Gianna Driver is Chief Human Resources Officer at Exabeam who was a student in Stew’s Total Leadership class 20 years ago. After spending five years running a global fair trade organization, she went on to build a highly successful career in human resources and recently started a new job at a company that fights cybercrime. Gianna manages the strategy and processes for building, investing in, and retaining top talent at Exabeam, enabling employees to do their best work. Prior to Exabeam, she was the Chief People Officer at BlueVine, a private fintech company based in Redwood City, CA. Before BlueVine, Gianna led HR and People functions in high-growth technology, gaming, consumer, and SaaS organizations including Playstudios, Aristocrat, Actian Corporation, Talend, and Balsam Brands.

In this episode, Stew talks with Gianna about her experiences growing up in Texas, daughter of a Philipine woman who was a mail-order bride, and how that shaped her experiences as an undergraduate student at The Wharton School. Gianna describes how her early life led her to want to have an impact through her work on valuing the humanity in each and every one of us. She describes the opportunities and challenges on her path to pursuing that ambition in her current role and in her life beyond work.

Here then is an invitation for you, a challenge, after you’ve had a chance to listen to this episode. Think about your own history and your particular demographic characteristics – age, race, sexual orientation, etc. – and consider what is it about your particular mix that is distinctly valuable in the world of work. What do you discover by taking a few minutes to think about who you are? Share your reactions and suggestions for future shows with Stew by writing to him at friedman@wharton.upenn.edu or via LinkedIn.

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