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From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
This year has been a rough one for HR leaders.
Several companies, including Amazon, Meta, and Nike, downsized their HR teams between the end of 2022 and early 2023. Recruiters were hit especially hard, as economic volatility caused employers to rethink hiring plans, as were DE&I pros, whose teams shrunk amid cost-cutting efforts and corporate restructuring.
But the news wasn’t all bad. Some people pros moved into new leadership roles.
Big shake-ups in retail. David’s Bridal, Nordstrom, VF Corporation, and REI welcomed Andrea Dauphinee, Lisa Price, Brent Hyder, and Apple Musni respectively as their new CHROs between the spring and fall of this year. And in November, Chipotle said that Iene Eskenazi would be its new CHRO, after spending three years as Petco’s chief legal and HR officer.
That same month, Walgreens announced Sal Venegas, its SVP of global talent management, compensation, and team member experience, would serve as its interim CHRO following the departure of Holly May after just two years on the job, Supermarket News reported.
DE&I leaders on the move. The NBA kicked off 2023 with a steal, nabbing HP’s Lesley Slaton Brown as its new chief DE&I officer. In March, NASA hired Steve Shih as its first diversity ambassador, tasked with helping form relationships with non-agency partners as it tries to recruit and engage a more diverse workforce, according to a NASA blog post.
In October, Disney named Tinisha Agramonte as its chief diversity officer, reporting to the company’s CHRO, Sonia Coleman. And Sutter Health, a healthcare network with nearly 70,000 employees, announced in November that Dana Beckton will join as its first chief diversity and inclusion officer in January 2024.
Tech in flux. Prior to 2023, Deirdre O’Brien, led Apple’s HR operations as part of her role as head of retail. However, the company named Carol Surface as its first CPO in February, breaking HR out as a separate division, Bloomberg reported.
Salesforce, Lumen Technologies, and Peloton also experienced shifts in their HR teams in 2023. Nathalie Scardino, who has been at Salesforce for more than 12 years and previously oversaw recruiting and onboarding, temporarily took over as CPO after the abrupt resignation of Brent Hyder, whose four-year tenure was marked by controversy. Ana White joined Lumen Technologies, bringing with her nearly two decades in the tech industry, and Twitter’s former CPO, Dalana Brand, joined Peloton as part of the company’s new executive team.
Meanwhile, PayPal wrapped up the year by welcoming Walmart’s Isabel Cruz as its new CPO, overseeing talent attraction, retention, and development, as well as real estate strategy, according to a press release.
For everyone’s sake, we hope 2024 brings fewer layoffs and more career highs for HR leaders.