2026 CHRO of the Year Nominee Information
Thank you for your contribution to selecting the winners of the 2026 HRO Today CHRO of the Year Awards.
This page contains in-depth information about each nominee. Each nomination describes the nominee’s overall impact on their organization, as well as the process and risk involved around key initiatives led by the nominee.
Aly Sparks
Nominee Title: Global CHRO
Nominee Organization/Company: LHH
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.lhh.com/en-us
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): N/A
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 6,000
Primary industry: Talent
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As global CHRO, Aly Sparks has played a defining role in how LHH, a leader in interconnected talent solutions and a global business unit of the Adecco Group, has transformed its team of 12,000 recruiters, coaches, consultants, and business teams across 60 countries. In 2025, Aly worked closely with LHH’s CEO and top executives to ensure the company’s internal leadership, culture commitments, business processes, and talent development priorities matched LHH’s new brand vision: “A Beautiful Working World.” To achieve this, Aly centralized LHH’s previously siloed employee-development efforts and introduced a unified coaching curriculum that supports leaders in guiding their teams through change, positions managers as role models, and builds the soft skills needed to work through the lens of the new vision. Through these efforts, LHH now mirrors the growth, adaptability, and commitment it makes to thousands of clients worldwide when it comes to upskilling, reskilling, and career development.
She led the creation of a tiered program with three coaching experiences, each tailored to a workforce segment, so it strengthens their specific capabilities: leaders, managers, and all colleagues. To do so, Aly opened LHH’s executive coaching platform, EZRA, to be available to its own managers and leaders.
The tiered coaching program, “Coaching through Change,” includes:
– EZRA Edge Coaching for Leaders – A three-month program that provides EZRA’s individualized, one-to-one coaching for 200 senior leaders. It supports leaders to manage teams through times of organizational change, achieve growth even in the case of resource constraints, build conviction for LHH’s new vision, and champion LHH’s culture as role models.
– EZRA Focus for Managers – An 8-10 week program that combines 1-1 and individual coaching for LHH’s 850 managers. The coaching equips managers with tools to lead teams confidently through a transition, maintain high engagement, and strengthen their executive presence with a growth mindset.
– CAI Focus for Colleagues – A coaching experience available to 5,000 LHH employees with the goal of adapting to LHH’s new business lens. It offers support in navigating change successfully and role-playing simulations to practice key soft skills, such as giving feedback, negotiating expectations, and driving effective client conversations.
Aly is also strengthening LHH’s leadership AI fluency by championing the rollout of the AI Upskilling Program and its brand’s General Assembly AI for Leaders curriculum. Under Aly’s direction, these programs are becoming a core part of how LHH empowers its talent to apply AI in their daily work. She also supported self-serve AI learning with more than 4,500 LHH colleagues interacting with AI training content on its internal asynchronous platform.
These efforts invigorated LHH’s employee engagement in a year of significant change in the talent landscape and reinforced its commitment to developing its own people. Aly continued advocating for investment in coaching and capability building during a period when many organizations reduced learning budgets. Her leadership champions the belief that transformation must be grounded in the continuous growth of people, and she reshaped the employee experience so they have the structure, support, and skills to adapt to new business demands.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Aly’s work made it possible to roll out the coaching curriculum at scale and see an immediate transformation in the development of LHH’s 12,000 people:
– EZRA Edge for Leaders: Reached 80% of the eligible senior leader population. Leaders rated the experience 4.9/5 for coaching and 4.8/5 for contribution to their development, and reported double-digit improvements in key areas, including up to +17% in motivating teams toward shared goals and +14% in job performance.
– EZRA Focus for Managers: Eligible managers gave an 8/10 average recommendation score, a 4.9/5 coach rating, and a 4.8/5 score for contribution to their professional development, with a +33% improvement in future skills and further gains in connection and job performance.
– CAI Focus for Colleagues: Had an average recommendation score of 9/10. Participants recommended the interactive platform, its analysis, and the real-world simulations.
These results are providing LHH’s talent with a stronger, steadier foundation of skills as the company evolves its vision. Leaders are showing up with more confidence, managers are better equipped to guide their teams, and colleagues are building the practical skills needed to keep work moving, which ultimately has led to stronger execution and a workforce better prepared to deliver quality outcomes for clients. Aly’s work is reinforcing a core belief at LHH: talent is the company’s greatest asset, and when people have the right support, the business can stay aligned, agile, and ready for what comes next.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 7 – 9 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Amy Cappellanti-Wolf
Nominee Title: EVP and Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Dayforce
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.dayforce.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1.5B+
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 9,600
Primary industry: HR Technology
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Amy Cappellanti-Wolf exemplifies excellence in HR through visionary leadership, innovative thinking, and a deep commitment to people-first culture. As EVP and Chief People Officer at Dayforce, Amy has consistently demonstrated how HR can drive both employee and business outcomes, setting a new standard for strategic, human-centered leadership.
Amy’s philosophy is rooted in partnership, curiosity, and action. She positions HR as Dayforce’s “Customer Zero,” using the organization’s own HCM platform internally to test, refine, and shape product innovations. This approach ensures that technology solutions not only meet business needs but also enhance the employee experience—turning HR into a strategic driver of performance and innovation. She plays a dual role, leading the People Team at Dayforce while serving as Customer Zero—helping shape the product roadmap for both Dayforce and its customers. As an active user of the platform, she engages with customers and prospects to demonstrate the power and value of the Dayforce experience.
Throughout her career spanning high-tech, entertainment, and consumer goods industries, Amy has led complex transformations including pre-IPO growth, mergers and acquisitions, and large-scale culture shifts. Her ability to align people strategy with organizational objectives has delivered measurable results in engagement, retention, productivity, and leadership development.
Amy has also championed initiatives that strengthen performance, inclusivity, and well-being. Under her leadership, Dayforce introduced pay-for-performance recognition programs, expanded self-service and automation, reinforced mental health and “Refresh Day” initiatives, and enhanced Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to foster belonging and inclusion. These programs have yielded tangible outcomes: improved employee satisfaction scores, stronger alignment of individual performance with organizational goals, and heightened engagement across the workforce.
Her work has earned external recognition, including her inclusion in Engagedly’s Top HR Influencers for 2025—a testament to her impact on the industry. Amy embodies the principle that HR is not simply a support function, but a catalyst for organizational success, culture-building, and workforce transformation.
In short, Amy Cappellanti-Wolf should be the CHRO of the Year because she demonstrates how visionary HR leadership—grounded in innovation, empathy, and measurable impact—can elevate both people and business outcomes, setting a benchmark for excellence across the profession.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Amy Cappellanti-Wolf has transformed HR at Dayforce by combining strategy, technology, and culture to deliver measurable organizational impact. Her most notable initiatives include:
AI Leadership and Enablement: Amy has led the company’s AI enablement strategy in partnership with the Chief Digital Officer, focusing on using AI intentionally to empower employees rather than replace them. She helped democratize access to AI tools like OpenAI’s Enterprise ChatGPT, providing training on effective prompting, ethical use, and practical applications. Her leadership has enabled teams to develop real-world use cases that drive efficiency, productivity, and innovation—allowing employees to focus on high-impact work and positioning Dayforce as a leader in responsible AI adoption.
Customer Zero: By positioning HR as Dayforce’s first user of its own HCM platform, Amy ensures all solutions are tested, refined, and optimized before reaching customers. This approach has improved product effectiveness while creating a seamless employee experience.
Performance & Recognition: Amy championed a pay-for-performance and recognition program that reinforces accountability, celebrates contributions, and aligns rewards with organizational priorities. This initiative has strengthened performance alignment and increased employee engagement.
Operational Excellence: She implemented a new HR Operating Model, launching a Global HR Solutions Center to streamline processes, expand automation, and enhance self-service capabilities. The new structure enabled the People Team to focus on strategic consulting and operational excellence—empowering HR to do the work it was meant to do, rather than being mired in transactional, manual tasks. As a result, the transformation delivered improved efficiency, a more consistent employee experience, and greater overall business impact.
Data & Analytics: Amy has advanced HR reporting and analytics capabilities, enabling truly data-driven decision-making, that aligns workforce strategy with business objectives and measures program impact. Leaders and managers now have access to intuitive dashboards that provide real-time insights into workforce planning, organizational health, and talent trends. These tools empower them to make proactive, informed decisions—identifying opportunities to improve engagement, optimize performance, and strengthen organizational effectiveness.
Well-being & Mental Health: She implemented company-wide initiatives such as “Refresh Days” to combat burnout and reinforce resilience, improving perceptions of workload manageability and employee satisfaction.
Inclusion & Belonging: Amy strengthened Employee Resource Groups and diversity initiatives, fostering inclusivity and enhancing organizational culture.
These initiatives have yielded quantifiable outcomes: higher engagement scores, increased retention rates, improved alignment of individual performance to business outcomes, and strengthened organizational trust.
Amy’s influence extends beyond Dayforce. She is recognized as a thought leader in the HR community, recently being named one of Engagedly’s Top HR Influencers for 2025. Her approach exemplifies how HR can serve as a true business partner: shaping strategy, influencing culture, and leveraging technology to empower both leaders and employees.
Additionally, Amy’s leadership style embodies collaboration, curiosity, and innovation. She consistently seeks creative solutions to challenges, turns obstacles into opportunities, and prioritizes both employee growth and organizational success. Her ability to align HR initiatives with measurable business outcomes, while embedding inclusion, well-being, and performance into the organization’s DNA, demonstrates a standard of excellence few CHROs achieve.
Amy Cappellanti-Wolf’s track record proves that strategic, innovative, and people-centered HR leadership is not only possible but transformative—making her a standout candidate for CHRO of the Year.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Andrea Giraldo
Nominee Title: VP of People Ops & Employee Relations
Nominee Organization/Company: Wizeline
Nominee Company’s Website: www.wizeline.ai
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $140 Million
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 1,600
Primary industry: Technology
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
The Nominee has driven enterprise-wide impact by aligning human capital strategy with business objectives, strengthening leadership capability, and modernizing workforce planning. By directly sponsoring major workforce initiatives, including digital HR transformation, strategic talent acquisition, leadership development, employee wellbeing, and governance modernization, the Nominee has delivered measurable improvements in engagement, retention, internal mobility, and workforce stability, supported by robust analytics and accountability. These results reflect sustained excellence rather than isolated gains. The Nominee also demonstrated professional courage by leading transformational change, challenging legacy practices, strengthening compliance and transparency, and investing in future-ready workforce models, accepting personal accountability and navigating organizational resistance to secure long-term organizational resilience and value creation.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
The Nominee’s initiatives have directly impacted on a workforce of approximately 1,600 employees across 8 countries. Strategic workforce planning, HR digitalization, and talent optimization generated approximately annual operating cost savings, reduced external recruiting spend, and lowered voluntary turnover. Employee engagement scores improved, participation exceeded 90%, and internal promotion rates increased. These outcomes were achieved through high-accountability transformation initiatives that required material investment, organizational change, and executive risk ownership by the Nominee.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? Less than a year
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Andrew Dawson
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs
Nominee Organization/Company: BVI
Nominee Company’s Website: http://www.bvimedical.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): N/A
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 1,023
Primary industry: Medial Equipment Manufacturing
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
In his 5-plus years at BVI, Andrew Dawson has helped create a strong company culture based on simplicity, transparency, and entrepreneurship. To truly build connection and encourage growth, he believes organizations must prioritize their people. He leads BVI’s HR organization and culture with empathy and believes that company leaders, particularly those with managerial roles, must place a higher emphasis on kindness and empathy.
“We often hear that poor treatment by supervisors is a major factor in high employee turnover. Yet, some companies still keep toxic employees to safeguard their bottom line. Companies must ensure that all supervisors treat their employees equitably and with respect at all times,” he said.
Dawson started his HR career at Eli Lilly and Company, where he gained invaluable experience and insight into the vital role HR plays in shaping a company’s culture and strategy. As he progressed through various leadership roles at Novartis and Roche, he had the opportunity to be at the forefront of significant transformations, such as forming new business units and leading major organizational changes. This foundation has enabled him to focus on building and leading HR functions in emerging biotech companies.
Following BVI’s strong M&A expansion strategy over the last 5 years, he spearheaded an initiative to unify the company spanning four continents. With Andrew’s leadership, the OneBVI program was created as an internal initiative aimed at fostering a unified and inclusive company culture. The campaign emphasizes the importance of collaboration, simplicity, transparency, and an entrepreneurial mindset. It seeks to align employees with BVI’s core values and mission. Through the OneBVI campaign, the company aims to foster its unique company culture, enhance employee satisfaction, and drive the company’s mission of advancing eye care globally.
