Cruising Altitude

This episode features an interview with Nadine Huggins, Chief Human Resources Officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police service. Nadine spent 20 years in public service before joining the RCMP in March of 2020 as Executive Director of Policies, Strategies and Programs. On this episode, Nadine shares with us how she enables employees even in the most remote regions of...

This episode features an interview with Kristin Chapman, Managing Director of People and Culture at AAA, the leader and advocate for safe mobility. Kristin brings to her role a background in cultural anthropology, which she is using to bring a unique perspective on how AAA has developed an internal brand as strong as its external legacy. On this episode, Kristin talks about developing new traditio...

This episode features an interview with Dan Weber, CHRO at Marsh McLennan Agency, Southwest. Marsh McLennan Agency is a global professional services firm that provides business insurance, employee health & benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individual clients. There, Dan leads the HR team and oversees compensation, benefits, onboarding, and more. On t...

This episode features an interview with John Jordan, Head of The Academy at Bank of America. He has been with Bank of America for nearly 20 years. Under his leadership, The Academy has received over 100 awards including becoming the first JD Power Certified Career Development organization. In his current role, John is responsible for serving Bank of America’s over 200,000 employees. He oversees em...

This episode features an interview with Bala Sathyanarayanan, EVP & CHRO at Greif, Inc., a world-class global industrial packaging products and services provider. Grief is a legacy company, having been founded in 1877. It is also the 7th oldest publicly traded company in the United States with the same stock symbol. Prior to Greif, Bala served as EVP of Business Transformation and Human Resources...

This episode features an interview with Paulo Pisano, Chief People Officer at Booking Holdings, the world’s leader in online travel that includes several brands including Booking.com, Priceline, and RentalCars.com. At Booking Holdings, he heads the people agenda for their 20,000 employees. In this episode, Paulo discusses how to present a strong value proposition to hook great talent, how he tunes...

This episode features an interview with Melissa Marshall, Vice President of People and Organization at Banfield Pet Hospital, the largest veterinary practice in the U.S. Mel is responsible for leading the people strategy at Banfield, where she serves 20,000 associates including veterinarians and their staff. In this episode, Mel discusses how to use layers of technology to support communication am...

This episode features an interview with Alan Winters, Chief People Officer and Chief Diversity Officer at Teleperformance Group, the worldwide leader in outsourced omnichannel customer experience management. Alan is responsible for HR, learning and development, and talent acquisition at Teleperformance Group, which has over 420,000 employees across 88 countries around the world. Alan was born to l...

This episode features an interview with Greg Sexton, Chief Operating Officer at Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Greg has been with Anywhere Real Estate, Century 21’s parent company, for over a decade and has received numerous awards for his leadership. As COO, Greg leads both domestic and international operations including tech tools and apps, learning, and he oversees the field servicing staff. In th...

This episode features an interview with Theresa Alesso, President of Sony Electronics’ Imaging Products and Solutions Americas Division. She has been with Sony for over 30 years in various roles. In her current position as President, she’s responsible for sales and marketing operations for the company’s professional products and imaging solutions. In this episode, Theresa talks about supporting wo...

A brand new season of Cruising Altitude is coming. Firstup is excited to bring you insights from employee experience experts at companies with over 30,000 employees. We’ll hear from leaders at companies like Sony and Century 21 discuss their best practices, lessons learned, and advice for other EX professionals. Join us as we look deep into what makes an excellent digital employee experience. Welc...

This episode features highlights from our first season.  We hear from 7-time CIO Mark Settle, Brady Pyle, Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer at NASA, Tony Saldanha, former VP of Global Business Services at Procter & Gamble, and more. Together, they bring you the most relevant insights to help you attract and retain world-class talent, implement effective tech tools, and improve leadership skills....

This episode features an interview with Joseph LaMarca, Vice President of Communications at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Lockheed Martin is a massive company with over 114,000 employees.  And Joe leads a world-class communications team that’s responsible for employee executive communications, media relations, marketing, philanthropy and more. In this episode, Joe talks about how to build a support...

This episode features an interview with Alexander Senn, Head of People and Organization at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. He leads the 70,000 employees that are part of the Smart Infrastructure family. In this episode, Alex talks about the benefits of replacing performance reviews with growth talks, how to handle being challenged by an employee, and the importance of a trusting culture at work. Quo...

This episode features an interview with Jâlie Cohen. She is the Group SVP of HR Americas at The Adecco Group. She leads EX for the 9,000 employees across the U.S., Canada and Latin America. In this episode, Jâlie talks about launching a new recruiting system, running a successful onboarding experience, and how the employee experience starts way before hire, with brand perception. Quotes *”Everyone...

This episode features an interview with Weston Morris. He is the Director of Global Strategy for Digital Workplace Services at Unisys. He is responsible for leading the global strategy for emerging technologies that impact digital worker productivity – including Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Merged Reality, Virtualization and IoT. In this episode, he talks about...

This episode features an interview with Quique Huerta. He is the Global Employee Experience Officer at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Quique has led the Global Employee Experience group since its inception in early 2020. He is responsible for keeping the pulse on how employees are feeling and leading the creation of amazing employee experiences. In this episode, Quique discusses identifying the moments...

This episode features an interview with Angie Grossman, a Senior Specialist of Employee Experience and Lead Communications Liaison for the Talent Strategy & Employee Experience Team at WarnerMedia. Angie is responsible for employee onboarding and engagement as well as promoting a positive work culture. In this episode, she talks about alternatives to Zoom meetings, bringing enjoyment to digital en...

This episode features an interview with Marija Zivanovic-Smith, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs at NCR Corporation. Among Marija’s many responsibilities are the global brand strategy and execution, sales enablement, digital marketing, public affairs and communicating with NCR’s 38,000 employees. In this episode, she talks about celebrating employee stories,...

This episode features an interview with Jennifer Russo, Senior Director of Corporate Communications and HR Strategy. Jennifer communicates on behalf of the Banner Health system to the 55,000 employees across six states. She also champions the strategy that makes Banner Health a great place to work. In this episode, she talks about communicating effectively during times of crisis, exploring differe...

This episode features an interview with Brady Pyle, Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer at NASA.  Brady oversees the Executive HR Directors for NASA’s 10 field centers nationwide in the development, execution, and integration of HR services, programs, processes and policies.  In this episode, he talks about expanding their workforce with contractors, the unique experience of working for a federal a...

This episode features an interview with Lisa Cummings Penn, Executive Director of Employee Engagement in the office of the CIO at Estée Lauder Companies.  Lisa leads employee engagement for IT at ELC.  In this episode, she talks about how one size does not fit all when it comes to employee engagement. Quotes *“Mr. Leonard Lauder has always said listen first and lead second. Really listen to your p...

This episode features an interview with Joey Wilkerson, Acquisition Integration Manager and Employee Experience Lead at Cisco.  Joey engages new employees with company culture after an acquisition.  On this episode, he talks about starting off on the right foot, the importance of building relationships, and creating a community that supports the whole person. Quotes “There is this trap we fall int...

This episode features an interview with Nicole Alvino, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of SocialChorus.  Nicole sets goals for company growth and defines the industry standard for an innovative digital employee experience.  On this episode, she talks about getting buy-in from C-suite executives on an EX overhaul, serving highly personalized company information to employees and how to kick off a...

This episode features an interview with Erica Cary, Vice President of Product and Services at Hilton.  Erica has more than 18 years of experience in technology, client relationship management, and business development.  At Hilton, she’s responsible for creating digital experiences for both employees and guests.  In this episode, she talks about creating a relevant experience for a diverse workforc...