20 HR and People Leaders at Major US Employers to Know

People leadership at a major employer is much bigger than hiring. It touches culture, capability, employee experience, rewards, learning, labour relations and the day to day systems that help people do good work.

Here are 20 senior people leaders whose public work gives a useful view of that range. They come from technology, retail, travel, finance, hospitality, manufacturing and more.

Amy Coleman

Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Microsoft. Microsoft says she leads people strategy for a global workforce of more than 220,000 people. Her background includes more than two decades with the company and a focus on helping teams work through major change.

Beth Galetti

Senior Vice President, People eXperience and Technology at Amazon. Amazon lists her on its S-team and says she oversees People eXperience and Technology. That remit connects talent, employee experience and the systems that support a very large global workforce.

Donna Morris

Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Walmart. Walmart says she leads global people strategy for more than two million associates. Her work includes career pathways, skills development and the systems that help people grow inside a huge operating business.

Tiffanie Boyd

Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Officer at McDonald’s. McDonald’s says she leads human resources, talent, rewards, learning, inclusion, culture and organisational effectiveness. It is a broad people brief across one of the world’s best known restaurant systems.

Deirdre O’Brien

Senior Vice President, Retail and People at Apple. Apple says she leads both its retail business and its people work. Her people remit includes Apple University, talent, recruiting, employee relations, inclusion and benefits.

Sara Kelly

Executive Vice President and Chief Partner Officer at Starbucks. Starbucks describes her as a senior leader connected to partner experience and development. The company’s recent work includes nearly 20,000 graduates through its college achievement plan, a useful example of people strategy made tangible.

Francine Katsoudas

Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer at Cisco. Cisco says her remit spans People and Communities, sustainability, social impact, inclusion, government affairs and workplace resources. That combination shows how the people brief can sit close to purpose and public trust.

Nickle LaMoreaux

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at IBM. IBM says she has led its global people strategy since 2020. Her work includes helping IBMers build skills for an AI shaped economy across a workforce that spans many countries.

Gloria Chen

Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President, Employee Experience at Adobe. Adobe says she leads global people and workplace strategy for more than 30,000 employees in 70 locations. She has spent more than two decades with the company through several periods of change.

Laura Fuentes

Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Hilton. Hilton says her brief covers people strategy as well as its global supply management operation. That unusual combination links team experience with the practical systems behind a large hospitality business.

Kate Gebo

Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Labor Relations at United Airlines. United says she leads human resources and labour relations, alongside talent acquisition, development and retention. The company also describes a people team of more than 800.

Sara Wechter

Chief Human Resources Officer at Citi. Citi says she is responsible for talent strategy across a workforce of more than 200,000 people. Her remit includes how the organisation approaches pay transparency and hybrid work.

Robin Leopold

Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources at JPMorganChase. JPMorganChase says she leads global human capital strategy. Her work sits alongside the bank’s wider focus on skills, internal mobility and helping people grow with the organisation.

Jacqueline Arthur

Global Head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs lists her as the global head of human capital management. Her public work has included attention to resilience and mental wellbeing at work.

Sonia Coleman

Senior Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at The Walt Disney Company. Disney says she leads global people and culture strategy, talent, compensation, inclusion and organisational effectiveness. She has also held several senior people roles inside the company.

Becky Schmitt

Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at PepsiCo. PepsiCo says she leads human resources and has more than 25 years of experience. Her background includes large scale consumer businesses and a long period with Accenture.

Monique Matheson

Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Nike. Nike says she leads global human resources strategy, including recruitment, succession, learning, inclusion, engagement, pay and benefits. She has been with Nike since 1998.

Melissa Kremer

Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Target. Target says she leads all aspects of HR for more than 400,000 team members. Her experience includes recruitment, learning, leadership development, talent management and workforce planning.

Stephanie Smith

Executive Vice President, Human Resources at The Home Depot. The Home Depot says she and her team support more than 470,000 associates. Her earlier experience inside the company included supply chain leadership and store operations.

Nikki Krishnamurthy

Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Uber. Uber says she leads human resources, recruiting, workplace and inclusion. Before Uber, she was chief people officer and a business leader at Expedia Group.

A useful pattern

The most interesting part of these roles is the breadth. The leaders above sit close to culture, skills, systems, workforce planning and the experience people have when they do their work.

If you lead a team, the practical question is simple: what would make it easier for good people to do their best work here next week?