During his tenure, Dawson has evolved BVI’s HR model to focus less on administrative tasks and more on strategic initiatives. This was achieved through standardizing and automating processes, optimizing HR systems, and empowering the team through change management, training, and communication. As a result, HR can now concentrate on value-added activities such as employee development, coaching, and workforce planning, aligning more closely with the organization’s strategic goals.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
BVI’s quarterly employee pulse survey demonstrates the company’s high rate of employee engagement. Results show a 76% positive employee engagement rate and a 71% positive work/life satisfaction rate.
Additionally, BVI has been Great Place to Work® Certified™ across locations: United States (2022, 2023, 2024), Netherlands (2022, 2024), France (2023, 2024), Mexico (2024 + ranked 20th Best Places to Work 2025). The Great Place to Work survey measures employees’ trust across 5 dimensions (Camaraderie, Pride, Respect, Fairness and Credibility). We attribute this accolade to the company’s focus on building a strong company culture based on simplicity, transparency and an entrepreneurial mindset.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Courtney Eidel
Nominee Title: Chief Human Resources Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Community Options
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.comop.org/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $450,906,652
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 7,000
Primary industry: I/DD Health Services
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As Chief Human Resource Officer at Community Options, Courtney has been essential in maintaining the organization as an industry leader in a field facing decades of persistent workforce shortages and high turnover. Throughout her 9 years in the role, Courtney has led high-impact initiatives focused on data-driven decision-making, recruitment efficiency, workforce stability, and employee engagement.
One of Courtney’s main initiatives is the use of Business Intelligence Dashboard information to evaluate and drive business initiatives toward reducing turnover and increasing retention. She ensures that employee surveys are regularly sent out to obtain feedback from staff and then ensures that the regional teams and leadership are utilizing the responses to make informed business decisions to rectify some of the areas of concern noted by staff. Through her involvement across the organization, Courtney consistently contributes to operational success and a positive employee experience. This feedback has resulted in Courtney implementing competitive benefits packages for staff across the organization which has significantly improved employee satisfaction and retention.
Under Courtney’s leadership, Community Options has been able to take creative and considerable recruitment risks as a means of gathering necessary and new talent, including the successful integration of a new Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Jobvite, which has significantly streamlined both our hiring process and overall candidate experience. This system allows us to capture all candidates in one centralized location—something that was not previously possible—while also assigning standardized interview forms to promote consistency, reduce potential bias, and ensure fair evaluation across all applicants. In addition, Jobvite provides robust candidate analytics, enabling us to track outcomes and trends throughout the entire applicant journey and make more informed, data-driven hiring decisions
Additionally, Courtney has been able to manage these initiatives and needs of 7,000 employees with an optimized team of 25 HR professionals for the entire organization. Courtney’s ability to steer high-level initiatives without unnecessary expansions highlights her dynamic and fiscally responsible leadership style that serves as the primary catalyst for the growth of Community Options.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Courtney’s initiatives have produced measurable improvements to Community Options’ overall recruitment and retention; overall having a positive impact on the experience of employees in the organization.
Through the consistent use of the Business Intelligent Dashboard, Courtney has enabled leadership to make informed, data-driven decisions to address turnover and retention issues within their regions or teams. The emphasis on addressing these challenges proactively has not only increased trust and responsiveness; it has also helped in the leadership development of others in the organization. Courtney reduced the overall company turnover rate down to 47% this past year in an industry that averages over 50% turnover.
Courtney’s implementation of the shift to ATS in June 2024 significantly reduced Community Options’ annual Indeed spend without compromising workforce growth. In 2024, the company’s Indeed spend totaled $890,479.55, while successfully hiring 2,358 employees. In 2025, the Indeed spend decreased to $519,786.86, while hiring increased to 4,694 employees. Courtney’s ability to substantially reduce recruiting costs while doubling our hiring volume reflects her efficiency without sacrificing quality of talent acquisition strategy.
Courtney’s impact on Community Options is truly felt in all the living and breathing aspects of the organization. In a feedback form from a Direct Support Provider working in Community Options out of the Philadelphia region for 26 years, she noted that the improvement and uniqueness of the benefits package provided at Community Options is one of the most compelling reasons for why she continues to work for the company after nearly two decades. She mentioned in past work experiences as a Direct Support Provider, she has often felt unrepresented and underappreciated by previous employers and that no other organization has allowed her to take advantage of a retirement plan or has considered her birthday a paid holiday like Community Options has. It is truly anecdotes like these that underscore Courtney’s meaningful and monumental impact at Community Options.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 7 – 9 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Deborah Maynard
Nominee Title: CHRO
Nominee Organization/Company: Coast Mental Health
Nominee Company’s Website: www.coastmentalhealth.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $70
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 550
Primary industry: Healthcare
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As Chief Human Resources Officer at Coast Mental Health, Deborah Maynard has led a set of interrelated, enterprise-wide initiatives that fundamentally strengthened workforce stability, organizational performance, and public trust during a period of rapid growth, regulatory complexity, and labour market pressure.
At the core of Deborah’s leadership has been the intentional repositioning of People and Culture as an enterprise stewardship function rather than a transactional service. She led the design and execution of an integrated people strategy encompassing labour relations, talent attraction and retention, leadership development, digital transformation, equity and reconciliation, and workforce analytics.
Key initiatives include:
Workforce Stabilization and Leadership Capacity Building: Deborah led targeted leadership recruitment, succession planning, and development initiatives to stabilize high-risk operational areas while supporting sustained organizational growth. This included strengthening exempt leadership roles critical to mental health, housing, and financial governance during a period of expansion.
Labour Relations Transformation and Risk Management: As employer representative in province-wide collective bargaining and sector forums, Deborah shifted labour relations from a reactive, grievance-driven model to a problem-solving, interest-based approach. She also strengthened investigation practices to balance procedural fairness, trauma-informed care, and regulatory compliance in a high-risk service environment.
Digital HR Transformation: Deborah spearheaded the implementation of integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning, and on-call scheduling systems. These initiatives were intentionally paired with post-implementation governance to ensure adoption, data integrity, and continuous improvement rather than one-time deployment.
Culture, Engagement, and Performance Integration: Deborah embedded values, accountability, and belonging into leadership expectations, recognition, and performance systems, ensuring culture work translated into measurable outcomes rather than symbolic activity.
Equity, Reconciliation, and Ethical Leadership: Deborah led the development of a formal Reconciliation Framework with phased implementation, governance, and reporting. She embedded cultural safety, trauma-informed practice, and anti-racism into workforce systems and leadership practice, while also contributing to provincial DEI and Indigenous-specific anti-racism forums shaping sector-wide change.
These initiatives collectively impacted more than 850 employees, multiple union environments, and thousands of clients served annually across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
Notably, Deborah assumed professional risk in pursuing these aims. She made difficult decisions in areas such as workforce accountability, investigations, labour relations, and compensation restraint, often under public, regulatory, or union scrutiny. She consistently prioritized long-term organizational integrity, client safety, and workforce trust over short-term ease or popularity.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Workforce and Organizational Impact
Voluntary turnover reduced from approximately 8% to under 4%, significantly outperforming sector norms
Retention rates consistently exceeding 95% in a highly competitive healthcare and non-profit labour market
Time-to-hire reduced by approximately 50%, strengthening the organization’s ability to staff critical roles quickly
Internal promotion rates increased by more than 25%, demonstrating stronger leadership pipelines and career mobility
Engagement and Culture
Employee engagement increased to 72% during a period of sustained organizational change and growth
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) increased from the mid-teens to over 40, reflecting improved trust and advocacy
HR team engagement consistently above 95%, enabling stronger support to frontline leaders and staff
Operational and Financial Impact
Implementation of digital on-call and scheduling systems generated over $100,000 annually in staff time savings, allowing frontline staff to redirect effort from administrative tasks to client care
Workforce analytics and dashboards improved visibility into overtime, burnout risk, retention, and safety, supporting more disciplined executive decision-making
Community and Sector Impact
Workforce stability directly supported the organization’s ability to sustain approximately 20% year-over-year growth, including the expansion of services and the addition of over 1,000 new beds for individuals with mental health needs
Improved labour relations and leadership capacity reduced disruption risk in essential, 24/7 community mental health services
Deborah’s participation in provincial bargaining, DEI, and Indigenous-specific anti-racism forums contributed to broader sector alignment and system-level improvement beyond her own organization
Collectively, these outcomes demonstrate Deborah Maynard’s ability to lead people and culture initiatives that deliver enterprise value, workforce resilience, and community impact, even in environments characterized by fiscal constraint, labour complexity, and high public accountability.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 7 – 9 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Garri Brown
Nominee Title: Vice President, People & Culture
Nominee Organization/Company: Port of New Orleans
Nominee Company’s Website: https://portnola.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $100,000,000
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 500
Primary industry: Maritime & Transportation
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As VP of People & Culture, Garri’s impact extends across the Port’s organizational performance, employee experience, and its role as a cornerstone employer in the regional maritime and logistics community. Garri approaches workforce leadership with a strong belief that data—when translated into clear insights—drives better business and operational decisions. Through the use of data analytics and data visualizations, Garri has equipped executive leadership with a clearer understanding of workforce trends, risks, and opportunities, allowing human capital strategies to be aligned with the Port’s long-term operational and economic objectives.
Employee turnover had emerged as a significant challenge at the Port of New Orleans, affecting continuity, institutional knowledge, and workforce morale. In response, Garri led the development of a comprehensive, systematic hiring guide for both managers and HR staff. This guide transformed the Port’s approach to talent acquisition by standardizing and strengthening every stage of the hiring lifecycle—from creating well-defined job descriptions, to structured interviewing using effective, role-based questions, to intentional manager preparation for new hires.
The guide goes beyond recruitment, placing equal emphasis on post-hire success. It includes manager check-ins, training roadmaps, and a comprehensive onboarding plan designed to ensure new employees are positioned for long-term success from day one. This approach challenged the Port’s HR team to operate with greater strategic rigor and required hiring managers to be more thoughtful and accountable in preparing for new employees. As a result, new hires experience a stronger, more supportive start to their maritime careers, directly contributing to improved engagement and retention outcomes.
In 2025, Garri further elevated the employee experience by launching quarterly employee town halls in partnership with President and CEO Beth A. Branch. To ensure these sessions were meaningful and responsive, Garri introduced employee pulse surveys distributed to all staff one month prior to each town hall. Survey results are analyzed and used to shape leadership messaging, address employee concerns, and guide open dialogue during the sessions. This data-informed feedback loop has strengthened trust, transparency, and connection between employees and executive leadership, helping sustain high levels of engagement across the organization.
In pursuing these initiatives, Garri took professional risk by challenging long-standing practices and expectations—asking both HR professionals and operational leaders to adopt more disciplined, data-driven, and accountable approaches to workforce management. These changes required cultural shifts, increased preparation, and greater visibility into workforce outcomes. The result has been measurable excellence in engagement, improved retention momentum, and a more resilient workforce aligned with the Port’s mission and its responsibility to the broader community it serves.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
The significant growth in employee sentiment is a direct result of targeted intervention. Following the baseline data from early 2025, the Port launched a specialized management training academy, “Leaders Building Leaders,” developed and delivered by Garri Brown.
This 8-session program was specifically designed for frontline supervisors and directors, focusing on the foundations of leadership—including developing a leader’s mindset, conducting regular coaching sessions, and fostering a consistent feedback culture.
Impact Tracking: Pulse Survey Data
We utilize consistent year-over-year questioning in our Quarterly Pulse Surveys to track the effectiveness of this program. The impact on the core metric for management quality is as follows:
Survey Question: “My manager provides regular coaching and feedback on my performance.”
Baseline (Onset of 2025): 42% of employees “Agreed” or “Highly Agreed.”
Annual Pulse Survey (End of 2025): 61% of employees “Agreed” or “Highly Agreed.”
Result: A 19-point increase in positive sentiment directly following the implementation of the “Leaders Building Leaders” curriculum.
The correlation between the delivery of the Leaders Building Leaders Academy and the 19% rise in survey scores provides clear quantitative evidence of the program’s success. By equipping 70+ supervisors with the tools to hold regular coaching sessions, the organization has effectively moved the needle on performance management and internal culture within a single year.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Ivory Harris
Nominee Title: Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: AGCO Corporation
Nominee Company’s Website: www.agcocorp.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $11.7 Billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 24,000
Primary industry: Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Since joining the business just four years ago, Ivory Harris has transformed AGCO’s global People Strategy, impacting ~24,000 employees across five continents. Her leadership has driven measurable improvements in engagement and culture through bold, innovative initiatives such as:
– Leadership development: Launched a refreshed and comprehensive global leadership development curriculum, recognized externally for its breadth, traction and caliber.
