Laura Azzarella, PHR, MS HRM
Associate Vice President, Human Resources at Daemen University- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Sal Sciarrino
Laura is an up and coming Human Resource Professional who has shown the maturity and knowledge in her field to become a successful leader in the industry. I have had the opportunity to work with Laura as part of the Greenpac Mill management team for 3 years and observed how she has transitioned into a key player in the company’s strategy and focus on employee’s welfare and safety on all levels of the organization. As a senior manager and Controller of Greenpac, I have worked on several subject matters with Laura in which we shared ideas, concerns and resolutions to current industry challenges. I find her greatest attribute to be able to blend the work ethics of the baby boomer generation with the technological savvy millennial culture to come up with the appropriate response to any given situation. This can only be achieved by being receptive and respectful to others concerns while putting your own professional interjection on any given matter. As a young professional Laura is a valued asset to any organization who is looking for an Ethical, Hard Working and Progressive individual who strives and excels in a Team Environment. I highly recommend Laura in any endeavor she may seek and I truly enjoyed working with her friendly and engaging personality.
Sal Sciarrino
Laura is an up and coming Human Resource Professional who has shown the maturity and knowledge in her field to become a successful leader in the industry. I have had the opportunity to work with Laura as part of the Greenpac Mill management team for 3 years and observed how she has transitioned into a key player in the company’s strategy and focus on employee’s welfare and safety on all levels of the organization. As a senior manager and Controller of Greenpac, I have worked on several subject matters with Laura in which we shared ideas, concerns and resolutions to current industry challenges. I find her greatest attribute to be able to blend the work ethics of the baby boomer generation with the technological savvy millennial culture to come up with the appropriate response to any given situation. This can only be achieved by being receptive and respectful to others concerns while putting your own professional interjection on any given matter. As a young professional Laura is a valued asset to any organization who is looking for an Ethical, Hard Working and Progressive individual who strives and excels in a Team Environment. I highly recommend Laura in any endeavor she may seek and I truly enjoyed working with her friendly and engaging personality.
Sal Sciarrino
Laura is an up and coming Human Resource Professional who has shown the maturity and knowledge in her field to become a successful leader in the industry. I have had the opportunity to work with Laura as part of the Greenpac Mill management team for 3 years and observed how she has transitioned into a key player in the company’s strategy and focus on employee’s welfare and safety on all levels of the organization. As a senior manager and Controller of Greenpac, I have worked on several subject matters with Laura in which we shared ideas, concerns and resolutions to current industry challenges. I find her greatest attribute to be able to blend the work ethics of the baby boomer generation with the technological savvy millennial culture to come up with the appropriate response to any given situation. This can only be achieved by being receptive and respectful to others concerns while putting your own professional interjection on any given matter. As a young professional Laura is a valued asset to any organization who is looking for an Ethical, Hard Working and Progressive individual who strives and excels in a Team Environment. I highly recommend Laura in any endeavor she may seek and I truly enjoyed working with her friendly and engaging personality.
Sal Sciarrino
Laura is an up and coming Human Resource Professional who has shown the maturity and knowledge in her field to become a successful leader in the industry. I have had the opportunity to work with Laura as part of the Greenpac Mill management team for 3 years and observed how she has transitioned into a key player in the company’s strategy and focus on employee’s welfare and safety on all levels of the organization. As a senior manager and Controller of Greenpac, I have worked on several subject matters with Laura in which we shared ideas, concerns and resolutions to current industry challenges. I find her greatest attribute to be able to blend the work ethics of the baby boomer generation with the technological savvy millennial culture to come up with the appropriate response to any given situation. This can only be achieved by being receptive and respectful to others concerns while putting your own professional interjection on any given matter. As a young professional Laura is a valued asset to any organization who is looking for an Ethical, Hard Working and Progressive individual who strives and excels in a Team Environment. I highly recommend Laura in any endeavor she may seek and I truly enjoyed working with her friendly and engaging personality.
