The Greater Self Podcast: Recent Episodes
Harris Fanaroff
The Greater Self Podcast is a show for HR leaders, by HR leaders. On the podcast, we feature best practices, insights, tactics, and strategies all-around one thing: helping each of our people become the best version of themselves.
Tracey Leahy joined Rocket Software in August 2018 as SVP of HR and Chief People Officer, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in human resources and organizational development. Prior to Rocket, she was the Global Senior Director of Human Resources at PAREXEL International, where she supported senior leaders and implemented the global people strategy.
Before that, she worked for four years as an Associate Director of HR and Organizational Development for the UK’s National Health Service.
Tracey is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, and an alumnus of both the Dearne Valley Business School and the University of Bedfordshire in the UK.
Paul Carney is the EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Carter Bank & Trust, a $4B community bank with locations in Virginia and North Carolina. He is an accomplished author and speaker and has more than 30 years of experience in business, IT, and as a human resources professional and career advocate.
Paul started his career as a high school math teacher before building his first internet- based company in 1997. After selling that product line, he helped build and sell two more technology companies. Paul found his way into HR due to his strong background in leadership and training. He often explains that he is a business person who manages HR as he acts as a trusted advisor to his business partners.
Paul wrote and published his first book, "Move Your Æ(ash): Know, Grow, and Show Your Career Value" in 2018.
Paul and Lisa, his wife, live in Oak Ridge, NC, and enjoy spending time with their two adult children, visiting the beach and wineries along the way.
Monique Jefferson is a results-oriented, proven human resources executive with over 20 years of diverse, global experience in the financial services, legal, Insurance, media, non-profit and professional services industries. She has led regional and global teams to deliver value-add human capital solutions to c-suite executives. Her primary areas of expertise include talent and performance management, compensation, leadership development, succession management, talent acquisition, executive coaching, diversity, equity & inclusion, cultural change, employee engagement, training, employee and labor relations.
She currently works for New York Public Radio, where she is the Chief Human Resources Officer. Prior to this role, Monique was Head of HR for Business Services across the Americas region and head of the global HR business partner function for Hogan Lovells, an AmLaw 25 international law firm. She was also Vice President of Human Resources and senior HR business partner at New York Life Insurance Company. As a Senior HR Business Partner, she led a team that provided HR client support to all corporate functions and was the strategic HR advisor to 5 executive management committee members including the enterprise CFO, General Counsel, Chief Risk officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Actuary.
Prior to joining New York Life Insurance in 2009, Ms. Jefferson spent over seven years with Merrill Lynch in the Global Markets & Investment Banking division. Ms. Jefferson initially joined Merrill Lynch in 2002 as an HR Associate in the U.S. Private Client and Global Research divisions. She was promoted to Director of human resources in 2008 where she was the senior HR relationship manager for Investment Banking covering the domestic offices, Latin America, Canada and the Financial Institutions group globally.
Before going to Merrill Lynch, Monique worked at Bristol Myers Squibb pharmaceuticals as a sales staffing specialist and manager of leadership development. In 1998, Ms. Jefferson also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a resource manager where she handled the internal mobility and career development of associates and interns within the assurance practice. Ms. Jefferson began her career as a financial auditor in the New York office of Ernst & Young LLP.
Ms. Jefferson is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR & SHRM-SCP) and was an instructor at the New York Institute of Technology, where she taught the SHRM learning system course for the PHR/SPHR exam. She is also an executive coach and is certified in The Leadership Circle Profile.
Ms. Jefferson graduated from Bentley University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from the New School University. Ms. Jefferson is a recipient of the Harlem YMCA Black Achievers in Industry recognition, The Network Journal’s 40 under 40 and 25 Influential Black Women in Business awards, Get5 HR Hero award for outstanding volunteerism and EMpower Ethnic Minority top 100 executives. She is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Brooklyn chapter of The Links, Incorporated, board member and immediate past President of the CALIBR Global Leadership Network, board member of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR)- greater NY chapter and is a member of the New School alumni advisory council. Additionally, Ms. Jefferson has served on the board of trustees for the Lefferts Gardens Charter School, where she was board chair from 2011 - 2013.