– AI-Driven HR Transformation: Initiated a global transformation to automate more than half of HR processes, including introducing an “ask HR” tool to contact HR without utilizing an HR business partner, enhancing efficiency. Also introduced other AI tools to enhance employee experience, including an AI coaching tool and LinkedIn Learning. This change enabled the global HR team to lean into more strategically valuable topics such as strategic workforce planning, employee engagement, culture and critical skill development.
– Talent Empowerment: Launched AGCO’s first internal talent marketplace alongside a new global job architecture, creating transparent career paths and personalized development opportunities.
– Employee-Centric Programs: One of the first initiatives Ivory focused on when joining AGCO was to introduce an Employee Stock Purchase Plan – after experiencing personal, firsthand success of this in previous companies. In addition, she delivered disaster relief to employees in need through a new AGCO Employee Relief Fund, launched in response to wide-scale flooding in Brazil that impacted hundreds of AGCO team members.
– Engagement Excellence: Achieved record participation in AGCO’s employee engagement survey in 2025 (85%) as well as a steady employee engagement score amidst a year of business transformation and a deep decline in the ag industry.
Ivory exemplifies strategic foresight and human-centered leadership on her journey to position AGCO as an Employer of Choice.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Under Ivory’s leadership, AGCO progressed from less than 20% to more than 90% of global leaders being developed (receiving the coveted Brandon Hall award 3 times in 4 years), automated 60% of HR tools through AI, streamlining processes such as onboarding and talent acquisition, and partnered with a Managed Service Provider to transition operational HR activities across 27 countries, enabling her teams to shift focus from administrative tasks to strategic enablement, talent development and employee experience. This shift achieved 20–30% cost savings and up to 40% faster issue resolution.
In addition, under Ivory’s leadership, AGCO launched an internal talent marketplace and global job architecture, improving transparency and mobility, while expanding employee ownership through the global Employee Stock Purchase Plan which, in its first year of launch, achieved above benchmark sign-ups. Her commitment to wellbeing is evident in the $500,000 Employee Relief Fund, supporting over 200 employees during crises in its first year alone.
This year, we saw record participation in AGCO’s employee engagement survey with 85% of all employees responding. Our global engagement score holds steady year-on-year and is up three percentage points on the 2025 Pulse Survey held earlier this year. This result mirrors broader trends at other companies, where engagement has plateaued as organizations adapt to new ways of working and continued change.
Separate from her professional achievements, Ivory mentors first time C-Suite candidates on the interview, selection and negotiation processes. Understanding how misunderstood, intimidating yet critical this process can be, she values helping to enable candidate confidence as they compete for some of the biggest challenges and roles of their career.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Jean Casner
Nominee Title: SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: embecta
Nominee Company’s Website: www.embecta.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1,080,000,000
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 2,000
Primary industry: Medial Devices
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
When Jean Casner joined embecta as Chief Human Resources Officer in July 2023, embecta was in the midst of a multi-year separation from its former parent company and was working to establish many of its own systems, processes and teams so it could stand alone as an independent company. A spinoff can create uncertainty and stress for employees, which puts extra pressure on the HR function to ensure that all associates are supported and kept well-informed. As one of the company’s core values is “Authentic and Inclusive,” Jean championed embecta’s participation in the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the largest business-led initiative to advance I&D in the workplace, leading our CEO to become a signatory to the CEO Action for Inclusion & Diversity Pledge. While building out her HR organization, she also established a dedicated Learning & Development function that offers a suite of educational opportunities, programs and tools tailored to support employee growth, leadership development and manager capabilities.
In 2025, Jean’s team partnered with Great Place to Work®, a globally respected authority on workplace culture, to conduct a global employee engagement survey with the aim to truly understand how our culture impacts embecta’s success, while enabling us to benchmark our results against those from 20 million employees around the globe. After the successful completion of the survey (more details below), Jean and her L&D team spearheaded action planning across teams to address areas of opportunity and share best practices.
2025 also included the seamless launch of a new integrated payroll, time management, and benefits platform, which improves the employee experience and enhances accuracy and consistency across our operations. Knowing embecta had some payroll system challenges that created dissatisfaction before Jean joined the organization, she took a very visible and hands-on role to ensure that the process not only went smoothly, but that employees knew that she was ultimately responsible and committed to a much better experience this time around.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
embecta has approximately 2,000 employees worldwide, with about half working in one of our three manufacturing facilities and the remainder working in commercial roles or corporate functions. That distribution makes it all the more impressive that under Jean’s leadership, we achieved a 78 percent response rate in the Great Place to Work employee engagement survey, with 67 percent of employees who responded to the survey saying that “taking everything into account, this is a great place to work.” The highest scores were in areas such as inclusivity and pride in our work. With these impressive results, embecta earned the Great Place to Work® certification in eight countries—Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—reflecting Jean’s leadership and commitment to creating an exceptional employee experience.
With the smooth launch of our new integrated payroll, time management and benefits platform in four countries, about half of our global population is now using the new system, with uniformly positive feedback from users. Notably, Jean took it upon herself to host live “drop-in” support sessions with each country shortly after rollout where she and the payroll team can answer any questions for new users; employees have appreciated the transparency and ability to ask any question and get it answered in real time. With the positive experience and reception, we have confidence that subsequent rollouts across the remainder of the organization will go equally smoothly.
Jean has been a strong advocate for recognizing employees who go above and beyond and who role model our core values. In 2025, embecta recognized 360 employees with the Hungry Mindset Award, which includes $1,000 per awardee and recognition at our Global Town Hall. In addition, she encouraged more widespread use of spot recognition as well as embecta’s Emerge Award, and her Total Rewards team built an intranet page dedicated to these and other award programs so employees have access to complete details of the nomination criteria, award amounts and timelines.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Jill Larsen
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Synopsys
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.synopsys.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $7 billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 26,000
Primary industry: Electronic design automation (EDA), a key segment of the semiconductor industry.
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Jill has led the reimagination of the People and Places function at Synopsys, elevating it to a strategic, AI enabled, globally scalable organization that is powering the company through one of the most significant periods of growth and reinvention in its 40-year history. Synopsys is undergoing the most profound transformation in its history — evolving from a worldleading EDA company into a global engineering powerhouse at the center of the era of pervasive intelligence. As the company helps R&D teams reengineer engineering from silicon to systems, Synopsys has achieved record revenue, expanded into new and adjacent markets, significantly grown its workforce, and integrated one of the largest acquisitions in technology history. At the same time, the company has navigated its firstever CEO transition and the realities of scaling a 26,000+ employee global enterprise, growing from 20,000+ employees preacquisition to more than 26,000 postacquisition.
This level of organizational, technological, and business complexity required a new People operating model, one rooted in usercentric design, continuous innovation, and scalable, AIenabled processes. Jill recognized this inflection point early and led the reinvention of the People and Places function to ensure Synopsys’ culture, workforce, and leadership systems could accelerate the company’s next era of growth.
EnterpriseScale People & Places (PPL) Transformation
Under Jill’s leadership, the team designed a multiyear transformation that modernized how Synopsys attracts, develops, mobilizes, engages, and retains talent while directly enabling its silicontosystems strategy and advancing business goals. Key elements included:
Programs to Products: Redesigning HR programs as “products” cocreated with employees and leaders, grounded in design thinking, agile practices, user-focused change, and adoption approaches, and continuous feedback.
AI-first Shared Services: Creating an HR service delivery model that is shifting toward digital, AI-driven employee experience, including virtual HR assistants and chat-based support. AI agents handle Tier 0 and some Tier 1 cases, serving as the first point of contact for employees and managers. The process is moving toward full automation for common queries, with a goal to reduce ticket volume, streamline workflows, and enable employee needs to be met more quickly, and allow the shared services team to focus on more complex issues.
Work Redesign & AIAugmented Workforce Architecture (In Progress): Launching foundational work to reshape Synopsys’ job architecture for the AI era, beginning with a tasklevel analysis across roles to understand which activities can be automated by AI, which can be augmented by AI, and which remain uniquely human. Although still in early stages, this effort establishes a forwardlooking framework for redesigning jobs and workflows, enabling Synopsys to scale intelligently and prepare its workforce for the next decade of AIenabled work.
Global Centers of Excellence (COEs): Scaling expertise globally around Talent, Rewards, Mergers and Acquisitions, Talent Acquisition, and Places, eliminating regional silos, and delivering a consistent, highquality employee experience.
Strategic People Partner Model: Elevating People Partners into strategic advisors focused on org design, workforce planning, leadership enablement, and change management supported by automation and agentic AI.
Unified Employee Experience (“My Synopsys”)
Jill championed the creation of My Synopsys, a single, AIpowered “front door” for Synopsys employees, a significantly redesigned and upgraded version of an existing ServiceNow solution. Through integrated chatbots and agents, the platform serves as the single source of truth for employees, simplifies tasks, and makes it easier to access benefits, learning, and company resources. This platform brings the product mindset to life: intuitive, measurable, and continuously improved.
Culture as a System for Performance (CEO Transition & Values Refresh)
During Synopsys’ first CEO transition, Jill led a humancentered cultural reset. She launched new company values that honored the best of the culture that had sustained Synopsys throughout its long history, while introducing the right set of values to guide the company’s future. She implemented clear leadership expectations and strengthened the operating mechanisms that reinforce them. Jill also anchored performance and rewards systems on both what employees deliver and how they deliver it, ensuring culture remains a driver of performance, not a legacy artifact.
Acquisition Readiness & PeopleFirst Integration
Preparing for ~6,000 incoming employees, Jill led a peoplefirst integration that prioritized transparency, talent retention, and cultural alignment. Her approach safeguarded critical talent and created a unified, highperforming culture across both organizations, supported by robust plans for People teams, leaders, and a broad crossfunctional integration network across Synopsys.
A 90day feedback survey measuring engagement and work continuity among acquired employees showed strong confidence in Synopsys and the transition experience. Employees reported high intent to stay, strong excitement about Synopsys’ future, and minimal disruption to their daytoday work. More than 80% of respondents indicated continuity of work, clarity of expectations, and confidence in their ability to remain productive, with positive feedback on access to tools, manager communication, and manageable workloads. These results demonstrate that Jill’s peoplefirst approach delivered a seamless integration during one of the largest acquisitions in the industry.
Performance Modernization (“My Performance”)
Under Jill’s leadership, Synopsys transformed performance management from an annual “check-the-box” activity to a powerful tool for growth and development grounded in transparent goals, continuous feedback, and a simple, AI-enabled tool. The approach supports fairness, clarity, and leadership effectiveness, helps uphold our pay-for-performance philosophy, and also significantly reduces the amount of time required from employees, managers, and leaders.
SkillsBased, AIAugmented Talent Ecosystem
Jill is redefining how Synopsys understands and grows its talent by building a skillsinferred workforce model powered by real work data, not selfreported updates. Synopsys is working with TechWolf to analyze every job in the organization, breaking them down into tasks and assessing which can be fully automated by AI, which can be augmented by AI (AI as a copilot), and which must remain strictly human. This analysis enables leaders to redesign jobs and workflows, not just automating tasks within existing roles. By integrating signals from systems like Jira and SolvNet (Synopsys’ customer ticketing platform) into a unified skills engine, the company can identify new skill requirements and feed those insights back into upskilling efforts, leading to more informed workforce planning decisions and supporting internal mobility and job recommendations for employees.
Establishing WorldClass People Analytics
Under Jill’s leadership, Synopsys has transformed its People Analytics capability from a reactive, manual reporting function into a strategic powerhouse that informs decisions at every level of the organization. Before Jill’s arrival, analytics were fragmented, laborintensive, and underutilized, and the company had not yet developed the leadership muscle to analyze people trends or use them to drive better business outcomes.
Jill changed that dynamic entirely. She built a modern People Analytics function with realtime dashboards, intuitive tools, and a comprehensive listening ecosystem that helps leaders spot patterns early, address risks proactively, and make evidencebased workforce decisions. Leaders and HR now have immediate access to insights that once required manual effort—or simply didn’t exist. This new analytics capability has elevated People & Places from a support function to a strategic driver of organizational performance.
The impact has been significant. Since the June 2025 relaunch of MyTeam Insights for VPlevel leaders and above, usage has increased 241%. Following the rollout to Director+ populations, usage increased an even more remarkable 752%. These adoption levels underscore how deeply analytics have become embedded in leadership routines, enabling more effective workforce planning, performance discussions, and organizational health assessments.
