The HR teams at Avery Dennison and Banc of California have been recognized for excellence in HR transformation as part of HR Executive‘s 2025 HR Icons Awards.
The teams were among a dozen winners announced Monday night during the inaugural HR Icons Awards Evening, which took place in Las Vegas on the eve of the HR Tech conference.
“We were so impressed by the quality of the submissions and the innovative work being done by HR teams every day at organizations of all sizes,” said Katherine Childress, vice president, HR Community, Media and Events, for Arc Network. “Congratulations to all the winners—and the employees and organizations benefitting from their work.”
Two winners were named in each of six categories, one for HR teams at large employers and one for HR teams at smaller employers, specifically those with fewer than 10,000 employees. The previously named finalists in each category were also recognized at the event.
Here are the winners:
Team of the Year: Excellence in HR Transformation
This award recognizes an HR team that has successfully led a large-scale transformation that aligned with and delivered on business goals. As in all categories, but particularly in this one, the judges were looking to see a team’s significant impact through measurable results.
In the large employer division, judges recognized the Avery Dennison team led by Chassidy Rellinger, vice president, Enterprise HR Operations and Solutions. The company’s transformation work began with a vision for changing how HR works and modernizing and improving the employee experience. A global HR shared services model is at the core, enabled by technology that provided all employees, including frontline manufacturing employees with 24/7 access to HR and IT services. Earlier this year, the team deployed the Oracle HCM suite to continue improving the EX with new learning and development capabilities.
In the small employer division, Banc of California CHRO Alex Kweskin and his team were honored for their efforts. The team has been on an “HR Revolution” since 2022, working to transform every aspect of the function, leveraging technology and boosting employee satisfaction. In that time, they have launched more than 30 new programs, initiatives and integrations. Combined, they have reduced high-performance turnover to less than 0.5%; cut first-year turnover by 5%; increased internal mobility by more than 50%; and improved employee engagement to 4.2 out of 5.0.
Best Workplace Culture
The Best Workplace Culture award went to Dow in the large employer division and Sequoia Living in the small employer division. The culture award recognizes employers that have cultivated an exceptional workplace environment, where employees feel authentically valued, empowered and inspired to thrive.
Excellence in Employee Engagement
Dow, in the large employee division, and LRS, a waste and recycling company based in the Midwest, in the small category, won the Excellence in Employee Engagement award.
This award celebrates HR teams that have developed and implemented innovative strategies to foster a highly engaged workforce.
Excellence in HR Tech Innovation and AI
For Excellence in HR Tech Innovation and AI, the winners were global manufacturer Johnson Controls International in the large division and reinsurance firm Fortitude Re in the small division.
This award recognizes HR teams that are pioneering the use of cutting-edge technologies or AI-powered solutions to transform their operations.
Excellence in Talent Development
In the Excellence in Talent Development (Learning and Growth) category, the large division winner was Marriott and in the small division, it was Cornerstone. This award celebrates HR teams that are redefining how employees learn, through a deep commitment to forward-thinking development initiatives.
Excellence in Talent Strategy
Among large employers, Bristol Myers Squibb is the winner in this category. And among small employers, it is Banc of California. The Excellence in Talent Strategy awards honor visionary HR teams that have designed and executed innovative talent strategies to deliver significant business impact for their organizations.
Other winners
Paradox’s Immersive Job Previews tool was announced as the winner of the Excellence in HR Tech Innovation award, which is part of the annual Top HR Products competition. Twelve HR tech firms, previously announced as 2025 Top HR Products, also picked up their awards at the event.
Also recognized were previously announced 2025 award winners: HR Executive of the Year Donna Morris of Walmart; HR Leader of Distinction Paige Ross of Blackstone; and five HR’s Rising Stars: Prerna Ajmera of Microsoft, Drew Howell of Amazon, Mai Lan Nguyen of Schneider Electric, Gabrielle Rodman of Dell and Sarah Tilley of ServiceNow.
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Check back soon to learn more about how the HR Icons winners are succeeding.
