NAHR welcomes new members | HRExecutive.com

The National Academy of Human Resources inducted five new fellows last week. They are, from left, W. Warner Burke, Josh Bersin, Jeffrey McGuiness, Ashley Goldsmith and Skip Spriggs.

A technology revolution, insufficient and undervalued talent, volatile economic and political systems, misaligned goals within HR and high turnover among CHROs. Those are just a handful of issues facing HR leaders and executives today, according to the newest class of fellows in the National Academy of Human Resources.

Each is a broad issue in its own right and only one of a number of concerns each of the new fellows identified as challenges within organizations, the industry and the profession. And yet, each new fellow was optimistic about the future.

“I have no concerns about the HR profession’s ability to adapt and evolve,” industry analyst Josh Bersin, one of the five new fellows, writes in response to questions from Human Resource Executive.

Founded in 1992, the academy recognizes “individuals and institutions of distinction” in the field for their achievements while collaborating to advance the profession. New fellows are elected by a vote of the membership.

Here is a look at the class of 2019, along with their responses to our questions. The new fellows were installed Nov. 7 during the academy’s annual dinner in New York.

Josh Bersin
Analyst, author and thought leader

Bersin, an engineer by training, founded Bersin & Associates in 2001 to provide research and consulting on corporate learning. The company’s work expanded over the years to include HR, leadership and especially the talent market. He later sold the company to Deloitte and, in May, launched the Josh Bersin Academy, a global development academy for HR and talent professionals.

W. Warner Burke
Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University

Burke is the E.L. Thorndike professor of psychology and education and a founder of the social-organizational psychology graduate programs at Teachers College. His experience includes teaching, researching and consulting, focused on feedback, leadership, organization change and learning agility, with companies including IBM, British Airways and NASA, throughout business, government, healthcare and other industries.

Ashley Goldsmith
Chief People Officer, Workday

 Goldsmith is a member of Workday’s Executive Committee and has global responsibility for more than 11,000 employees, overseeing human resources, global impact, workplace facilities and the Workday Foundation. She has overseen the company’s culture through a period of rapid growth, helped drive innovation for the company’s HCM technology and focused on diversity and inclusion.

Skip Spriggs
President and CEO, The Executive Leadership Council

As a senior business leader at several Fortune 500 companies, Spriggs spent his career working in human resources, diversity and other leadership roles. Today, he heads the ELC, an organization serving black CEOs, board directors and senior executives at the world’s largest companies. Spriggs leads the organization’s efforts to increase the number of black executives in C-suites, on corporate boards and in enterprises around the globe.

Jeffrey McGuiness (Distinguished Fellow)
CEO Emeritus, HR Policy Association

McGuiness, who was recognized as a distinguished fellow, spent his career creating policies that helped shape the evolution of human resources, most recently with the HR Policy Association and previously with its predecessor, the Labor Policy Association. The HR Policy Association represents CHROs on all matters of concern to senior HR leaders.

Here are three questions that these career-long HR leaders answered for Human Resource Executive. The answers have been lightly edited.

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