publive-imageWestern Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Data lives everywhere – fromadvanced data centersto mobile sensors and personal devices – and Western Digital delivers industry-leading solutions to enhance the possibilities of data. Whether it is in the customer’s pocket, home, car, or the cloud, Western Digital works with them in every step along the way. The company’s data-centric solutions comprisethe Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk® and WD® brands.

A People’s Leader 

Lori Sundberg is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Western Digital and responsible for leading key global human resources initiatives and people strategies.

Lori has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Brigham Young University and30 years of experience in developing and aligning HR strategy with business needs. This includes leading company-wide initiatives focused on culture, organization effectiveness, leadership development, integrated talent management, total rewards and more.  

Before joining Western Digital, Lori served as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Global Human Resources at Jacobs, a global technical, professional, and construction services provider. She also worked as the SVP of Human Resources and Ethics at Arizona Public Services Company, the largest electric utility in Arizona. 

Lori was lucky to have spent fifteen formative career years at American Express, where diversity was passionately supported. She came across many amazing women role models at senior levels of the organization. While at Amex, the majority of Lori’s bossesand mentors were smart and courageous women. Althea DeBrule, Patricia Alexander, Bonnie Stedt, Ursula Fairbairn, Gabriella Giglio, and Pam Arway are some of the inspiring women leaders who played an instrumental role in shaping Lori and encouraging her career. They provided Lori with amazing opportunities and coaching and taught her to believe in herself as a leader. Lori hopes to give emerging leaders a small part of what each of these marvelous women gave to her.

Seeking Out Opportunities at Every Stage of Life

Lori recalls that during the early years of her career, the biggest challenge she faced was gaining credibility to make her ideas heard. That meant building important relationships with peers, identifying and developing mentors, and working on her teaming and collaboration skills.

As she navigated her career,Lori looked for opportunities to learn and challenge herself, which meant taking some risks along the way. For example, Lori moved from HR to Marketing for a few years and learned new skills by working on advertising campaigns and managing marketing promotions. When she returned to the HR function, she accepted a position that required her and her husband to relocate to Manhattan, New York. Later, Lori took a global role to implement a major initiative that required her to live in the UK and Sweden and travel extensively.

As both Lori and her husband were making career moves and decisions, Lori recollects that another challenge she went through was balancing her career moves along with her husband’s career aspirations and opportunities. Lori highlights that making the needed trade-offs and sacrifices for each other was an integral part of her early journey.

Vision, Inspiration and Motivation as the Key to unlock Transformational Leadership

Lori believes transformational leaders create a vision for their team and champion changes through inspiration and motivation. She adds that they shape strategy and priorities, and drive strong performance while delivering results. Moreover, transformational leaders are continuous learners who seek external insights. She thinks great leaders both push and support their teams at the same time as they navigate the challenges and opportunities together.

Lori believes great people leaders are also great team members who share information, collaborate well and support their colleagues.

Acknowledging Innovation as the Core of TeamOutcomes

As an HR leader, Lori and her team are focused on the employees and other leaders of the organization. Their job is to implement the people programs and strategies that will allow Western Digital to recruit and retain the talent needed to accomplish the company’s strategy.

Lori challenges her team to be proactive and progressive. She believes that innovation is an essential part of that. She and her teamwork to identify and address the most pressing challenges leaders and employees at Western Digital face. She adds that when the company designs programs and processes, they focus on delivering a positive and efficient employee experience. 

Moving towards a Productive Future

Lori believes that Covid-19 has accelerated an even more  rapid adoption of technology. From smart homes and online healthcare to entertainment and gaming, the growth of data and the need for storage technology are increasing rapidly. Therefore, Western Digital is positioned to help businesses and consumers accelerate the adoption of these areas by offering devices that are designed for how the consumer data will be used. Lori sees an ongoing need to support workforce flexibility models, and that will create a constantdemand for even better technology to support virtual collaboration.

Delivering a Strong Message through Real-life Experience

Lori shares that sometimes great advice comes at unusual times and in unusual places. Lori remembers that when she was in her late 20’s, she observed an exchange between a family friend and her 3-year-old daughter at a party. The young girl was upset and her mother gently but firmly encouraged her to get control of her emotions. After a moment, when the girl had calmed down, her mom told her, “know what you want, say what you want, and get what you want.”

Lori has never forgotten that exchange and has applied that wise counsel in many situations. She follows the words, ‘First, get control of your emotions, then, be sure you know what you want so that you can articulate it clearly.’ Lori knows that as an adult, she won’t always get what she wants. However, Lori believes that if she doesn’t know what she wants or doesn’t say it out loud to the right person at the right time, it won’t happen.

On Leveraging Technology to Drive People Processes and Performance

“AI and predictive analytics represent an exciting next frontier to shape our workforce and our work experience in positive ways. I look forward to exploring technologies to help us eliminate bias, improve virtual collaboration and teaming, and also aid us to identify how and when to encourage employees to develop critical skills that are predictive of the best performance and career outcomes.”