Company: Great Place to Work Institute
Company Description: Great Place to Work® is a global human resources consulting, research and training firm specializing in organizational trust. The Great Place to Work® Model is built on 25 years of research and data collected through our Trust Index© Employee Survey, which is taken by over 10 million employees annually worldwide.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Executive of the Year – Business Services –11 to 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Susan Lucas-Conwell Creating Great Places to Work

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words):

It’s been an amazing year and a half for Susan Lucas-Conwell of Great Place to Work®.

Great Place to Work® has based its consulting services on more than 25 years of research and millions of employee surveys regarding issues such as company culture, performance and productivity. Great Place to Work focuses on helping companies to build a high degree of internal trust, which it views as the single most important element of a great workplace.

In 2011, Susan was appointed CEO of Great Place to Work’s US affiliate after serving as CEO of Silicon Valley’s SV Forum. After rapidly improving and expanding the work of the US affiliate, Susan was appointed Global CEO in August 2012.

Since joining the organization, “Susan has been vital to strategically positioning Great Place to Work for rapid growth," said Robert Levering, Co-Founder of Great Place to Work. "Her track record and rich experience makes her the right leader to support the continued growth of the Great Place to Work network worldwide.”

Key Events

In October of 2011, Great Place to Work released its first ever Best Multinationals Workplaces list. In 2011, Great Place to Work hosted “Enabling Innovation, Creating a Culture Where Ideas Flourish” Conference featuring leaders from several of the Best Companies in the US.

Earlier this year, Great Place to Work established a “Social Workplace Trust Study” with partners Human 1.0 and the Society for New Communications Research to explore the intersection of Trust, Engagement and Social Media in the Workplace. “What we’re noticing is that companies that are great workplaces, and sport high-trust workplace cultures, enjoy more social media success. We’re excited to partner with Human 1.0 and test this hypothesis,” said Lucas-Conwell.

In May 2012, Lucas-Conwell partnered with Wayin, an online social engagement service, to offer customers instantaneous employee engagement diagnostics on multiple platforms, including mobile, for 24/7 real-time pulse surveys that will ultimately result in a more vibrant enterprise, innovative products and more satisfying relationships.

Also in May 2012, Susan added Bridge Bank as a financial partner for access to capital for expansion. "An increasing number of companies around the world have been turning to us to help them transform their organizations," said Susan Lucas-Conwell, "As a result, we needed access to capital to help support our growth. Bridge Bank offered us a flexible solution that we're very pleased with."

Lucas-Conwell was honored by Watermark for Exceptional Women as a 2011 Woman Who Have Made Their Mark. Robert Levering, co-founder of Great Place to Work said: “We are honored to celebrate Susan’s accomplishments with her and feel fortunate she is leading Great Place to Work® in evangelizing the power of a great workplace in building a better society.”

Said Lucas-Conwell. “I wholeheartedly believe in our mission to change society by helping companies transform their workplaces. I look forward to making a significant contribution to furthering that mission and the success of Great Place to Work.”

Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Prior to joining Great Place to Work, Susan had been CEO of SVForum and has held executive positions with Cartier International, Bausch & Lomb’s Ray-Ban and General Mills. She graduated with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, holds a Master’s Degree in Economic History from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Wharton School. She is married, has four daughters and lives in Palo Alto. In her spare time, she is a self-diagnosed sports junkie -and gets up early to run, bike and row.