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Nereida (Neddy) Perez
Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Talent Management COE — McCormick & Company
Nereida (Neddy) Perez leads Global Diversity for McCormick & Company a $5 Billion dollar flavor and spice company founded 130 years ago.
Prior to McCormick, she was the head of Employment Brand, Campus & Diversity Recruiting at TIAA, in that capacity she was responsible for creating and implementing the company’s diversity hiring strategy. Neddy’s background includes more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Diversity Management, Community Social Responsibility, and STEM workforce development.
She previously served as Chief Diversity Officer at Ingersoll Rand, National Grid, and KPMG. Neddy has worked in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. And developed a number of award-winning and internationally recognized diversity programs focusing on women and the science, technology, engineering and math space.
While at Ingersoll Rand she developed a women’s leadership program that generated more than $27 million dollars in revenue and savings in under three years. The program was so successful that she was invited to serve on the board of trustees of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Institute and build the leadership model for their women’s program. At KPMG she worked on strategies to increase the diverse talent in the finance sector and improve the Partner Pipeline. At National Grid she worked with the corporate foundation to create and launch STEMConnector.org, which is a central clearinghouse of information on STEM Corporate Initiatives. She helped to build the companies supplier diversity program and create the New York Energy Supplier Diversity Conference and relaunch the National Utilities Diversity Council (NUDC).
Born in Havana, Cuba she realized at an early age the power of education as a way to break through the glass ceiling and overcome prejudice. As a result, she has worked with a variety of non-profit organizations to support education and leadership development initiatives that empower people and remove organizational career barriers.
Neddy has served on a variety of national and international boards including the Society of Human Resources Management Foundation Board, National Hispanic MBAs Association, Howard University’s Center for Accounting Excellence and Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities. She currently serves on the board of Central Piedmont Community College, Asia Society Talent Advisory Council, Diversity MBA and is a Program Advisor to Ellevate. She has been an advisor to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Army on diversity initiatives.
In 2017, she was recognized for a second time as one of the 100 Most Influential Corporate Women in STEM. In 2015, Neddy was named one of the 10 most influential global diversity leaders by Global Diversity Magazine and in 2014 she was named as the top Hispanic Corporate Executive in the U.S. by the National Hispanic Business Council. Her work has been recognized by the United Nations, Prince William Foundation, and National Association of Manufacturers, U.S Congress, and many others.