Jill’s modernization of People Analytics has equipped Synopsys with a worldclass data foundation—one that strengthens decisionmaking, accelerates leader effectiveness, and ensures the company can scale intelligently in the era of pervasive intelligence.
FutureFocused HR Leadership
Jill has positioned Synopsys as a global model for the future of HR, embracing nextgeneration technologies, scalable operating models, and humancentered design. She openly shares lessons across the enterprise and HR community, shaping a forwardlooking view of how People functions can drive innovation, adaptability, and longterm company success.
Professional Risk
Jill delivered this transformation during a foundertoCEO transition and alongside the company’s largest acquisition, choosing not to pause change and taking a bold, early stance on the role of AI in reimagining HR.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Synopsys’ shift toward leading the era of pervasive intelligence required a People strategy capable of supporting highvelocity growth, global scale, and a workforce operating at the forefront of technological innovation. Jill’s leadership helped build the foundation that makes this possible.
Her work reaches Synopsys’ global workforce of 20,000+ employees, with ~6,000 additional employees from the July 2025 Ansys acquisition and integration. This represents one of the most significant workforce transformations in the company’s history.
Measurable Culture, Engagement & Experience Gains (2024 -2025)
Despite intense organizational change, Synopsys saw meaningful improvements across core dimensions of its culture and employee experience:
Purpose: 88% (+2)
Empowerment: 85% (+2)
Learning & growth: 85% (+4)
Recognition: 77% (+2)
Ability to disconnect: 66% (+2)
Innovation: 85% (+0.7)
Community: 81% (+1.6)
Fairness: 81% (+0.6)
Retention signal: 82.2% intent to stay
Worklife balance: 78.2%
Rewards: Unique benefits +1.4; profitsharing +0.9
Listening quality: ~95% participation, above industry norms
Interpretation:
These gains, achieved during a CEO transition, acquisition planning, and HR transformation, reflect a culture moving toward greater purpose, fairness, innovation, and growth. Improvements in learning and employee empowerment show that personalized, skillsbased development and continuous performance practices are becoming an integrated part of the culture.
Enterprise Workforce & Operating Model Impact
Strategic capacity unlocked in HR: Automation, AI adoption, and COE consolidation shifted work from transactions to strategic advisory, enabling People Partners to support leaders more deeply in workforce planning, org design, and leadership development.
Better workforce decisions, faster: Integrated data across talent, learning, and performance are enabling skillsgap detection, and site strategy and workforce planning.
Acquisition readiness preserved morale and talent. Jill’s peoplefirst integration approach protected critical talent and maintained cultural stability through the planning of a ~6,000employee acquisition.
External Awards & Industry Recognition
Over the past two years, Synopsys has earned more than 170 external workplace and culture awards from leading organizations, including Forbes, Fortune, Great Place to Work, Newsweek, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Most Loved Workplaces, and many others. This breadth of recognition reflects the strength of our culture during a period of extraordinary transformation.
Highlights include:
Global Most Loved Workplaces – Newsweek, 2025
Best Workplaces in Technology – Fortune, 2025
Best Company Cultures – Comparably, 2025
Best HR Teams – Comparably, 2025
World’s Best Employers – Forbes, 2024
These awards validate the impact of Jill’s leadership and the People & Places transformation—demonstrating that even amid rapid growth, organizational complexity, and industrydefining change, Synopsys continues to stand out as one of the world’s most admired workplaces.
Summary
The measurable cultural gains and accelerated shift to a skillsbased, AIenabled talent ecosystem, achieved amid the largest periods of transformation in Synopsys’ history, demonstrate Jill’s enterpriselevel impact. Her leadership created a durable, futureready operating model that ties people strategy directly to innovation, performance, and longterm business growth
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Joshua Townsend
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Children’s Home Society of North Carolina
Nominee Company’s Website: http://www.chsnc.org
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $34,000,000.00
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 330
Primary industry: Social Services
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Mr Townsend views the People Division as a vital component in advancing our mission to serve communities with compassion, equity, and integrity. By aligning our HR initiatives with the unique needs of our organization, He showed commitment to attracting and retaining mission-driven professionals, fostering a culture of empathy and inclusion, and supporting the well-being and development of our workforce. Through strategic workforce planning, continuous learning, and a focus on employee engagement, he empowered our teams to deliver impactful services to those who need them most. Together, he believes we build a resilient, values-driven organization that uplifts both our employees and the communities we serve.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
In 2024, CHS served 23,515 individuals across North Carolina, including providing foster care for 966 children, facilitating 113 adoptions, and reuniting 51 children with their families.
The organization reported $34.16 million in total revenue and $35.99 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending June 2024, resulting in net assets of approximately $14.12 million.
https://chsnc.org/about/impacts-and-outcomes/
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 8
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Kelly Jones
Nominee Title: SVP, Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Cisco
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.cisco.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $56.7 billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 86,000
Primary industry: Technology
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As Cisco’s Chief People Officer, Kelly Jones has driven an enterprise-wide transformation that reshapes how work is experienced, how talent is accessed, and how leaders lead, at scale, across geographies, and through significant business change. Her impact spans Cisco’s global workforce, the communities in which Cisco operates, and the broader HR profession, redefining the CHRO role as a catalyst for business and human performance.
Scope of Organizational and Community Impact
Kelly’s influence reaches approximately 86,000 employees across 77 countries, with policies, programs, and cultural norms designed to be inclusive, scalable, and enduring. A defining feature of her leadership is expanding access to opportunity beyond traditional boundaries.
Under her direction, Cisco fundamentally redesigned early-career hiring to prioritize skills over formal credentials through the company’s partnership with OneTen. This shift opened pathways to talent historically excluded from the technology sector and strengthened engagement and retention by valuing potential and capability over pedigree. The impact extended beyond Cisco by influencing external labor markets and advancing economic mobility.
Kelly has also scaled one of the most robust inclusion ecosystems in corporate life. Under her leadership, Cisco’s Inclusive Communities (ERGs) have grown to 30 groups, 335 chapters in 77 countries, and have maintained more than 80% employee participation for five consecutive years. One in three employees is a member of at least one community. In 2024, 97% of Cisco’s workforce completed the “Building Skills for a Conscious Culture” training, cementing shared expectations of empathy and accountability at scale.
In addition, Kelly launched Cisco’s Proximity Initiative. The program pairs leaders and employees for one-on-one dialogues focused on increasing Cisco’s culture of inclusion and understanding. Approximately 400 leaders and 900 employees participated globally, strengthening inclusive behaviors and weaving trust into the fabric of Cisco’s culture.
Her commitment to community impact is further reflected in expanded volunteerism and life-stage support, enabling employees to contribute meaningfully both inside and outside the organization.
Driving Workforce Initiatives
Kelly has personally sponsored and driven workforce initiatives that challenge conventional models of work. Under her guidance, Cisco expanded global mental health resources, championed Mental Health Awareness Week, and scaled offerings for mindfulness, therapy access, and crisis support. She introduced extended time-off options, including “Days for Me” and unlimited paid time off, reinforcing restoration as a prerequisite for high performance.
She has also led Cisco’s evolution toward a future-ready workforce. Understanding that AI represents a transformational shift in work, Kelly designed Cisco’s AI Talent Strategy to build AI capability while keeping people at the center of change. She led enterprise-wide efforts to build AI fluency and crafted Cisco’s leadership framework for the AI-era, guiding leaders to operate as empaths, change agents, philosophers, and technologists. This model strengthens trust and connection at a moment when human skills matter more than ever.
Measurable Excellence in Engagement and Retention
Kelly’s people-centered strategies have produced sustained results. Even amid industry volatility and large-scale organizational change, Cisco has maintained attrition well below the technology industry average, signaling strong engagement, trust, and retention.
High participation in learning, inclusion, and leadership development initiatives further reflects an engaged workforce that sees opportunity for growth. Employees consistently report a strong sense of belonging, psychological safety, and confidence in leadership, which are outcomes reinforced by Cisco’s continued recognition as a top global employer.
Professional Risk in Pursuit of Impact
Kelly’s leadership is distinguished by professional courage. She has consistently taken calculated risks in pursuit of better outcomes for people and the business, implementing unlimited paid time off, investing heavily in mental health, redefining hiring criteria, and embedding AI into HR operations at enterprise scale.
Her leadership during Cisco’s largest acquisition, the integration of thousands of new employees following the Splunk transaction, required navigating uncertainty, cultural complexity, and intense scrutiny. Kelly prioritized transparency, humane decision-making, and cultural alignment, reinforcing trust during one of the most consequential transformations in the company’s history.
Through these actions, Kelly Jones has demonstrated that people-first leadership is not risk-averse, but performance-driven, principled, and resilient.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Kelly Jones’ impact as Chief People Officer at Cisco is measurable across workforce size, participation rates, retention outcomes, operational efficiency, and global reach. Her leadership affects a workforce spanning approximately 86,000 employees across 77 countries, with initiatives designed for enterprise-wide adoption and sustained performance.
Workforce Access and Inclusion
In 2023, 30% of Cisco’s entry-level hires were candidates without a four-year college degree, following a redesign of early-career hiring practices through a partnership with OneTen.
Cisco’s Inclusive Communities include:
30 communities
335 chapters
77 countries
80%+ employee participation sustained for five consecutive years
1 in 3 employees belonging to at least one community
97% of Cisco’s global workforce completed “Building Skills for a Conscious Culture” training in 2024.
Leadership and Engagement Initiatives
Proximity Initiative participation:
~400 leaders
~900 employees
Global participation across multiple regions
Expanded volunteerism through Time2Give, providing:
10 paid volunteer days per employee per year, doubling prior capacity
Learning, Development, and Future-Ready Skills
In 2024:
70,000+ employees completed at least one learning module
20,000 employees participated in data science and AI learning
8,000 employees earned AI certifications
44% of Cisco executives engaged in leadership development programs
These investments supported enterprise-wide AI readiness while reinforcing internal mobility and retention.
Employee Experience, Retention, and Operational Efficiency
Cisco attrition rate: 5.5%
Technology industry average attrition: ~13%
Result: significantly lower voluntary turnover during industry disruption and organizational change
Kelly also led the deployment of Ask P&C, Cisco’s AI-enabled HR assistant:
Designed to reduce employee HR cases by 40%
Maintains a 99% quality score, improving accuracy and trust
Enables faster issue resolution and reduced administrative burden
AI adoption across Cisco increased by 20% in FY25, with targeted enablement programs focused on equitable adoption and workflow efficiency.
Large-Scale Change and Integration
Led people integration for approximately 9,000 employees following Cisco’s $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, the largest in company history.
Integration focused on:
Cultural alignment
Transparent communication
Humane workforce design
Achieved during a period of heightened external market volatility while maintaining strong retention outcomes.
Summary of Quantitative Impact
Kelly Jones’ leadership has delivered:
Enterprise-wide cultural participation above 80%
Attrition less than half the industry average
Tens of thousands of employees upskilled for the AI era
Measurable efficiency gains through AI-enabled HR operations
Scalable, global programs reaching employees and communities worldwide
These results demonstrate measurable excellence in workforce outcomes, operational effectiveness, and sustainable human capital performance.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? More than 10 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Kenrick Russell
Nominee Title: CHRO
Nominee Organization/Company: University Medical Center
Nominee Company’s Website: www.umcsn.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1,000,000,000
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 4,000
Primary industry: Healthcare
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Kendrick “Ricky” Russell has fundamentally shifted how HR operates in our organization by challenging long-standing practices. He doesn’t default to “how it has always been done”; he consistently asks “What actually works?” The mindset has resulted in stronger leadership accountability and HR practices that support our mission, instead of slowing it down. Our leaders are now better equipped, more informed, and more confident due to HR operating as a strategic partner, not a gatekeeper or ultimate authority figure.
Ricky is intentional about developing leaders, not protecting them from discomfort. He challenges leaders to grow beyond positional authority and into ownership of their decisions, their teams, and their impact. Growth under his leadership is respectfully required.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Leading change in a government organization requires more than technical expertise and knowledge; it requires courage. Under Ricky’s leadership, we have reduced the need for executive-level involvement in complex cases, significantly reduced administrative leave costs by decreasing the average time for suspensions pending investigations, and increased leader autonomy, as evidenced by fewer repeat HR consultations.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 9
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Lisa Sterling
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Perceptyx
Nominee Company’s Website: www.perceptyx.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $100,000,000
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 350
Primary industry: HR Technology
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
During a period of significant organizational transition, my role as CHRO expanded beyond traditional people leadership into enterprise-level transformation and stabilization. With the entrance of a new CEO, the Board of Directors asked me to run point on rebuilding and realigning the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), a responsibility that required trust, speed, and decisive action at a critical moment for the business.