Glynis Lee serves as the Vice President of Inclusion, Community, and HR Technology, responsible for accelerating and actuating a world class inclusive culture at Infor, LLC. With her deep background in technology transformation, program and project management – she has been able to inject an action-oriented approach to inclusion and community, focusing on systemic process transformation to interrupt bias and infuse inclusive behavior as a natural and organic component of the company culture.
Glynis’ career spans over 20 in leading complex IT service delivery organizations and overseeing strategic technology transformation efforts in private, government, and academic and global organizations. She has focused on the selection, implementation, and management of ERP systems supporting back office operations, particularly in Human Resources and Finance. She transitioned to an HR leadership role several years ago, leveraging technology to facilitate cultural transformation.
A graduate of Rutgers University with a BS in Business Economics, and a MBA in Management Information Systems, she holds her PMP certification, and certificates in Executive Leadership, High Performance Leadership, and Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University.
A native of New Jersey, Glynis now lives outside Atlanta, GA with her husband, 2 children, and granddaughter.
Todd Helms is the SVP/CHRO for Mueller Water Products, headquartered in Atlanta. Mueller is a global water infrastructure company with a 160+ year heritage. Mueller is leading the industry in the introduction and adaption of technology-based solutions to identify/repair leaks and manage pressure, temperature, and water quality.
Much of Todd’s career has focused on change management and team building in strong, operationally driven organizations. Prior to joining Mueller in 2020, Todd was the CHRO at Synovus Financial. He enjoyed an 8-year career at NAPA Auto Parts and spent over 13 years with Newell Rubbermaid in various business unit HR lead roles before culminating his career there as the Vice President, Global Corporate Human Resources. Earlier in his career, Todd held engineering/operational roles with both Textron and Conoco before beginning his HR path at Newell.
Todd holds an MBA from Ohio University. He received a BS degree in Physics from King College in Bristol, TN, and a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology. Todd has been on the Advisory Board for the American Cancer Society’s Atlanta Select for over 14 years and previously served on the Board for Junior Achievement of Georgia, the Board of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce and the Advisory Board for Executive Women of Goizueta.
Peter Sursi is currently the FBI’s senior executive over Financial Processing and Modernization Efforts, where he oversees modernization efforts for payments processing, including commercial and travel payments, relocation services, and investigative case needs. He implemented a new relocation process for employees, a new tool to streamline requests for reimbursements and advances, and the regionalization of 56 finance offices into six regional finance hubs. He was previously head of talent acquisition for the FBI for four and a half years, where he overhauled diversity recruiting, implemented the FBI’s first employment marketing program, and expanded the FBI’s internship program into a major entry-level hiring tool. Prior to that, he worked in foreign language hiring, recruiting and operations.
Leon Lachance leads the U.S. HR function for Mphasis / Digital Risk as a 20+ year career HR strategist & practionner across Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms, in multiple industries that include Travel & Leisure, Entertainment, Manufacturing, Mortgage, Software, and Financial Services. Driven by the curiosity of “What If”, he works to lead change management through a full engagement model.
Dennis DiMaggio, Chief Learning Officer of Breakthru Beverage Group, entered the Organizational Development field in 2002 after a 10-year career in Health Care Management. Currently serving as Vice President and Chief Learning Officer in the Beverage Alcohol industry, Dennis leads a team of 25 Learning Professionals in the US and Canada, serving over 7,000 associates. Enthusiastic to share experiences and learn from others, he is a frequent speaker at the Long Island Society for Human Resource Management, a panelist on sales coaching by the Corporate Executive Board and interviewed on the subjects of Organizational Learning and Empathy in the Workplace by T&D Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.
Dennis is certified as a Master Trainer through Development Dimensions International (DDI) and the Association for Talent Development (ATD). In the classroom and virtually, Dennis facilitates interactive sessions on Civil Treatment in the Workplace, and leadership topics including Delegation, Coaching, Communication, Diversity & Inclusion, Change Management and Developing Talent. Dennis is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, qualified as an ATD Expert Coach and a certified coach with both Marshall Goldsmith’s Stakeholder Centered Coaching and The Gallup Corporation.
Miles Veth interviews the host of The Greater Self, Harris Fanaroff. They dive deep on what listeners can expect from the show.