Board of Directors

Richard L. Antoine

Trustee and Vice President

Richard Antoine is President of AO Consulting, a human resources consulting firm working with CEOs and Chief HR Officers on leadership, talent development, and HR strategy. Mr. Antoine retired as the CHRO of Procter & Gamble in 2008 after a 39-year career in Supply Chain and HR. In addition to serving as a board director of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), Dick is a past chair of The University of Wisconsin Foundation and serves on the Advisory Boards for The University of Wisconsin Engineering School and The Center for Brand and Product Management. Mr. Antoine was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) in 2004, served as its President from 2009-2014, and is currently on the NAHR board. He also served as a board member for ORC Worldwide.

Kathleen (Katy) Barclay

Trustee

Kathleen Barclay retired as SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at The Kroger Co. in 2015. Before joining Kroger in 2010, Katy was the SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer for General Motors between 1998 and 2010. She was inducted into the National Academy of Human Resources in 2000 and is the former Chair of the Academy’s Board of Directors. In addition to Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), Katy also serves on the boards of Five Below and Kontoor. Katy served as a member of the boards of the Human Resource Policy Association (HRPA), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the United Way, and the American Heart Association. 

Harold W. Burlingame

Trustee and President/Treasurer

Harold W. Burlingame has been the board chairman of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®) since 2003. He currently also serves on the boards of Muskingum University (where he is Chairman), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Previously, Mr. Burlingame spent more than 40 years at AT&T Corp. where he served as executive vice president of Human Resources, and as senior executive advisor for AT&T Wireless. Hal recently served on the boards of Cornerstone-on-Demand and UniSource Energy Corporation and is a past chairman of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR), having been elected a member in 1993 and named a distinguished fellow in 2006. He also sits on the advisory board of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

Antoinette LaBelle

Trustee

Toni is a Senior Fellow at the ESG Center of The Conference Board; she is also a senior advisor at JUST Capital, having retired in December 2019 as the COO and Managing Director, Justness. Prior to JUST Capital, Toni was Co-President of Growth Philanthropy Network; the Social Impact Exchange is its signature initiative focused on creating and spreading cross-sector collaborative initiatives that drive systemic change. She spent most of her career working in the areas of organization development, strategic business and human capital strategies, and change management. Toni concluded her corporate career in 2007 as a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers to enter a doctoral program at Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management, and to continue her civic engagement endeavors. In addition to her doctorate, she holds an MBA from Fordham University, a BS from Marymount College, and is an arbitrator with FINRA. Toni is a past board chair of The New York Women’s Foundation and past board member of the Taproot Foundation, The Viscardi Center, Just One Break, and the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York. In addition to her board service with IRC4HR, which started in 2019, she is on the board of Growth Philanthropy Network and in 2021 joined as board trustee at Knology.org.

Debra A. McDowell

Trustee

Debra A. McDowell recently retired from the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, where she served as the Chief of Staff for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), assisting executive leadership with all aspects of museum operations. Prior to the Smithsonian, Ms. McDowell served as Vice President for Human Resources at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which followed her role as Director of Human Resources for the Brooklyn Public Library. Earlier in her career, as the Director of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining for the District of Columbia Government, Debra was responsible for administering a comprehensive and centralized labor management program for District government employees and served as Chief Negotiator for compensation and non-compensation negotiations. Ms. McDowell holds a law degree from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Bowie State College, where she graduated magna cum laude.

David E. McKinney

Trustee Emeritus

Dave is currently an emeritus member of the board of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®) . He retired in 1992 from a career as an executive at IBM, where he worked closely with Chairman Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Dave is the former chair of the board of overseers of the Watson Institute at Brown University, formerly president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a former director of the NY Philharmonic. During Dave’s long career of service, he was also a director of ORC Worldwide, PAXAR Corp., International Executive Service Corps, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, and the Thomas J. Watson Foundation.

Sydney R. Robertson

Trustee and Secretary

Sydney Robertson retired as Executive Vice President of ORC Worldwide (now Mercer) in 2010, having led its global compensation and global development organization consulting practices, and serving on the firm’s executive committee. Prior to joining ORC, Mr. Robertson worked in HR executive roles at Standard Oil Co. of Ohio and British Petroleum (BP), serving as the CHRO at BP while leading the HR integration of the two organizations. Previously, Syd had leadership roles in HR and Organization Development at other organizations that became part of BP and worked for several US federal agencies. In addition to serving currently as a board director of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), Mr. Robertson previously served as its director of research.

