Legendary business consultant Peter Drucker once said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day”. As a long-term business leader, who has managed teams of up to 350 employees, I couldn’t agree more. In my experience, the best laid plans mean nothing without an inspired and motivated workforce. From my days running production facilities, I learned that the more engaged and valued employees felt, the better our operating performance and customer satisfaction. My passion for building positive cultures was a driver in my shift from operations to HR leadership, where I now impact the tenor of the entire organization in a profound way. My transition to HR was also rooted in a natural inclination to make others around me better. We hire many students into our organization at a critical developmental period in their lives and I take great pride in guiding them – as well as seasoned employees – to find their true passions and put actionable plans in place to develop towards their career goals. This is also why I am actively training members of my staff to someday take over my position. What I was unaware of when I formally entered the HR field, beginning with a stretch assignment I campaigned to receive, was how much I would enjoy all facets of the function. From workforce planning to employee relations, I can strategically pull a variety of levers that maximize human potential, and in turn drive business results and customer loyalty.