I led the assessment, selection, and integration of executive talent, balancing new external hires with deliberate investment in internal leaders who were ready to step into expanded roles. This approach not only ensured continuity and cultural stability, but also significantly reduced external executive search and replacement costs. By prioritizing internal capability and targeted hiring, we avoided approximately $900,000 in incremental talent costs.
Concurrently, I led the design and implementation of a new organizational structure focused on simplifying decision-making, improving accountability, and increasing leadership effectiveness. This included intentionally increasing spans of control and shifting our manager-to-employee ratio from 3:1 to 5.5:1, a material change that strengthened leadership leverage and reduced organizational drag. This restructuring resulted in approximately $1 million in annualized headcount savings, while improving clarity and speed across teams.
To ensure leaders were equipped to succeed in this new operating model, I launched a People Leadership Development Series focused on practical leadership capability, business acumen, and accountability. This investment drove a 15% increase in people leader effectiveness scores and a 12% improvement in overall employee engagement. Most critically, it contributed to a 5% reduction in regrettable turnover, reducing lost opportunity cost by approximately $350,000, while strengthening retention of high-impact talent.
These initiatives required meaningful professional risk. I challenged legacy structures, redefined leadership expectations, and pushed for accountability at the most senior levels of the organization all during a CEO transition. However, the result was a stronger leadership bench, a more resilient culture, and a workforce aligned to the company’s future growth strategy.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
The scope of my impact directly affected a global workforce of approximately 330–350 employees, including the full executive leadership team and all people managers across the organization. The initiatives I led delivered measurable financial, operational, and engagement outcomes:
$900,000 in avoided talent costs through strategic executive hiring and internal leadership investment during the CEO transition
$1 million in annualized headcount savings driven by organizational redesign and improved manager-to-employee ratios (from 3:1 to 5.5:1)
15% increase in people leader effectiveness, measured through leadership capability assessments and engagement data
12% increase in overall employee engagement, strengthening alignment, productivity, and discretionary effort
5% reduction in regrettable turnover, resulting in approximately $350,000 in reduced lost opportunity cost
Collectively, these efforts improved cost discipline, leadership predictability, and workforce stability—directly supporting profitability, reducing risk, and positioning the organization for sustainable growth. Beyond financial outcomes, the work reshaped how leaders operate, how talent decisions are made, and how the organization balances performance with culture
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 8
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Logan Carmichael
Nominee Title: Chief People & Culture Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Pittsburgh Water
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.pgh2o.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $344,220,256
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 400
Primary industry: Local Municipal Government – Utility Sector
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As the Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO) for Pittsburgh Water, Logan Carmichael’s influence has been transformative both within our organization and for the broader community we serve here in Pittsburgh. Internally, Logan has redefined our HR function, shaping it into one focused on serving as a strategic partner for the organization’s cross-departmental, long-term goals. Externally, Logan has extended our community impact by actively promoting equitable and accessible career opportunities for those who live in Pittsburgh. Through his efforts, Pittsburgh Water has transformed into an organization that is more inclusive and contributes positively to the greater Pittsburgh community as an essential public utility. As a result of his various accomplishments, Logan emerged as a finalist for several awards including the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (PHRA) Leader of the Year and Team of the Year award (2018, 2023, 2024), CHRO Leader of Distinction by HRO Today (2024, 2025), Top 100 HR Professional by OnConference (2024, 2025), Excellence in Employee Experience by Corporate Learning Network (2024), Excellence in Change Management, ACI-NA (2018), and the Pittsburgh Smart 50 Awards (2024).
As CPCO, Logan has been a driving force behind several impactful workforce development initiatives. Under his leadership, Pittsburgh Water has carried out a variety of successful strategic talent acquisition efforts around the hiring of essential professionals critical to our organization’s success. Notably, Logan spearheaded a comprehensive compensation study to benchmark and establish more competitive employee wages, enhancing our recruitment and retention efforts. Furthermore, under Logan’s leadership, we implemented comprehensive training programs, including a Leadership Development Program. These initiatives reflect his dedication to nurturing internal talent and fostering a leadership pipeline that aligns with the organization’s long-term objectives.
In 2023, Logan successfully launched the first phase of our Performance Management Plan for our non-union employees, integrated with Pittsburgh Water’s workforce analytics approach. This ensures that goal-setting, feedback, and development planning remain consistent, bias-resistant, and data-informed, while respecting differences between union and non-union evaluation systems. By implementing a robust Performance Management plan, Logan demonstrates his dedication to maintaining high-quality work and reinforces the importance of Accountability, one of our Core Values, continuous improvement, and employee development at Pittsburgh Water. This initiative goes beyond just a tool for evaluating individual performance and contributes to enhancing organizational effectiveness to cultivate a culture of excellence.
Since joining Pittsburgh Water, Logan has been a strong advocate for introducing equity and inclusion initiatives. In 2021, he led the development and implementation of the organization’s first inclusion policy, building a foundation for numerous HR policy decisions. During 2024, we have established numerous connections between Pittsburgh Water and local organizations, such as Landforce Pittsburgh, to offer job shadowing opportunities, providing participants with hands-on experiences in our various roles. Additionally, Logan has been integral in building partnerships with local universities, technical colleges, and high school programs across Allegheny County and its surrounding areas. Initiatives such as the Careers in Water and the PGH20 Pipeline Education Program highlight career paths in the water industry for students. Pittsburgh Water also offers interactive educational programs that teach water science, stormwater management, and environmental stewardship while informing students of possible careers, engaging over 1,500 students in 2024. These workshops include water quality experiments to plant tours that build public trust in tap water, foster environmental awareness, and inspire the next generation of water stewards. Finally, we work closely with Partner4Work to fund workforce development, pre-apprenticeship, and apprenticeship programs while engaging in initiatives such as the Water Equity Taskforce and the Milwaukee Learning Exchange. Through these programs and partnerships, Logan has significantly transformed Pittsburgh Water’s role in the community by empowering and motivating the next generation to pursue careers in the water industry. His vision continues to drive our organization’s commitment to inclusion, education, and workforce development to create more opportunities and instill equity across our workforce.
Finally, Logan took bold steps in 2023 to introduce innovative employee benefits for our non-union employees, further positively addressing their individual needs. These benefits include a paid Volunteer Day, a Mental Health Day, and integrated Pet Insurance, each chosen to support the holistic needs of our workforce. Additionally, he enhanced our tuition reimbursement program, offering 100% reimbursement for non-union employees who achieve a final grade of A, thereby reinforcing the value of continued education and professional development. Logan has also made substantial improvements to our policies to better support employees during critical life events. Enhancements include expanded parental leave, increased vacation accruals, and improved bereavement, each aimed to help employees manage personal responsibilities with greater ease and less stress. In 2024, Logan further expanded benefits to include IVF treatments, broadened the college tuition benefit by providing tuition reduction opportunities for employees and their dependents in certain cases, and established partnerships with childcare centers to provide employees with priority enrollment at a reduced cost. Overall, Logan’s willingness to challenge conventional approaches and revitalize policies positively impacts our employees by creating a more supportive and inclusive work environment, ensuring they feel valued throughout their professional journey.
Logan drove his initiatives at Pittsburgh Water with a comprehensive and strategic approach, showcasing exceptional leadership and innovation. Over the past three years, he has driven the successful expansion and reorganization of the Human Resources (HR) department, resulting in significant growth and the addition of pivotal roles such as Director of HR, HR Analyst, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Training Administrator, and HR Specialist. This strategic expansion has equipped us with a robust and specialized HR team capable of providing comprehensive support to every employee.
Establishing this dynamic HR team has empowered Logan to drive multiple initiatives to enhance the overall workplace experience at Pittsburgh Water. In 2025, he initiated the organization’s first-ever employee engagement survey, recognizing that meaningful feedback is essential to understanding workforce needs and priorities and demonstrating his strong commitment to listening to employees. By strategically shaping and leveraging the capabilities of the HR department, Logan has played a pivotal role in creating a supportive, responsive, and thriving workplace environment while displaying his commitment to organizational excellence and employee well-being.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Logan’s leadership has delivered measurable and sustained results for the organization. Since 2022, Pittsburgh Water has experienced a 3% reduction in turnover, alongside a remarkable 375% increase in applicants from underrepresented groups and a 763% surge in female applicants. By widening the applicant pool, organizational vacancies have been reduced by 8% since 2022. These achievements highlight Logan’s insightful approach to investing in people and building a capable, confident workforce of more than 400 employees.
Employee feedback also underscores his impact. In 2025, 67% of employee responses were favorable, indicating that they responded positively to statements regarding their work experience. Additionally, a reported 72% Engagement Index demonstrates that employees feel connected to their work and Pittsburgh Water’s mission. Collectively, these results are a testament to Logan’s leadership in creating an equitable, inclusive, and people-centered workplace that reflects the Pittsburgh community.
Logan’s commitment to developing a skilled and capable workforce is also evident in the expansion of Pittsburgh Water’s online training course catalog, which grew by 223% in 2023 and now offers 58 additional courses crafted by departmental Subject Matter Experts. Notably, we achieved a 100% completion rate for multiple required training courses, ensuring that all employees are fully equipped with the necessary skills for success. This strategic focus on workforce development has resulted in a significant 4.81% reduction in turnover from 2022 to 2024. In addition, employees received a total of $87,248 in tuition reimbursement in 2025, supporting a culture of continuous learning and succession development.
Together, these results demonstrate Logan’s dedication to elevating the organization’s skill set, employee engagement, and retention through an intentional investment in our water workforce.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 7
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Michael Van Aken
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Acosta Group
Nominee Company’s Website: www.acosta.group
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $2 Billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 57,000
Primary industry: Retail, Marketing, Foodservice, Consumer Electronics
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
- Setting: Mike joined Acosta Group right after itemergedfrom bankruptcy and during the first year of COVID, which was the worst labor market in recent history and it was followed by hyper-inflation. Morale was low at the organization due to the recent bankruptcy, minimal opportunities for advancement, multiple years without merit raises or bonus achievement, and minimal L&D investment. The company grew through acquisition and there was little to no integration of HR systems, policies, and practices or the business operating model / org structure. The morale and capability of the HR function were low, and the organization was lacking an inspiring people strategy to drive growth.
• Strategy: Partnered with the Global Leadership Team (GLT) to refresh our purpose, vision, mission and values and embed in the organization. Developed annual and three-year people strategies. Partnered with GLT to execute multiple strategic initiatives.
• Learning and Development: Increased the L&D budget fourfold and developed seven leadership development programs for all levels of the organization. Introduced LinkedIn Learning and other programs to develop role and general business skills. Created an early careers leadership development rotational program to create a pipeline of future leaders.
• Talent Management: Implemented and centrally managed “talent chess” for the top 500 leaders to identify HiPo talent, develop and upgrade leadership talent, and build succession pipelines. Implemented performance calibrations to recognize and reward top performers to create a performance driven culture. Implemented formal goal setting tied to business strategy.
• Culture: Implemented a hybrid work format and led the return to the office in 2023, as internal connection and collaboration are critical to our business and culture. Implemented quarterly engagement pulse surveys.
• Total Rewards – Harmonized different benefits from legacy and acquired companies to enable the company and associates to manage rising costs. Changed compensation incentives to reward top performers, drive organic growth, and reduce expenses. Implemented three companywide recognition programs and a new points based recognition platform that includes peer to peer recognition.
• HR Transformation – Implemented a multi-year strategic project to simplify HR processes and systems (core HR, comp, TA, payroll). Changed the HR service delivery model and upgraded the HR talent in the two levels directly below CHRO. Kept HR headcount neutral despite organizational tripling in size. Created a people and analytics dashboard to enable better business decision making.
• Operating Model / M&A – Acquired and integrated eight companies, which tripled organizational headcount. Achieved all deal financial targets. Led multiple org and op model changes to create more organizational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Talent Acquisition – increased staffing levels by 20 points during and after COVID. Created a clear enterprise Employee Value Proposition and increased investment in branding, marketing, and tools
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Contained in above response
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Patricia Frost
Nominee Title: Chief People and Places Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Seagate Technology
Nominee Company’s Website: http://seagate.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $9B
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 30,000
Primary industry: Technology Infrastructure (data storage)
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Patricia Frost is an accomplished and influential leader whose career spans military service, global transformation work, and deep industry impact. As Seagate’s Executive Vice President of People & Places, she brings clarity, resolve, and a strong sense of purpose to one of the company’s most complex and globally distributed organizations.
