Washington, DC (September 4, 2024) – The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance announced today that Wendy P. Davidson, President & CEO of Hain Celestial Group, will receive its 2024 Flex Leader Award, which recognizes an executive who is moving their organization toward a more inclusive workplace through holistic flexibility. The Award will be presented on Thursday, October 24 during the Alliance’s annual conference in Washington, DC, Harnessing the Power of Your Organizational Culture. Registration is available here.
“Wendy Davidson is one of those unique leaders who truly understands the direct link between a human-centered culture focused on flexibility, wellbeing and inclusion, and impressive performance and productivity outcomes,” said Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. “By prioritizing employee health, flexibility, and belonging, Wendy is leading an incredibly successful team that balances working virtually with making time for intentional connections to ideate, collaborate and celebrate. Congratulations to Wendy and her team for truly embodying their company purpose of ‘Inspiring Healthier Living’.”
“Creating flexible work environments, models, and systems allows employees to perform at their best without feeling like work is a sacrifice,” said Wendy Davidson, President & CEO of Hain Celestial Group. “Hain Celestial’s purpose of Inspiring Healthier Living goes beyond what you put in and on your body. It’s also how you live and work. We have an opportunity to demonstrate that we can attract, retain, and engage top talent…AND…deliver high performance by leveraging the lessons learned with flexible work during the pandemic. At Hain, we focus on performance outcomes rather than activities to deliver on our business goals.”
As CEO & Board Director of The Hain Celestial Group, Wendy Davidson leads over 3,000 employees across the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland & Western Europe, across 5 core categories, including, Better-For-You Snacks, Baby/Kids Food, Beverages, Meal Prep and Personal Care. In 2023, Davidson led Hain Reimagined, a multi-year transformation plan involving large-scale global integration of organizational structure, processes, systems, and culture, including the rollout of its Agile Work Model, which provides team members with the flexibility to work virtually and come together for “moments that matter.”
Since launching the agile working program, applications at Hain Celestial have increased by 300%; female applications have gone up by 500%; and employee engagement scores have increased by 8%. A champion for diversity and inclusion, as well as gender parity, Davidson leads an Executive Team comprised of 50% women, and 43% of Hain Celestial employees who identify as female are currently in leadership roles.
Prior to joining Hain Celestial, Davidson was recognized for successful business growth and improved employee performance and engagement as former President, Americas, Glanbia Performance Nutrition, and previously, as President of Kellanova (Formerly Kellogg’s, Away from Home).
Davidson has been a champion for diversity and inclusion and women in business through her volunteer and board work as well. She is a non-Executive Director on the Board of First Horizon National Corporation; and serves on the Board of Directors of Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Consumer Brands Association (CBA) and NextUp (formerly The Network of Executive Women). She is a Trustee of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Global Board; past Board Chair of the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF); a member of the International Women’s Forum, The Chicago Network, Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago.
Davidson is a member of Fortune’s World’s Most Powerful Women. In 2023, she was named to the Most Influential Women of the Mid-Market list by CEO Connection. She was recognized as a 2021 Women of Influence Honoree by Chicago Business Journal, was among Crain’s 2020 list of Notable Women Executives over 50 and made the 2019 list of Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by WomenInc. Magazine. In 2017, she was awarded the National Diversity Council’s Top 15 Business Women in Illinois and received the Luminary Award in 2016 from Girl Scouts of Chicago & Northwest Indiana.
Recent Diversity & Flexibility Alliance Flex Leader honorees have included: Kathryn Cameron Atkinson (2023), Chair, Miller & Chevalier; Jason M. St. John (2022), Managing Partner, Saul Ewing LLP; Lara Abrash (2021), Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte & Touche LLP; Barri Rafferty (2020), former EVP & Head of Communications, Wells Fargo; Jennifer M. Flynn (2019), Managing Vice President, Head of the Small Business Bank (SBB) Division, Capital One; and, Kim Koopersmith (2018), Chairperson, Akin.
For more than a decade, the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance has collaborated with organizations to develop inclusive flexible working cultures that cultivate diversity in leadership, drive workplace wellbeing, and foster a more humanized work experience. The Alliance provides practical research-based solutions, customizable training programs, strategic advisory services and a peer-learning network that increase organizational effectiveness through diversity and flexibility.
Contact: Manar Morales
301-580-2490
Register now to join us on 10/24 and learn how Wendy’s leadership philosophy inspires healthy living.
Photo Credit: Steph Grant Studios