Eva Sage-Gavin

Trustee

Eva Sage-Gavin is Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Global Talent and Organization/Human Potential practice, responsible for helping clients drive transformation and evolve their workforces to innovate and unlock human potential. Prior to Accenture, Eva served as Chief HR Officer (CHRO) at Gap, Inc. and in HR executive roles at PepsiCo, Disney, and Sun Microsystems. Eva was a Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and for the G100 Network, supporting CEOs, board directors, and CHROs. In addition to serving as a board director of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), Eva is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR), executive in residence at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Top 100 most influential leader in corporate governance boardrooms. Eva holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and is a recipient of the William B. Groat Award for lifetime achievement in the field of Human Resources.

John Steele

Trustee

John Steele was a member and then chair of the UK’s Armed Forces Pay Review Body during 2009-2018, providing independent advice to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defense on pay, allowances, and charges for Navy, Army, and Air Force personnel serving the Crown. From 2013-2018, he was also a member of the UK’s Senior Salaries Review Body, advising the Prime Minister and relevant Secretaries of State on the remuneration of senior managers, officers, and judges in the Civil Service, NHS, Armed Forces, Police, Crime Commissioners, and Judiciary. Prior to retiring from British Telecommunications (BT), Mr. Steele spent more than 40 years at Ford Motor Company, IBM, BT, and Accenture. John has held board membership in a number of private and public organizations involved in HR and training initiatives, including serving on the board of ORC Worldwide. In addition to currently serving as a board director for Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), John works as an independent consultant and is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Henley Management College.

Ms. Lamb created and served as President and CEO of Lamb Advisors LLC. She has more than 52 years of corporate and nonprofit experience addressing financially complex and critical strategic issues. Prior to establishing Lamb Advisors, Sandy was a managing director at Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, where she had executive responsibility working with clients on all aspects of mergers and acquisitions and other complex financial advisory assignments. Prior to Lazard, Sandy was a portfolio manager with The MONY Group.  Ms. Lamb has served as Chair of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and New York Women’s Foundation. as a director at ORC Worldwide, Biomet, Inc., The Fortress Group, Inc., Center Trust, Inc., and on a number of nonprofit boards. In addition to serving as a board director of Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®), Sandy was a board member of the Vera Institute of Justice, and a board member and chair of the Audit Committee for the Altman Foundation.

Richard A. Beaumont

Former Trustee (deceased)

Richard A Beaumont was an emeritus member of the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR^®) board of directors, having previously been director of research and board chairman. Dick was founder and managing director of the RAB Group LLC, formerly president, CEO, and board chairman of ORC Worldwide (now Mercer), and served as a consultant to major corporations and various branches of federal, state, and local governments. Mr. Beaumont was also deputy undersecretary of the US Navy and senior vice president and member of the board of directors of Amerada Hess Corporation. He was an emeritus member of the board of the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business of the University of Virginia and was elected to the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) in 1993, having also served on its formation committee.

Frank P. Doyle

Former Trustee (deceased)

In 1996, Mr. Doyle retired as executive vice president of the General Electric Company, where he was one of a three-member Corporate Executive Office to which all operating businesses and staff reported. From 1981 to 1991, he was a senior vice president, with responsibility for corporate employee relations, public relations, government relations, corporate marketing, and advertising. Previously, Mr. Doyle was a director of Compaq Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Company, UBS Financial Services (Paine Webber Group), ORC International, and Roadway Express. In 1992, Mr. Doyle was named the National Academy of Human Resources’ (NAHR) first distinguished Fellow. In addition to serving as a board director for IRC4HR^®, Frank was also a director of Jobs for the Future, Inc.

John D. Hofmeister

Former Trustee (deceased)

John D. Hofmeister founded Citizens for Affordable Energy Inc. in 2008 and served as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hofmeister served as the President of Shell Oil Company from 2005-2008 and was previously the Royal Dutch Shell Group Director of Human Resources, based in The Hague. John also held key leadership positions at General Electric, Nortel, and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International). He was the Chairman of Erin Energy Corporation, and served on the boards of Ioneer and Applus Services, S.A. He was previously Chairman of the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board at Sodexo, Inc., and Chairman and Trustee of the National Urban League. Mr. Hofmeister was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Centre for Advanced Human Resources Studies at Cornell University and was named a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) in 2003. In 2017, John joined the IRC4HR^® board of trustees.