Welcome to HRE’s 2015 HR’s Rising Stars. As in years past, we received many sound entries. Also, as in years past, our panel of judges struggled at times to determine whether a candidate exhibited unique star quality or was simply performing his or her function to the very best of his or her ability.
In either case, all judges agreed this year’s winners have that extra Rising Star spark – HR leadership skills and initiative that shine through in terms of background, creativity, drive, and commitment to personal and departmental excellence and growth.
For these five – Renée Breyer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Kurt Gering of the San Diego International Airport, Margeaux King of Ecolab, Cheryl Harris of American Airlines and Jordan Furbee Vroblesky of Amazon.com – the innovation and perseverance they applied to whatever challenges were before them got the judges’ attentions and brought their names to the top.
Each one, panelists agreed, can attack problems head-on, devise strategies for solving them, obtain the buy-in necessary to make them fly and keep their teams intact through whatever job is at hand – be it overseeing a merger, lining up the right succession strategy or even simply setting up the right training support for new HR technology. Each one, panelists agreed, could very well be leading his or her own HR organization one day.
Judges for the contest include Charlie Tharp, chief executive officer for the Center on Executive Compensation, a division of the HR Policy Association, and former senior vice president of human resources for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; Michele Darling, president of Michele Darling and Associates in Mississauga, Ontario, and former executive vice president of corporate governance and human resources for Prudential Insurance Co.; Gregory Hessel, senior client partner with the human resources practice and managing director of global client development at Korn/Ferry International’s Dallas offices; and Kristen B. Frasch, managing editor of Human Resource Executive® magazine.
Read these stories about the 2015 HR’s Rising Stars:
Renée Breyer has been vital to helping Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory navigate significant changes in management and structure.
Kurt Gering is using his background in both the boardroom and the classroom to help usher in a more profit-driven approach at the San Diego International Airport.
Taking an early cue from her mother, Ecolab’s Margeaux King pursues HR challenges and devises real-time solutions in “game-changer” mode.
Cheryl Harris is helping to reinvent and revitalize the flight-attendant hiring process at American Airlines
Since taking over the reins as the senior HR business leader at Amazon.com’s MOD operation, Jordan Furbee Vroblesky has seen her responsibilities – and impact – grow exponentially.
