John Barbieri is a seasoned Global Human Resources Executive with a proven track record of delivering high quality human capital solutions in complex cross-functional global companies.
Experiences range from large cap foreign based company to private equity start-up. Change agent in times of growth and transition. Effectively operates on both strategic and operational level. HR Generalist/HR Business Partner who has managed all HR functional areas.
Most recently, John was in a leadership role in charge of all HR and administrative functions for the U.S. subsidiary of a large Japanese insurance company. He led the integration of all HR processes from his company to a newly created entity after merger. After integration he moved to a global learning and development role.
John served as the top HR executive for a medium sized publicly traded insurance company overseeing a staff of 20 professionals in 18 office locations. Overall responsible for all areas of HR with special emphasis on executive compensation issues working closely with the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Barbieri created and managed an HR department for a private equity start-up based in Bermuda from 2007 to 2012. He helped the company grow from 50 to 500 employees in four years. John worked very closely with line managers implementing HR policies and practices necessary to attract, recruit and retain high quality workforce in competitive industry.
Prior to 2007, John held various senior HR roles for the second largest reinsurance company in the world. During that time, John led all HR for the Americas (US, Canada and Latin America) with an employee population of approximately 4,000 and HR team of around 60 professionals. John led initiative to create a HR Shared Services Center bringing together all HR operations for three separate businesses resulting in reduce costs, consistency within the region, and greater efficiencies. Early in his tenure at Swiss Re, John managed HR for the financial services group and spent a year in Zurich Switzerland on an international assignment.
Mr. Barbieri headed up HR for an investment management subsidiary of a large life insurance company, managed employment for the NY region for a large broker and started his HR career with one of the Big Four accounting firms.
John has a Master Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in Higher Education Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree from Keene State College (University of New Hampshire system).
John has a CEBS (Certified Employee Benefits Specialist) designation and authored a book on Recruitment and Hiring. John is an avid sports enthusiast and resides in Davidson, North Carolina with his family.
More from John…
In order to be successful in all the places he’s worked, John had to earn trust. He talked to us about how important building this trust up is for an HR professional, and why people found him to be trustworthy.
“I had to deliver and when people came to me with questions, issues, and they did, I had to be able to respond. And sometimes it was not things that they wanted to hear, and I had to push back, but in the end, they realized that what I was doing was for the betterment of the company and for them. Maybe it wasn’t the answer they wanted, but it was the right answer.
And just being consistent about it, being proactive, also being responsive. I try to answer emails within a day, try to be visible, walking around being available to employees, as well.
There’s the tricky part about human resources, and anybody who’s in it knows, is you’re both an advocate for the employees as well as your part of management. You have to balance those two things very delicately and can’t be focusing on one area to the detriment of the other. I think I was able to manage that balance.”
