I currently lead HR at Bloomberg. We step outside of convention to attract and develop top talent. Having the best people and technology isn't enough. Breakthrough performance results when we channel our employees' diverse thoughts and experiences to solve our clients' needs. We've hired students from the best hospitality schools even though we're not in that business; we’ve hired people without a technical background to provide technical support. We believe that hard work and a willingness to take risks are the keys to success.I joined Bloomberg in 1987, almost a year after graduating from Cornell with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After Cornell, I spent 6 months on an Israeli farm milking cows and learning about the dairy business. Why? I wanted to try something completely different. On my return, most companies couldn't understand why I did this; Bloomberg asked: "When can you start?"That hiring philosophy remains today and is guided by our mission to establish an inclusive work environment. This mission has motivated me over my time here. Drawing on my degree, I began in Bloomberg's Engineering department while studying for my MBA at night. Over 14 years, my group developed advanced software, including our own inventory management system, technical support tools and the first streaming video prior to the Internet's popularization. From there, I ran Technical Operations and then Trading Systems, for 2 and 3 years respectively. I also spent 2 years of life and work in London. Upon returning to New York, I ran HR for 2 years before returning to Technical Operations for 7 years. Today, I'm back leading HR. Bloomberg prides itself on celebrating those who take risks and fail over those who fail to take risks. We're committed to developing our employees and we do so while encouraging a culture of collaboration, innovation, creativity and hard work.