asked if I would be the sponsor of a PRIDE chapter. It meant being very public about orientation with the whole firm. I said, 'Absolutely, I'll do this.'"

Tantillo has worked to increase the straight-ally membership of PRIDE. A year and a half ago, the nine-member PRIDE advisory board was formed to develop the educational program and focus on internal and external communications and how they help recruit and retain LGBT employees. PRIDE is working with the firm to survey employees to see how many will self-identify as LGBT and to assess employee engagement.

"There are so many things to accomplish--this is a second day job that takes a day and a half every day," he explains.

This article appeared in the May/June 2009 issue of DiversityInc magazine. Click here to read the digital version of this story.

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