Today, Patricia is responsible for fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, strengthening progressive talent attraction and retention practices, ensuring fair and equitable workplace policies, and maintaining a safe and sustainable workplace. Under her leadership, employee engagement has continued to rise year over year—reaching an impressive 92% overall in FY25—reflecting a workforce that feels committed, supported, and connected to Seagate’s success. She shapes how more than 30,000 employees experience Seagate, helping ensure our culture, workspaces, and daily interactions support growth, connection, and purpose, whether someone is in Minnesota, Malaysia, or anywhere in between.
In her past career, Patricia served as a Major General in the U.S. Army, a role that required strategic vision, operational discipline, and deep commitment to leadership. She brings that same clarity and steadiness to Seagate, where she has guided the company through some of its most complex chapters—including the pandemic, supply chain challenges, shifting customer demand, and periods of significant revenue pressure. Throughout each moment, she maintained focus on both business continuity and employee trust, ensuring the organization stayed resilient while remaining grounded in its values.
One of Patricia’s most significant contributions has been reframing how Seagate thinks about talent. She led a shift away from a traditional hire-to-grow model toward an approach centered on unlocking the full potential of the workforce already in place. This included championing our AI-powered talent marketplace, which gives employees clearer visibility into opportunities, skills, and mobility pathways. Her vision has encouraged leaders and employees alike to embrace internal mobility and shared ownership of career development.
Patricia has challenged rigid job structures and encouraged leaders to think in terms of skills, capabilities, and outcomes. As a result, Seagate is better equipped to redeploy talent quickly, respond to change, and navigate uncertainty with confidence.
Her approach to artificial intelligence reflects the same discipline and intentionality. Rather than pursuing rapid adoption for its own sake, she emphasizes helping employees understand how AI works, how it should be used responsibly, and how it can support better decision-making in daily work.
By integrating AI into learning, productivity, and talent practices—and providing clear guidance along the way—Patricia has helped drive adoption that strengthens human capability instead of replacing it. This has led to meaningful progress across the workforce: employee confidence in using AI has reached 88 percent, and teams leveraging generative AI are saving an average of 2.5 hours each week, time that is reinvested into higher value work, innovation, and improved work-life balance.
Service has been central to Patricia’s life and leadership. She actively supports organizations that create opportunities for veterans, military families, and underserved communities. Since 2021, she has served as a Board Member for Dog Tag, where she helps empower veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses, and caregivers through a unique program blending business education with real-world experience in a bakery setting.
Within Seagate, she serves as the Executive Sponsor for the Military Employee Resource Group (MERG), offering strategic guidance, advocacy, and support for veterans and military families across the company. She ensures MERG’s programs align with Seagate’s culture and values while fostering development, connection, and community engagement.
Her commitment to service also extends to organizations supporting wounded warriors and the families of fallen service members, including Fallen Patriots, which creates educational pathways for children who have lost a parent in military service. Her approach to social impact reflects a leadership style rooted in compassion, responsibility, and a genuine desire to lift others.
Leadership
Patricia’s leadership is grounded in authenticity, empathy, and a deep commitment to doing what is right for people and the business. She encourages teams to approach challenges with courage and creativity, helping build a workplace defined by transparency, trust, and Seagate’s core values of integrity, innovation, and inclusion.
Her ability to pair strategic clarity with a human-centered approach has strengthened Seagate’s culture and accelerated progress across the organization. She empowers individuals, supports growth, and creates an environment where employees feel seen, valued, and equipped to succeed.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Patricia began her role at Seagate during the COVID pandemic, a challenging time for employees and the business alike.
She led efforts to ensure that employees felt cared for and made a concerted effort to reiterate the company’s policies on remote work (a policy, which by the way is still in place today.
COVID was the beginning of a significant downturn in the hard drive industry, one that significantly tested Seagate’s financial performance. It was through this incredibly challenging time for the organization and the industry as a whole that Patricia led the executive team to manage the crisis with transparency, honesty and leadership.
Seagate emerged stronger from that crisis, and today is at the top of the industry it supports. It is driving innovations never before seen in the market, which serve as the foundation of every company and organization that uses AI. Although the company’s financial challenges are in the rear view mirror, Patricia continues to lead her team with transparency and honesty, setting the tone for the rest of the organization. As a result, employee engagement and satisfaction have consistently increased year-over year.
In addition, Patricia is leading the company’s effort to incorporate AI across its organization.
Drawing on her knowledge and experience from her 32+ year career as a major general in the US Army, Patricia brings a unique perspective to helping Seagate transform its workplace and employee experience with AI.
For her, it’s about ensuring that no one is left behind on the AI journey—that everyone at Seagate has the opportunity to learn from, collaborate with, and benefit from AI in the workplace. It’s also about creating an AI-Forward employee experience where people are the priority and where AI reflects Seagate’s commitment to progress without losing sight of our values.
The goal of Seagate’s Activate AI in Your Work initiative is to rapidly drive measurable business outcomes by embedding AI into daily workflows, upskilling more than a quarter of our employees by the end of the fiscal year, and to build an AI-forward culture. To further embed AI into the employee experience, Patricia and her team are encouraging every team at Seagate to be ambitious with their AI learnings to deliver at least one AI-enabled workflow redesign with quantifiable business impact within 90 days.
To achieve this goal, Seagate embarked on an ambitious plan to ensure no employee was left behind in their AI journey, beginning with a comprehensive learning program that builds AI knowledge and confidence from the ground up. That early investment is now playing a pivotal role in helping to activate AI across the workplace and in the employee experience, where people remain at the center and technology works alongside them.
Since the trainings began, confidence in AI has gone up to 88% and employees have reported savings, on average, of 2.5 hours per week using GenAI tools.
To build on these early results and scale impact, AI Business Leads are driving AI-powered value streams and leading AI activation in their functions, while AI Champions will be embedded across the enterprise to coach, mentor and partner with employees to activate AI into function, team and individual workflows.
As we work to build an AI-Forward organization and employee experience, Seagate–directed by Patricia’s leadership–also has embedded its goals and objectives for AI in the workplace into its OKRs, firmly establishing AI in top-level business goals that influence company and employee performance.
This approach allows Seagate to continuously measure the impact of AI on its people, to stay focused on responsible innovation and ensure that AI adoption is driven by real business value and human-centered outcomes.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 7
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
Patricia Johns
Nominee Title: Chief People & Culture Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Meridian Credit Union
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.meridiancu.ca/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): Total Revenue for 2024: $538.8 million CAD (~ $375.8 million USD)
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 2,100
Primary industry: Financial
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As Chief People & Culture Officer at Meridian, Patty Johns has been the driving force behind a multi-year Employee Experience Transformation Strategy, fully aligned with the Meridian for Good (MFG) Strategy—our purpose-driven growth plan designed to help Members achieve their best life and position Meridian as an inclusive, transparent, and people-focused financial partner.
Patty’s initiatives reflect MFG’s three core pillars:
• Integrate Purpose into Everything We Do: Embedding purpose in policies, communications, and leadership behaviors.
• Plan for a Better Future: Building a clean, resilient, and diverse future through ESG commitments and workforce sustainability.
• Build Financial Confidence: Empowering employees to deliver holistic advice and innovative solutions that strengthen Member trust.
In 2025, Patty led tremendously successful and transformative projects, such as:
Meridian’s Workforce of the Future initiative: A strategic talent and transformation program designed to prepare Meridian for the rapid changes and challenges impacting the financial services workforce. Its purpose is to ensure Meridian has a high-performing, agile, and future-ready workforce with the skills and capabilities needed to succeed both now and in the long term.
The project involves:
• Conducting a thorough environmental scan of industry trends and technological advancements.
• Identifying current and future skill requirements across all functions and departments.
• Assessing skill gaps and opportunities.
• Developing targeted talent solutions, including upskilling, reskilling, and talent mobility programs.
• Implementing AI technology, training and solutions to enable work
A major accomplishment in 2025, led by Patty was the introduction of a new job evaluation and grading system to create a more transparent, equitable, competitive compensation framework that supports the organization’s growth, talent strategy, and the Meridian for Good (MFG) vision.
Working with global consultancy Korn Ferry, Meridian’s 20 year old compensation structure was thoroughly reviewed and modified to create a sustainable compensation model to assist in retaining and recruiting top talent for years to come. This project involved strategic change management and communications approach upon its rollout in February 2025 as it impacted every employee at Meridian Credit Union and Meridian OneCap (its sister organization).
Modernizing the Way we Work
Patty’s commitment to modernizing work is evident as her team has been focused on modernizing the way they work, streamlining and automating processes – with an AI “Ask HR” agent scheduled to launch in 2026. She encourages her leadership team to leverage AI and our Employee Experience survey’s innovation index indicated that 86% of the People and Culture team is using AI to help them in their work.
Patty demonstrated professional courage by championing AI integration and agile decision-making, shifting Meridian from consensus-driven models to empowered leadership accountability—critical for enabling organizational velocity and resilience.
Reducing Wasted Time and effort in HR Operations
As a growing financial institution, Patty recognized that efficiency was top priority within her own department. That recognition was the catalyst behind the HR Optimization project that began in 2025, to reduce wasted time and effort. Patty led her team through an optimization exercise where employees identified pain points and helped solve issues around wasted time and effort. This resulted in documenting processes, troubleshooting issues around technology to technology communication, and streamlining operations with technological solutions so that employees can focus on high value, strategic work. In only one year, the team noted a significant difference in their day-to-day, and work continues on optimizing processes and procedures – embraced wholeheartedly by the entire P&C team.
Additionally, the People & Culture team successfully launched a new revised code of ethics in 2025 and established our own employees relations department to helps us create the culture and expectations for all of our employees.
DEI in Action
Since arriving at Meridian, Patty spearheaded the development of a multi-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion roadmap – values that are built into our Meridian for Good Strategy. This roadmap focuses on tangible improvements to Employee Experience and belonging and is being measured by our new “inclusion” index. DEI contributes to psychological safety at work and a stronger employee experience when everyone feels that they can show up as their best selves at work. This is supported by Meridian’s fulsome wellbeing program, with each employee receiving up to $5,000 in mental health benefits per year.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Patty’s leadership delivered measurable, enterprise-wide improvements for Meridian’s 2,100 employees:
• Employee Experience Score: Increased to 78% favorable, up 4% year-over-year, reversing a two-year decline. Patty shares, ‘The great news is we’re seeing the impact in our engagement scores … our experience score is up to 78% from 74. So really happy with those results.’
• Engagement: Rose to 83%, matching Meridian’s highest-ever level.
• Senior Leadership Confidence: Improved by 8 points to 73%, signaling restored trust.
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Jumped 8 points to +47, a strong benchmark in financial services.
• CRM Feedback: Negative commentary reduced by ~67%, reflecting improved usability and frontline satisfaction.
• AI Adoption: 86% of Patty’s People and Culture team are now using AI to help them in their work.
These gains correlate with reduced turnover risk, improved productivity, and stronger alignment with MFG’s strategic priorities: Integrate Purpose, Digitize, Innovate, and Invest Well. By creating a future-ready workforce, Patty positioned Meridian to deliver exceptional member experiences and sustainable growth.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Paul Gregory
Nominee Title: Chief People & Culture Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Securonix, Inc.
Nominee Company’s Website: www.securonix.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1 million
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 527
Primary industry: CyberSecurity
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
- Shifted from a High-Cost Operational Structure to Low-Cost Operational Structure
§ End-to-end M&A execution – Companies first Acquisition
§ Executive leadership transformation and realignment
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
- Provided significant and far-reaching impact on both the organization and its broader stakeholder community. Under the CHRO’s leadership, the organization successfully transitioned from a high-cost operating structure to a more efficient, sustainable low-cost model, strengthening financialresilienceand enabling reinvestment in strategic workforce initiatives.
• Enabled an enterprise-wide workforce transformation by leading the company through its first acquisition. This effort required aligning talent strategy, culture integration, and organizational design to ensure continuity of operations and employee engagement during a period of substantial change. Fully integrated in less than 6 months after due diligence.
• Transformed the executive leadership team to better support long-term growth and performance. This initiative improved leadership effectiveness strengthened succession planning, and enhanced employee engagement and retention by fostering clearer accountability, stronger leadership alignment, and a more inclusive, performance-driven culture.
• Took professional risks by challenging legacy structures, making decisive leadership changes, and guiding the organization through transformational change. The measurable outcomes—improved cost efficiency, strengthened leadership capability, and enhanced workforce stability—demonstrate excellence in both strategic impact and people leadership.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Riya Sood
Nominee Title: CHRO
Nominee Organization/Company: OpSec Security
Nominee Company’s Website: www.opsecsecurity.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and U.S.)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Annual global revenues (in $US): $500 million – $999 million
Full-time employees globally: 656
Primary industry: Brand Protection/Intellectual Property Rights
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee: OpSec is a 40 year old company which has gone through various acquisition. After CHRO took over HR initiative over the year OpSec has gone through HR service automation and evolved from manual to digital.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s): The company was spending a lot of time on manual inefficient, CHRO’s initiate has helped automate the HR service across the global and we are one Opsec now.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 9
Also, please describe how the nominee drove the initiative: Setting up the HR functions from the scratch. Implementing HRMS tools, eliminated staffing augmentation companies and build in-house talent team. Careful and smooth acquisition etc.
