ITOCHU Building Products Holdings Inc. (IBP) is a holding company formed in April 2022 and headquartered in Dallas, TX. IBP is responsible for overseeing subsidiaries related to North American building products such as Master Halco, ALTA and US Premier Tube Mills. IBP is offering a wide range of administrative services such as Accounting & Finance, Internal Audit, Risk & Safety, Human Resources, Information Technology, Business Development and M&A to the underlying operational companies. IBP is also a business platform to develop and lead the growth strategy of ITOCHU’s North American building products business.

OpenWater is a curated community of high-achieving professionals with decades of experience. By fostering connections, delivering support, and shining a light on experience, we empower members to re-imagine what's possible.

Founder and Host of 6 Degrees or Less, a podcast focused on networking. Just having fun, making friends, sharing meaningful conversations and enjoying a hobby - relationshiping.

As the company's first HR executive, my focus was on both HR and Safety, leading the effort to transform, elevate, and strengthen both functions by creating and implementing effective people processes, actively pursuing opportunities to add value and reduce cost, and building the people capability of our team. Partnered with the executive leadership team to set the people strategy for the the organization.

I led the talent acquisition/management efforts for McCarthy’s Southern Region, which stretches from Texas to the Carolinas. In a nutshell, my purpose in life was to find and hire talented people who like to build really cool stuff like hospitals, museums, performing arts venues, roads, bridges, parking garages, etc. I program managed the university relations and college recruiting efforts at nearly 20 different schools across the country and oversee the region’s Intern Advantage program, employing more than 40 interns annually.

Provided human resources guidance and counsel to the Executive Leadership Team and seven Regional Vice Presidents. Led a team of HR professionals that supported both Field Operations and the Store Support Center, with a strong focus on recruiting, employee relations, workforce planning, and day-to-day HR administration. Partnered with senior leaders to set the people agenda, develop field recruiting strategy and build the capability of the Operations team.

Led the human resources function of a collaboration software company focused on growth, scalability, and creating products that customers love. Primarily responsible for talent acquisition, performance management, benefits administration, employee engagement, employee relations, total rewards, and vendor management across locations in North America, United Kingdom, India, Japan and Singapore.

Worked on several HR consulting projects (contract) across several different industries such as manufacturing, semiconductor, event/experiential marketing, and restaurant/hospitality.

Provided human resources leadership and support for two sales divisions – Premier and Pinnacle. Partnered with the State President and Senior Vice President to create and drive the people strategy across all distribution centers and more than 2000 employees in Texas. Led the effort to implement a HR Business Partner support structure.

Provided human resources support for corporate staff in Plano, Texas and help desk operations in Louisville, Kentucky. Coached executive-level leaders, senior managers and associates through Yum!’s Building People Capability cycle, which included an in-depth talent review and individual development plans for all associates. Ensured consistent messages around people processes. Provided counsel and communicated point-of-view with respect to capability of teams, upgrading and developing talent.

Provided human resources leadership for company-owned operations in Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and Spokane markets. Drove each region's people strategy and key people processes and metrics through strategic partnerships with region directors, spending 20% of time in restaurant operations, facilitating monthly bench planning meetings, assessing and calibrating talent quarterly and driving compliance.

Spent nearly eight years with the telecom giant formerly known as AT&T Wireless Services (owned by AT&T) which spun off from AT&T to become AT&T Wireless Group, which was bought by Cingular Wireless (largest acquisition in U.S. history at the time...$41B) only to become known as the AT&T you know and love today. Crazy, huh?In those eight years, I...• Provided HR leadership for Rocky Mountain Region, with operations in Colorado, Utah and Boise• Led HR programs and strategies as member of region leadership team, including employee relations, labor relations, compensation and general HR practices• Along with senior management, developed strategies to increase productivity, reduce turnover, optimize staffing and execute action items developed in regular strategic planning sessions• Partnered with union leaders (Communications Workers of America) on employee relations matters.• Provided HR leadership for two separate call center operations, with an employee population of more than 1000 and managed a team of three HR professionals• Engineered and led workforce consolidation efforts for two separate departments, resulting in a 33% headcount reduction• Provided HR support for the entire HR organization (300+ associates)• Led a project team of functional partners to build, from scratch, a web-based Employee Separation Process for the company’s entire employee population• Partnered with HR senior management on compensation projects, performance management matters, change management efforts, employee recognition and HR strategy• Chosen to lead the HR effort in shutting down AT&T Fixed Wireless. Partnered with internal HR subject matter experts and exiting HR staff to successfully redeploy more than 1000 employees over a 12 month period• Provided HR leadership and support Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis marketsAreas of focus: human resources, employee relations, process design, process improvement, labor relations, performance management

KBR (formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, which was previously part of Halliburton, but originally known as MW Kellogg, a subsidiary of Dresser Industries). Did I mention my M&A experience?During my time at KBR, I...• Provided HR support for KBR’s Maintenance Operations organization• Partnered with management to resolve employee relations, compensation and benefits matters• Facilitated on-site training on OFCCP compliance, EEO/AAP compliance, Sexual Harassment and Dispute Resolution for front-line supervisors and employees• Spent the early part of my career in Employee Services and BenefitsAreas of focus: human resources, benefits, employee relations, training, performance management