Executive VP and Chief Human Resources Officer at Verizon
Only a few months ago, we welcomed a new decade and started the year like any other. Now, we are facing our greatest test yet on a global scale. As an HR professional with over 30-years of experience, nothing in my tenure has required such a swift response and united action like COVID-19. To be sure, the lasting effects of this pandemic will become a chapter in the next generation’s history books. However, I hope the stories go beyond the challenges we faced, to include how we, as business leaders, showed up for our employees, customers, and society.
As the Chief Human Resources Officer at Verizon, I am responsible for over 135,000 employees. Our highest priorities are the health and safety of our V Teamers while we continue to provide uninterrupted network services to customers when connectivity has never been more important.
In addition to supporting our employees and customers, we must also look beyond our walls. Business leaders are being called to arms in response to the staggering rise of unemployment and the critical need to get people back to work.
Realizing that no one company or even industry can address this problem alone, I joined forces with fellow CHROs from Accenture, Lincoln Financial Group, and ServiceNow to launch People+Work Connect, a coalition to connect people to work and work to people. At zero cost to participate, this collaborative employer-to employer initiative will bring together companies with workforces laid off or furloughed due to COVID-19 with those in urgent need of workers.
What started as a seed of an idea quickly morphed into a movement powered by HR leaders who adopted a first responder mindset to lessen the economic and societal impact of COVID-19. It’s truly an honor to work shoulder-to-shoulder with companies from around the world, and shape a new model of cross-collaboration that will become our standard moving forward.
When this is over, the companies that have gone above and beyond will continue to win. These are the actions that will be remembered by employees for years to come.
