BETH HAYDEN
Chief People Officer
SpotHero
With the employee value proposition, “We exist to create space for life,” Beth Hayden’s goal as chief people officer for SpotHero is to show her commitment to employees by creating a work environment where there’s career support and celebration for individuality. This has resulted in SpotHero emerging as a more diverse company with increased representation of black, indigenous, and people of color, from 27% in 2020 to 50% in 2022. Further, 35% of company employees experienced career progression in 2022. Hayden also implemented a total rewards strategy that enables equitable pay through compensation analysis.
Stephanie Holloman
Assistant Chief and Human Resources Director
Orange County Fire Authority
When Stephanie Holloman began her work with the Orange County Fire Authority as assistant chief and human resources director, she took initial steps toward improved diversity within the workforce. Though a risky move, she established a comprehensive DEI program that provided training catered to the day-to-day experiences of employees. The program is now mandatory for all promotional academies within the company. She was also a strong supporter of rehabilitative employment in partnership with the Ventura Training Center that offers formerly incarcerated firefighters an opportunity at a career in the fire service.
Diljot Kaur
Vice President of People and Culture
Softbank Energy
Diljot Kaur played a major part in building Softbank Energy from scratch. As its vice president of people and culture, she scaled the company from zero to more than 500 people globally in four years. Kaur also formulated the company's first DE&I strategies, goals, and priorities to promote inclusion in partnerships and the community. She enhanced the team’s infrastructure by building a robust set of people policies, processes, and systems that provided transparency and growth in a hybrid working environment. These initiatives resulted in a less than 10% annual voluntary attrition rate and an 8% increase in employee engagement.
Alex Kweskin
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Banc of California
When he joined the Banc of California in 2021, Alex Kweskin made a significant impact on the organization as the executive vice president and chief human resources officer. In his first 100 days, he began rebuilding the reputation of the HR department, hired a new senior vice president of total rewards, two new HR business partners, new project managers, and recalibrated several existing roles. He and his team also planned for an extraordinary 2022 and called this transformation the “HR Revolution.” Within one year, there were more than 30 new programs, initiatives, and development opportunities launched, resulting in a 16% reduction in branch turnover, a 43% increase in internal mobility with promotions, an 85% increase in employee referrals, and a 35% increase in gender diversity hiring.
Einav Lavi
Chief Human Resources Officer
Qualitest
As Chief Human Resources Officer for Qualitest, Einav Lavi led a culture strategy that linked the company’s culture to its purpose and values, holding leadership accountable for the culture promise. She also worked to generate a sustainable talent pool, introducing internal and international mobility programs, succession planning modeling, video interviewing, gamification, and AI resource techniques. All of this resulted in the employee base growing from 300 to 5,500 in eight years, a 70% increase in engagement over three years, the acquisition of 16 companies in six different countries, and an improved the time-to-fill cycle from 85 days to 17 days.
Tracy Layney
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Levi Strauss & Co.
Tracy Layney, senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Levi Strauss & Co., led the company’s efforts to support employees to thrive in their work and personal lives. She enhanced mental health resources and benefits; created and expanded policies and benefits that gave employees the time they needed to care for themselves and family members; and oversaw efforts to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. She also ensured employees had access to effective tools to help manage stress, anxiety, and depression; trained managers to lead with empathy and have and honest conversations; launched four new employee resource groups for a company total of 15; and implemented two new talent development programs.
Lucy Lombardi
Senior Vice President of HR
MCAP
Lucy Lombardi leads MCAP as the senior vice president of HR and was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition when her company acquired an organization of more than 400 employees in three different locations. She streamlined the human resources information system, ensuring collaboration between all employees from both companies and integrated their culture and systems. She also developed an integral road map that supports her team in consistently following through with schedules and deadlines.
Camye Mackey
Executive Vice President and Chief People, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena
After the pandemic, Camye Mackey, executive vice president and chief people, diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, knew that prioritizing health, wellness, and work-life balance would be key. With this in mind, she decided to offer a hybrid work environment for team members while encouraging the use of wellness resources both at home and in the office. Team members have access to free programs and software that provides lessons, activities, coaching, webinars, and workshops to strengthen mental and physical well-being. Mackey’s team also launched eight employee resource groups last year with the intent to improve the employee experience, diversify the workforce, and help the workforce feel more connected and valued.
Rachel Miller
Roebbelen Contracting, Inc.
Rachel Miller made a lasting impact on Roebbelen Contracting, Inc. by providing robust workforce development opportunities and successfully implementing a brand-new human resources information system. Some of Miller’s workforce development initiatives include the introduction of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, a validated assessment tool that maps employee thinking to improve communication, build teams, increase awareness around others’ thinking styles, and promote diversity of thought. And after assessing gaps in managers’ leadership effectiveness, she created tailor-made leadership foundations training, equipping leaders with tools to improve productivity, increase engagement, develop communications skills, and more. Since then, the company has seen a 26% growth in employee headcount and is expected to have a 61% growth in revenue this year.