We sat down with Jacqueline Welch of Turner Broadcasting and Sylvia Taylor of the Weather Channel to discuss the role of transformational leaders in driving employee engagement in organizations.
Jacqueline M. Welch is senior vice president of human resources for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.). In this capacity, Welch is responsible for leading Turner’s corporate-level global talent management, diversity and development functions.
Welch’s management portfolio includes the company’s succession-planning, performance-management, diversity initiatives, learning & development and organizational-development activity, toward the larger goal of ensuring that Turner’s people resources are without peer and are positioned to support its business strategies. Welch joined TBS, Inc. after more than six years with RockTenn in Atlanta, where she was vice president of employee and organizational effectiveness. Earlier in her career, she was a senior manager at Accenture; an associate with Towers Perrin; and an internal consultant for Lord & Taylor, a division of The May Department Stores Company.
Welch earned a bachelor of arts degree in English at Syracuse University and a master’s degree in human resources management at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York. An alumna of Leadership Atlanta, her community involvement includes board membership in The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta Alexis de Tocqueville Society, The Partnership Against Domestic Violence, The Children’s Museum of Atlanta and Zoo Atlanta. Additionally, Welch is Immediate Past Chair of the Woodruff Arts Center Global Firms Committee. Jacqui lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with her husband Tarik Welch and their two sons, James Oliver Welch and Jackson McLaine Welch.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
Sylvia Taylor is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources for The Weather Channel. With more than twenty five years of Human Resources experience, Sylvia has operated in both domestic and International environments and is well versed in all functional aspects of Human Resources. Sylvia has a track record of success as an HR Strategist and Change Agent for high growth companies.
In her current role as EVP of Human Resources for The Weather Channel, Sylvia is responsible for designing and executing the Human Resources Strategy for the company, implementing key initiatives in Change Management, Performance Alignment, Talent Acquisition and Leadership Development to increase organizational effectiveness. Sylvia works with the organization to facilitate change and ensure that the right people, processes and structures are in place to achieve The Weather Channel’s business objectives.
In her former role as Vice President of Human Resources at AutoTrader.com, the ultimate automotive marketplace and a division of Cox Enterprises, Sylvia built the Human Resources department into a more strategic function at a time when AutoTrader.com was nearly doubling in size every year. Given that AutoTrader.com was in a high growth mode, Talent Acquisition, Leadership and Organizational Development were mission critical opportunities. Sylvia led the design and implementation of key systems for performance management, career development, and succession planning. Her contributions in these areas played a big role in the company’s success and they continue to add value today enabling AutoTrader.com to reach for the next level of organizational effectiveness and growth.
Sylvia has worked in key human resource roles with companies such as General Motors, PepsiCo, ExxonMobil and Target. She spent 13 years at ExxonMobil, where she served in a variety of field, division and corporate roles. Sylvia also worked Internationally where she served as the Human Resources Manager for the ExxonMobil Singapore Refinery complex and later as the Manager Staffing and Development –Singapore, Asia Pacific Region.
Sylvia currently serves on the governing body of The Human Resources Leadership Summit. She is also a member of The Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Forum (CTHRA), The Human Resources Leadership Forum (HRLF) Forum and The National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC). Sylvia is a volunteer at Year-Up -Atlanta, a non-profit organization whose “mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.” In 2010, Sylvia was honored as a “Woman of Excellence” by Business to Business Magazine.
Sylvia graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard University where she earned both a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