Rate the individual reputational or professional risk the nominee took for this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 9
Also, please describe that risk: Has setup the entire HR operations for OpSec and build the HR team with strong resources.
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Rosemary Sheehan
Nominee Title: Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Hartford HealthCare
Nominee Company’s Website: www.hartfordhealthcare.org
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $7 billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 47,000
Primary industry: Healthcare
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Upon joining Hartford HealthCare in March 2024 as its first Chief People Officer, Rosemary Sheehan began to develop the system’s “People Promise,” a strategic commitment to advancing a workplace where all colleagues feel heard, supported, and empowered to grow. Introduced just six months after assembling a new HR leadership team, the People Promise has become a guiding framework for cultural transformation and workforce development across HHC.
In October, Hartford HealthCare was named the #1 choice by employees for career development and upskilling, according to an independent survey by Careerminds. The survey asked 3,002 employees “which company they would most like to join if career development and upskilling opportunities were the only criteria.” The results said: “Existing staff point to clear advancement opportunities in nursing, administration and allied health, backed by strong educational partnerships. The organization continues to be recognized as a workplace where employees can grow while delivering care.”
To inform the design and priorities of the initiative, the People Promise began with a robust listening strategy that included 33 focus groups and two system-wide pulse surveys.
Ms. Sheehan led a team that refreshed Hartford HealthCare’s leadership development approach, training more than 2,500 leaders in Intentional Leadership and certifying 65 trainers to deliver the system’s Leadership Behaviors, which were updated based on system-wide feedback and the pulse survey results.
These efforts were complemented by the creation of an Office of Colleague Opportunity and Engagement, following more than 20 educational sessions across the system.
Labor relations efforts throughout 2025 were highly successful, with eight labor contracts successfully negotiated in one year — an indicator of effective engagement and collaboration with unions.
Ms. Sheehan also established a Strategic Workforce Function that produced a comprehensive talent map, identifying critical workforce gaps projected over the coming years. This data-driven approach informed partnerships with academic institutions and guided the launch of several workforce pipeline programs, including a Medical Assistant Certification initiative, a Respiratory Therapy Program and a Neurodiagnostic Program.
Youth engagement and early career development were advanced, and the health system placed 72 interns across various departments, hosted 48 career exploration sessions, and converted six apprenticeship students into full-time colleagues.
Leadership development and succession planning were elevated through a system-wide talent review process. This resulted in the creation of successor pipelines and the identification of 109 leaders for advanced development programs.
Ms. Sheehan also led the transformation of field HR operations. A new case management system was launched, and a redesigned operating model was finalized with zero turnover during the transition. Compliance efforts were also strengthened, with thousands of missing or incorrect I-9 records successfully remediated.
Ms. Sheehan’s team supported Colleague well-being through Hartford HealthCare’s first Health Symposium, and a new Employee Assistance Program provider. In 2025, the system also introduced a new low-deductible health plan and launched a benefits learning series to improve understanding of available options. Market adjustments were made for critical roles, including a system-wide $18/hour wage initiative, nursing job alignment and a multi-year incentive redesign for Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), resulting in significant improvement for APP hiring and a reduction in vacancy rates for this critical part of our workforce.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Key metrics for turnover (a major factor in healthcare workforce shortages nationwide), vacancies (which drive overtime and contract labor expense) declined significantly under Ms. Sheehan’s leadership.
Since FY2023, first-year turnover declined 2.54 percentage points, a 6.5% improvement. Total turnover fell 2.24 percentage points, a 12.9% improvement. Vacancies declined 3%, a 33.9% improvement. The health system’s internal fill rate (a measure of successful use of existing talent pool and colleague engagement) increased 4.4 percentage points, or 10% over three years.
Other accomplishments Ms. Sheehan’s team led over 2025:
• Manager engagement: Established a Manager Advisory Council to review workforce issues and provide feedback.
• HR technology: Launched an online “HR Navigator,” a user-friendly digital tool that gives colleagues and managers quick and easy access to the support and information they need, anytime they need it.
• Human experience: Achieved Press Ganey experience score of 82.95 for “Staff Worked Together.”
• Talent acquisition: Recruited 33 new student nurse fellows (total: 143); 76% converted to technician roles. Saw a 16% increase in nurse resident starts in compared to the prior year; Expanded the administrative fellowship program to new departments and business units.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 8
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Shibu Varghese
Nominee Title: Executive Vice President, People, Culture & Infrastructure
Nominee Organization/Company: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Nominee Company’s Website: www.mdanderson.org
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Annual global revenues (in $US): $8,923,329,522.06
Full-time employees globally: 27,029
Primary industry: Healthcare
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Shibu Varghese is a charismatic, engaging leader who exemplifies human resources (HR) excellence and leadership directing transformative initiatives that shape the culture at the nation’s top cancer center. In his role as Executive Vice President of People, Culture & Infrastructure and Chief Human Resource Executive at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, he consistently demonstrates HR excellence, playing a critical role in MD Anderson’s mission to end cancer.
MD Anderson President, Peter WT Pisters, M.D., says “Shibu exemplifies the tenets of values-based leadership. I am grateful for his servant leadership, his infectious energy and his vision for fostering a strong workplace culture.”
From bolstering employee engagement to implementing recognition programs and providing professional development opportunities for all employees, Mr. Varghese’s visionary leadership has resulted in a highly engaged, mission-driven culture at MD Anderson. He is a staple at institutional events, from emceeing the institution’s Leadership Day to leading an employee dance team at the annual Anderson’s Got Talent employee talent show.
During Mr. Varghese’s tenure, employee engagement has become an essential strength of MD Anderson’s 27,000+ employees. MD Anderson’s most recent institution-wide engagement survey in 2025 demonstrated a 91% response rate and a 90% favorability rating. That engagement is due, in part, to many of the efforts and initiatives advanced by Mr. Varghese. He believes that when employees are cared for, they can bring their best selves to work and will continue to make MD Anderson their professional home.
A flagship of Mr. Varghese’s efforts at MD Anderson is overseeing the creation and implementation of MD Anderson’s Leadership Institute. With the philosophy that everyone is a leader, the Leadership Institute offers structured, evidence-based training to employees at all levels. Its programs and classes are designed to meet individuals where they are in their professional career path, enabling emerging leaders to receive critical guidance and to support seasoned professionals to help them refine their skills.
Leadership Institute programming is designed to build upon an essential, foundational set of core curriculum, tailored for self-leadership, leading others and leading teams. It also includes discipline or area-specific curriculum that builds upon core curriculum to provide guidance on applying organizational core values and leadership skills in specific job roles. In addition to our core curriculum and leadership development training, the Leadership Institute facilitates mentoring programs as well as coaching opportunities as critical components of professional development. These are available to all employees, regardless of job title or function, and come in a variety of formats.
The institution has seen tremendous impacts since its launch in 2018, with the Leadership Institute playing an integral role advancing multiple workforce initiatives. The institute’s programs have also contributed to retention efforts, an enduring focus for MD Anderson.
MD Anderson’s efforts to bolster retention are also evidenced through the success of the Nursing Transformation initiatives and the launch of the Meyers Institute for Oncology Nursing. Mr. Varghese played an instrumental role in driving these initiatives forward. Since launch, Nursing Transformation initiatives have focused on transforming MD Anderson into a distinct destination for nurses, leading with an innovative and inspiring environment that supports growth and empowers nurses. Through these efforts, the institution effectively stabilized and strengthened its nursing workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of these efforts, Mr. Varghese guided the creation of Culture & Connections programs, encouraging recognition from peers and leaders through an internal rewards platform. Through the Meyers Institute for Oncology Nursing, MD Anderson elevates training, fosters career growth and delivers programming focusing on nurse well-being.
In addition to a focus on maintaining or improving upon an exceptional retention rate, under Mr. Varghese’s leadership, MD Anderson has prioritized efforts to drive recruitment innovation and effectiveness. Two examples include the institution’s Fast-Track Hiring and its Strategic Pipeline Development initiatives.
MD Anderson launched its Fast-Track Hiring initiative to address urgent staffing needs in critical front-line areas. The process has successfully streamlined its recruitment workflow. This approach has enabled same-day interviews and offers, followed immediately by initiation of the background check process, dramatically accelerating the hiring timeline. First piloted in a department with a high need for fast-track hiring, the initiative has been expanded to additional front-line departments.
However, recruitment is not a one-size-fits-all operation. While the Fast-Track Hiring approach is effective in some areas, a Strategic Pipeline Development strategy is most appropriate in other areas with unique drivers and challenges.
In collaboration with the MD Anderson School of Health Professions, the institution has strengthened its talent pipeline by recruiting newly graduated allied health professionals into highly specialized roles. These hires play a vital role in delivering exceptional patient care across the organization.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Each of these programs has contributed to measurable excellence for the institution, with specific details, included below.
Leadership Institute:
-In just the past fiscal year, MD Anderson employees devoted a total of 122,000 hours to leadership development, and more than 16,000 employees have participated in development courses across multiple levels. This shows that our employees value these opportunities to engage in professional development.
-Providers who completed MD Anderson’s Service Excellence training through the Leadership Institute had 2% higher patient experience ratings as measured through Press Ganey surveys (Cavanaugh, KJ, et. al, Patient Experience Journal, 2021). This increase is significant, given that care providers across MD Anderson already have notably high ratings.
-Employees who participated in Leadership Institute mentoring programs as a mentee and/or a mentor are 10% less likely to report being burned out (Cavanaugh, K. et al, Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice 2022)
-Through these programs the institution has seen a 100% annual retention rate for employees completing the self-paced LEADing Self Discover program, a course designed to support lifelong learning and a growth mindset, and an 88% retention rate among employees participating in Leadership Institute coaching programs.
-In addition to reducing burnout, training has resulted in increased engagement and productivity. Self-reported engagement among employees who underwent Leadership Institute training focused on effective communication and decision making was higher than the control group in the period following training (Woods Herron, A. et al, Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement 2025).
-Further, Leadership Institute coaching programs resulted in increased performance across our workforce. On average, employees who participate had performance ratings of 2.83 out of 3 compared with average ratings of 2.74 for those not engaged in coaching.
-The H-Index is an important research output metric that can be described as an index of how often peers in the scientific community cite researchers’ publications. Scientists who participated in Leadership Institute programming achieved a 37% increase in their H-Index scores. Their ability to improve these scores is driven by their knowledge of how to work together as teams and how to secure approval of protocols.
-Preliminary findings have shown that faculty who participated in coaching produced significantly more new publications than faculty who were eligible for but did not participate in coaching. Those who participated in coaching also were cited significantly more than faculty who were eligible for but did not participate in coaching.
Nursing Transformation:
-In partnership with the Leadership Institute, 80 new nurse managers completed a five-day training curriculum to enhance comfort and competence in managing daily role demands and business practices such as budgeting and recruitment, as well as nurse-specific leadership principles.
-Patient Care Technicians (PCT): Provided formal mentorship channels to promote success in the first year, launched preceptor pay, established PCT Council, advanced about 80 PCTs to Levels 2 and 3 through the PCT Career Growth Program
-Surgical Technicians (ST): Completed compensation updates, instituted career advancement and specialization pathways, and interviewed and hired three STs for the ST lead role
Meyers Institute:
-Since the launch Nursing Transformation and the Meyers Institute, MD Anderson’s Nursing Division has achieved an exceptionally high retention rate.
-According to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, hospitals with the industry’s gold standard Magnet distinction tend to average around a 12.5% nurse turnover rate, well below the national average of about 17%.
-MD Anderson’s 8% turnover rate ranks among institutions with elite performance.
Fast-Track Hiring Initiative:
-The department that piloted the initiative achieved full staffing for the first time in several years
-Time-to-fill positions was reduced by an impressive 40%, significantly improving operational efficiency and enhancing service delivery
-Additional front-line departments have since begun fast-track hiring pilot programs within their teams
Strategic Pipeline Development:
-Successful placement of 40 graduates into roles such as Medical Dosimetrist, MRI Technologist, Radiation Therapist and Cytogenetic Scientist
-A particularly impactful hiring class of Radiation Therapists helped meet critical staffing needs, ensuring continuity in essential services
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? More than 10 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? More than 10 years
Shweta Rani
Nominee Title: Chief People & Culture Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Zinnov
Nominee Company’s Website: www.zinnov.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $40 Million
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 430
Primary industry: Consulting
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
As Chief People Officer (CPO), the nominee led people strategy at enterprise scale, impacting 100% of Zinnov’s workforce during a period of accelerated growth and organizational complexity. Under her leadership, the firm hired close to 300 employees, expanded into new geographies, and sustained a strong, high-ownership culture while scaling.
