Jeri Medrea is an innovative executive that has created, transformed, and led global strategic human resource functions in a variety of public and private companies, large and small, and within different business sectors.
Currently, she is Chief People Officer for Liquidnet, the global institutional investment network. She is responsible for overseeing global human resources, leadership development, organizational development, and employee engagement which includes their Liquidnet For Good initiatives. Throughout her career, she has focused her teams on adding value to the bottom line while providing services and products that preserve the culture, drive performance, and meet the ever-changing needs of a diverse workplace.
Under her leadership the companies she has worked for have been the recipients of many workplace awards; Best Places to work for Working Mothers, Best Places to work for IT professionals, Best work place for preventive care and wellness initiatives and Best Places to work in New York City.
As Chief People Officer at Liquidnet, Jeri introduced a platform that provides a basis, context, and support for the company’s DEI initiatives. The platform is called R.I.S.E..(Respectful, Inclusive, Safe and Empowering). It addresses all issues facing companies today and their efforts to attract and retain diverse talent.
More from Jeri…
Jeri understands that the world is changing. She also knows over time, worker’s attitudes change. But she says sometimes those who work in HR are slow to adapt to it. And that can’t happen:
“I tell my team, this always. There’s a couple things I’ve given folks that have worked for me in the past, number one, add value, not noise.
And I think HR has a tendency, because there is so much very important “administrivia,” that has to take place that has to be incredibly precise. Because if you don’t get it, there’s a lot of pain that’s caused, because it’s all part of a larger ecosystem.
And the other thing is to put things in context, always, and connect the dots for people. So what I am finding is that HR people in particular, aren’t typically very agile or innovative. And I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s because they’re wired that way, or the schooling that they get. But I always say, whiteboard it. Start over.
And even in this situation, we’re having a conversation about flex time and our flex policy, and what do we do when we go back to work? And I said, I think you need to think about what if we never go back to work? What if only 10% of the workforce ever goes back to an office? What do you need to do to keep that employee base engaged? Measure their productivity? How do you recruit them? How do you train them? How do you retain them? So how do you keep teams going? I mean, don’t think it’s going to go back, because it’s not.
And I think this situation has forced change on us and is forcing everybody to think about how they might do things differently. And you have to. I mean, if you don’t want to change, get out of the way, because you are going to get trampled, and you’re not going to survive.
And it can be fun. And it can be innovative. And it’s important because it keeps your brain going. It keeps your juices flowing, it keeps you relevant. When I look at people who’ve been in the industry, and this isn’t a criticism, I actually admire them that have done the same job for 30 or 40 years. God bless them. I mean, I couldn’t do that. But I’m glad that they could, because they were delivering things that I needed in my lifetime, right?
So change is a positive thing. And if people don’t get that and don’t embrace it, then they’re going to have a miserable existence.”