Credentials
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Certificate in Leadership
HRCIMar, 2023- Oct, 2024 -
Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
HR Certification Institute - HRCIDec, 2016- Oct, 2024
Experience
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Daemen University
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United States
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Higher Education
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300 - 400 Employee
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Associate Vice President, Human Resources
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Jan 2022 - Present
● Act as an executive human resources leader on the President's Cabinet and advisor for the University and its Board of Trustees to support a workforce of more than 1,000 full- and part-time employees. ● Forge and cultivate strategic relationships with all departments to develop and implement a human resources vision for the University focused on employee development and engagement, succession planning, and risk mitigation. ● Advise and coach University leadership and managers on various aspects of employee relations, including application of HR policies, processes, and employee issues. ● Plan and execute complex employee relations and ethics investigations; recommend corrective actions and risk assessments. ● Spearhead multiple University transformations, including a new talent acquisition process and benefits design, utilizing change management practices and principles. The former reduced time to fill to 36 days on average, the latter reduced University costs by 10%, and generated further cost savings to more than 12% of benefit-eligible employees. ● Align objectives and bridge communications with Academic Affairs to structure and design four colleges. ● Pilot the creation of a leadership training program tailored to achieve University needs; facilitate courses for all leadership levels. ● Guide a faculty diversity task force focused on implementing DEI hiring practices; establish and implemented unique, measurable goals to increase faculty diversity. ● Deliver strategic leadership and supervision to the HR Department staff of 4. Show less
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Cascades
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Canada
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Packaging and Containers Manufacturing
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700 & Above Employee
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Senior Human Resources Manager - Multi-Site
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Feb 2021 - Jan 2022
● Executed duties of a multi-site HR leader for Greenpac Mill, LLC and Cascades Containerboard Packaging Niagara Falls manufacturing plants that, combined, contributed more than $382M in profit, a quarter of the company’s EBITDA. Directed a team of five.● Served as a trusted executive advisor to the Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Human Resources responsible for executing leadership and cultural changes within a global organization of more than 11,000 employees. ● Designed aptitude assessments built into hourly employment applications for logistics and production employees. This process improved selection processes at hiring, improving retention to 91% and generating more than $375,000 in cost savings, and was successfully rolled out to two key Cascades locations.● Spearheaded the United States COVID response by researching and reporting daily COVID trends to executive leadership, developing contact tracing guidelines, and recommending and implementing a compensation system for employees placed in quarantine.● Orchestrated safety investigations, acting as first responder to all major safety events, by performing root cause analyses and implementing corrective actions. Significantly reduced OSHA recordables, with the longest injury-free period surpassing 500 days—a world-class record.● Acted as a key HR mentor for the Containerboard division tasked with onboarding all new HR Managers into the company as well as mentoring HR leaders on the compensation and performance cycle, annual budget process, monthly reporting of HR analytics, as well as HRIS and payroll system operation.● Administered high-risk cases as the designated employee relations investigator for the Northeast U.S. region.● Navigated negotiations with IAMAW District 65 to develop the first union contract at the Niagara Falls plant. Show less
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Senior Human Resources Manager
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Jan 2017 - Feb 2021
● Oversaw all HR functions at Greenpac Mill, LLC, including managing headcounts, organizational charts, department budgets, employee relations, investigations, talent acquisition and retention, onboarding, leadership development, performance evaluation, performance development plans, succession planning, corrective action guidance, and risk assessments and guidance, while effectively managing a team of three. ● Member of the Senior Management Team and a dedicated business partner on strategic planning initiatives, projects, and committees.● Guided all projects and change initiatives for new HR processes and programs.● Launched a new Human Resource Information System (SuccessFactors) in collaboration with HR Shared Services along with a new payroll system (Ultimate Kronos Group) to automate basic tasks and reduce the need for manual input. ● Instructed all leaders and employees on the new systems and their impact on key employee life cycle tasks, including talent acquisition, compensation, and performance reviews. ● Served as the pilot for the company’s digital benefit enrollment system (PlanSource).● Established an employee engagement committee to coordinate employee focus groups and gather invaluable feedback to create engagement plans that boosted employee engagement scores by 12% in just 2 years; in 2020, achieved a score of 75%.● Fulfilled an executive leadership request to coordinate with the Boston Consulting Group on the launch of a lean six sigma rapid shift turnover team-based culture. Over a two-year period, served as the implementation project manager responsible for rolling this change across the organization, enabling Greenpac Mill, LLC to achieve its production budget for the first time in 2020 and achieve machine capacity in 2021. Show less
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Valmet
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Finland
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Machinery Manufacturing
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700 & Above Employee
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Human Resources Generalist
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Feb 2015 - Jan 2017
● Launched a pay-for-skills system for tradesmen employees, reviewing market rates and collaborating with managers and engineers to develop skills assessments. The implementation reduced turnover from 57% to 18%. ● Headed full-service, high-volume talent acquisition across 9 locations, recruiting a variety of managerial and highly technical roles, including mill managers, automation engineers, controllers and field service. ● Deployed inaugural senior leadership training. Facilitated the program in person and remotely for all North American site leadership of more than 300 participants. Show less
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M&T Bank
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United States
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Financial Services
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700 & Above Employee
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Business & Planning Analyst
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Jul 2013 - Feb 2015
● Collaborated with management on employee relations, engagement, and recognition initiatives, as well as with market managers and a 300-employee sales team. ● Engineered and implemented training for M&T’s Banking Built for Business product launch. ● Collaborated with management on employee relations, engagement, and recognition initiatives, as well as with market managers and a 300-employee sales team. ● Engineered and implemented training for M&T’s Banking Built for Business product launch.
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William Mattar, P.C.
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United States
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Law Practice
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1 - 100 Employee
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HR & Administrative Assistant
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2012 - 2013
● Developed a law student recruitment program to support succession planning, and implemented a social media and collegiate outreach strategy to attract new talent to a personal injury law firm. ● Benchmarked and deployed a compensation system for prelitigation, litigation, and customer service staff, providing competitive offers based on data analytics informed by contemporary market research. ● Developed a law student recruitment program to support succession planning, and implemented a social media and collegiate outreach strategy to attract new talent to a personal injury law firm. ● Benchmarked and deployed a compensation system for prelitigation, litigation, and customer service staff, providing competitive offers based on data analytics informed by contemporary market research.
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Pulse 360
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Amherst, New York, United States
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Human Resources Generalist
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2009 - 2011
● Performed all HR tasks, including recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, training, and employee relations for a startup digital small business. ● Built and maintained the company HRIS, converting employee files from paper to protected digital records. ● Performed all HR tasks, including recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, training, and employee relations for a startup digital small business. ● Built and maintained the company HRIS, converting employee files from paper to protected digital records.
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Education
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State University of New York at Stony Brook
Master of Science (M.S.), Human Resources Management -
State University of New York at Buffalo
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Media Studies: Production
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