She drove an integrated set of workforce initiatives focused on long-term organizational effectiveness rather than short-term optics. These included high-performance hiring with minimal reliance on external agencies, organizational simplification to reduce management layers and improve spans of control, and governance mechanisms such as monthly Executive Leadership Team (ELT)–Senior Leadership Team (SLT) connects to strengthen accountability and decision quality. The outcome was a more agile organization with improved leadership effectiveness and operational discipline.
Employee engagement and retention were anchored in a high-performance, fairness-led talent philosophy. Instead of optimizing for attrition as a standalone metric, the organization prioritized talent quality and role alignment, investing in high performers through accelerated development and progression, while continuously refining role clarity through transparent pay structures and frequent performance dialogues. This created clarity, fairness, and trust across the workforce.
Signature programs such as the Outstanding Achiever (OA) initiative built visible leadership pipelines by giving high-potential employees accelerated growth, senior leadership exposure, and ownership of strategic initiatives. Alongside this, the CPO placed strong emphasis on gender diversity and inclusion, maintaining balance across the talent pyramid—including leadership levels. Today, 41% of Zinnov’s workforce is female, reflecting deliberate and sustained action rather than incidental outcomes.
Recognizing the need to build a multi-generational firm, the CPO proactively designed engagement and development strategies for a workforce spanning Millennials and Gen Z. Blended learning models, mentorship, feedback-driven development, and flexible engagement initiatives ensured relevance, energy, and continuity across generations.
The CPO demonstrated professional courage by championing hybrid work, flattening structures, and investing in leadership development, AI enablement, and access equity without immediate ROI certainty. These decisions strengthened trust, leadership depth, and workforce resilience—enabling sustainable growth without cultural dilution.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
The CPO’s initiatives delivered measurable impact at scale. Zinnov today operates across multiple global locations, with London and Hyderabad as recent strategic expansions. Nearly 300 hires were completed largely through internal teams, significantly reducing external recruitment costs, improving time-to-productivity, and strengthening internal hiring capability.
Despite operating in a high-mobility consulting market, the organization-maintained attrition while balancing healthy talent movement with deliberate retention of high performers and low returnship of underperforming talent. This approach improved employee lifetime value and reduced long-term leadership and productivity risk.
Operational initiatives such as utilization tracking and timesheet implementation enhanced workforce planning accuracy and revenue realization per employee. Structural streamlining and improved spans of control strengthened resource efficiency and governance.
Leadership capability was strengthened through an immersive, in-person Executive Leadership Development Program with Harvard faculty, delivered over three days for the ELT, alongside firm-wide AI enablement initiatives. Together, these interventions impacted 100% of employees, improving productivity, leadership readiness, and future capability—positioning the organization for sustained returns beyond the current year.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? More than 10 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Stephanie Manzelli
Nominee Title: Chief People Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Employ
Nominee Company’s Website: http://www.employinc.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): N/A
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 558
Primary industry: HR Technology
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Stephanie Manzelli, Chief People Officer at Employ Inc., is a dynamic HR executive who partners with the company’s leadership team to develop strategic priorities that guide employees and influence business outcomes. She has deep expertise across HR and TA functions, as well as in transformation leadership, team building, and change management, with proven success in aligning the needs of the business and employees on a global scale.
The era of HR asking for permission is over. HR and TA leaders have long since earned and occupied their seats at the table, and now it’s time for them to take ownership of their impact on the entire organization. To do this, Stephanie drives real, measurable change through ensuring responsible AI and governance, aligning HR’s data with Employ’s bottom line, taking ownership of the communication process by guaranteeing alignment across departments, clarity in expectations, and accountability in execution, and creating a structured approach to talent decisions that shape Employ’s growth.
When Employ combined JazzHR, Jobvite, and Lever, it wasn’t a matter of simply putting a new name over these companies and expecting cohesion to follow. Instead, under Stephanie’s guidance, Employ did the real work—aligning systems, processes, people, customers, and, most importantly, hearts and minds. This required more than a mission statement. It required creating something the entire organization could rally around. The organization needed a shared purpose that would unite these three entities around a common cause. Through this process, the story of Employ was uncovered, revealing what the organization truly stands for: a commitment to building a performance-driven culture that fuels success and positions Employ as the leading provider in its category.
Employ’s mission became the foundation for everything – from how the organization integrates teams to how it sets goals, drives performance, and engages with customers. It wasn’t just about bringing together systems and policies; it was about creating a shared vision that inspires Employ’s people and drives the organization’s collective success.
Stephanie and her team helped Employ manage the acquisition of Pillar, a transformative AI platform. The acquisition wasn’t only about adding AI-powered interview intelligence capabilities; it was also about supercharging hiring teams, regardless of industry or size, while keeping human connection at the center.
Stephanie collaborates across the company to create an environment where people feel empowered and aligned with the mission and vision, which helps them become the strongest advocates for Employ. She believes that when you hire exceptional talent, provide clear direction on purpose and goals, and give them the freedom to execute, this drives results and attracts additional diverse talent through authentic referrals, helping to exceed goals.
A purpose-driven culture inspires employees and creates a ripple effect that reaches customers, clients and the broader community.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Stephanie’s impact at Employ is the foundation of a long-term vision that ensures continued success for both employees and the organization. Her approach is anchored in building scalable systems, embedding governance, and cultivating a leadership pipeline that sustains momentum well beyond any single initiative.
First, Stephanie has instituted repeatable frameworks for HR integration, workforce planning, and employee engagement that can be applied to future mergers, acquisitions, or expansions. The playbook she created during the JazzHR, Jobvite, and Lever integration is now a model for Employ’s approach to change management, communications, and cultural alignment. This process not only solved past challenges but also equips Employ to handle future challenges with confidence and clarity.
Second, she has prioritized responsible AI governance as a cornerstone of sustainability. By embedding guidelines on when and how AI should be used, and pairing technical training with judgment-based learning, Stephanie is ensuring that Employ’s people strategy evolves in tandem with technology. This proactive stance positions Employ as a leader in responsible adoption, a differentiator in the HR technology market.
Third, Stephanie has invested in leadership development and succession planning. She recognized that sustaining momentum requires not only today’s leaders but also those of tomorrow. Through structured talent reviews, mentorship opportunities, and clear growth pathways, she is cultivating the next generation of leaders who can carry forward Employ’s mission and values. This ensures continuity and reduces turnover-related vulnerability in key roles.
Stephanie’s initiatives have also created ripple effects that open up future opportunities for Employ. The focus on a purpose-driven culture has made employees stronger brand advocates, directly impacting recruitment through authentic referrals and retention through higher engagement. Her emphasis on skills-based hiring and development has positioned Employ to remain resilient amid market volatility and rapid shifts in the workplace.
Looking ahead, her strategy unlocks multiple growth pathways:
Expanding Employ’s reputation as an employer of choice, attracting diverse, high-caliber talent.
Leveraging data-driven HR practices to align people strategy with business performance further.
Continuing to integrate AI responsibly, enabling efficiency while preserving the human touch that differentiates Employ in the HR tech space.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 1 – 3 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 1 – 3 years
Tina Campbell
Nominee Title: Chief HR & Administration Officer
Nominee Organization/Company: Citizens First Bank
Nominee Company’s Website: Home › Citizens First Bank
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $102,515,739.00
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 415
Primary industry: Financial Services
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Tina Campbell is the Chief HR & Administration Officer at Citizens First Bank, overseeing HR, Training, and Marketing. She is a leader who combines strategic vision and administrative expertise to drive organizational goals, foster high-performance culture, and serve as a trusted partner to leadership and employees alike.
The Villages where Citizens First Bank is headquartered is a unique planned community in Central Florida, with one of the highest population growth rates in the United States. The Villages community is home to approximately 150,000 residents in over 77,000 homes spanning 60,000 acres with more than 6 million square feet of commercial space and a 97% average occupancy rate. Citizens First is the 11th largest bank in the state of Florida with $4.1 billion in assets. Citizens First operates 19 branches with deposits of approximately $3.5 billion and loans of approximately $1.3 billion. They have a leading deposit share of over 50% in the Wildwood-The Villages MSA. All financial information as of March 31, 2025.
In May 2025, Seacoast Bank announced the acquisition of Citizens First Bank with an anticipated bank conversion to take place in July 2026. Tina has been instrumental in supporting and leading through the acquisition of her organization, Citizens First Bank, by Seacoast Bank. This has been a significant undertaking, as it represents a completely new experience for both her and the organization with the additional challenge of the expanded timeline between the announcement and the anticipated conversion date which spans 13 months. In her role as CHRO, Tina has served as the most critical advocate for Citizens Bank employees while also acting as a trusted support system and mediator throughout the transition.
Outside of work, Tina supports the community through Habitat for Humanity, by spending time helping build homes. Along with raising funds for an organization close to her heart and the heart of Citizens First, The Haven at Hope Villages of America, a certified non-profit domestic violence center providing a variety of services, including an Outreach Center and an Emergency Safe House. In this year alone Tina has helped raised $68,161.52 for the organization The Haven.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Citizens First Bank has over 400 employees. Tina’s leadership has allowed Citizens First to succeed as a profitable organization that looked to grow its reach and join Seacoast Bank. Following completion of the merger, the combined institutions will have pro forma total assets of $21 billion, total deposits of $17 billion and gross loans of $12 billion, based on financial data as of March 31, 2025.
Tina continues to deliver excellence while partnering with Seacoast Banks’ leadership team to lead her organization through a complex and large-scale transition. Since the time of announcement, Tina has worked with Seacoast leaders to perform multiple talent calibration sessions resulting in more than 70% of total job offers extended and accepted for Citizens First associates along with a 99% retention rate of all current associates. To achieve this, a total of 570 individual meetings of Citizen First associates strategically paired with Seacoast Bank leadership were conducted to discuss future placement. The time and dedication Tina has dedicated to this transition is a testament to her commitment as a CHRO.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 9
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 1 – 3 years
Varun Gautam
Nominee Title: Head – Talent Supply Chain
Nominee Organization/Company: Persistent
Nominee Company’s Website: https://www.persistent.com/
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Asia Pacific (APAC)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1.2 billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 25,000
Primary industry: IT
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
A Confident, versatile management professional with functional experience of running Business HR & Enabling Businesses to generate revenue, Setting Up & Running HR/Workforce/Staffing Function, Talent Supply Chain & Talent Acquisition operations, Shared Services processes, Resource Management & Global Resource Mobility, Compensation Analysis, Senior Management & Leadership Recruiting across Geographies/ Line of Businesses/ Verticals, Recruitment CoE, HR Automation.
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Running Contingent Staffing function for Americas generating 350+ Million USD in revenue across all lines of businesses.
Managing Talent Supply Function for a 2 Billion USD Business Unit covering 20000 resources focused on Workforce Planning, Demand Planning & Supply Management, Resource Utilization, Internal & External Resource Deployment, Global Mobility, Fulfillment, Pyramid Optimization and Contractor Rationalization.
Developing 100 Million USD Staff Augmentation business for Life Science, Healthcare and Public Services businesses in US & Europe.
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 7 – 9 years
Vimal Vijay
Nominee Title: Head – Talent Acquisition – Americas & Europe
Nominee Organization/Company: UST Global
Nominee Company’s Website: ust.com
Operation regions:
- North America (Canada and US)
- Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- Latin America
Approximate Annual global revenues (in $US): $1.4 billion
Approximate Full-time employees globally: 30,000
Primary industry: IT
Describe the key initiative(s) led by the nominee:
Talent Acquisition Leader with over 20 yrs specializing in Global Talent Acquisition Management & Delivery. Near Shore / Onshore Hiring, Technology Recruitment, Delivery Management, People Management
Describe the impact of the nominee’s initiative(s):
Talent Acquisition Leader with over 20 yrs specializing in Global Talent Acquisition Management & Delivery. Near Shore / Onshore Hiring, Technology Recruitment, Delivery Management, People Management
Please rate the extent to which the nominee drove this initiative on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being completely: 10
How long has the CHRO been with their current company? 4 – 6 years
How long has the nominee held a position as a CHRO, both with their current organization and all previous organizations? 4 – 6 years
