China Gorman, former chief operating officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), has been appointed to the strategic advisory council of RiseSmart, a leading provider of outplacement solutions.
Gorman is “one of the foremost thought leaders in the field of human resources today; she is also an accomplished executive with significant experience in career transition services,” said Sanjay Sathe, founder and CEO of RiseSmart. “We look forward to her strategic contributions as we continue to increase our share of the $3 billion outplacement market.”
Gorman has held strategic leadership roles in human capital management for more than 25 years. Prior to joining SHRM, she had tenures as president at two of the largest career transition consultancies—DBM North America and Lee Hecht Harrison, where she also served as chief operating officer.
“I am excited to join RiseSmart’s strategic advisory council, because I truly believe this company is transforming corporate outplacement to the benefit of transitioning workers and their employers,” Gorman said.
Gorman travels extensively throughout the world speaking to business, professional, corporate and academic groups. She serves as chair of the board of trustees of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and is on the board of Jobs for America’s Graduates.
Gorman received a bachelor’s degree from Principia College and has completed significant post-graduate work in organizational development at National Louis University.
Kari Lawry, vice president of human resources for Atlas Oil Co., has been named Michigan HR Executive of the Year by the American Society of Employers for companies with less than 1,000 employees. She will be recognized formally at an awards dinner in October 2011.
Lawry is being recognized for enhancing human resource programs and modeling leading-edge HR practices at Atlas Oil. Lawry “has done great work at Atlas,” said Sam Simon, CEO of Atlas. Simon said Lawry has been instrumental in implementing new technologies and programs to enhance recruiting efforts, new benefit offerings and talent management systems.
Lawry joined Atlas in September of 2009 from Inforum & the Inforum Center for Leadership, where she was chief operating officer. At Atlas, she is responsible for management, accountability and strategic leadership for the human resource function. She is focused on developing world-class HR processes, systems and tools to support a high-growth workforce and driving performance management and organizational learning.
Lawry attended Michigan State University and earned a B.A. in Economics and Sociology and a Masters of Human Resources and Labor Relations. She earned a M.B.A. from Lake Forest Graduate School in Chicago.