Betty Thompson of Booz Allen Hamilton — Mental Health Crisis: What Can Companies Do? What Can HR Do?

The bluEPrint by Executive Platforms

At the most recent edition of the North American HR Executive Summit we sat down with Betty Thompson, the EVP & Chief People Officer of Booz Allen Hamilton about a themed lunch discussion she hosted about how companies can help their employees address Mental Health issues. While these lunch discussions are among the most popular features of Executive Platforms’ events, they are by their very nature small-group private conversations among people who have opted in to engage on something that really matters to them. In this interview, Betty very generously shares some of the key takeaways of that conversation with a wider audience in the hopes that we can all do our part to improve access to Mental Health resources and destigmatize talking about this important issue. Give this episode a listen!

--

Betty Thompson serves as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) and a member of its Leadership Team. In this role, she oversees the people services functions and strategy for a global workforce of more than 27,000 people.

Since joining the firm in 2008, Betty has been instrumental to Booz Allen’s workforce transformation as the firm has deepened investments in innovation, advanced technology, and highly skilled talent and reshaped its portfolio toward mission-critical, high-margin solutions.

A pioneer in human capital strategy, Betty drives forward-leaning workforce initiatives with a particular focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), culture and change, holistic employee wellness, employee engagement, and technical skill building. She led a complete reimagining of the firm’s employee value proposition and executive talent management processes, as well as the reshaping of recruitment, retention, and development programs.

Under Betty’s leadership, Booz Allen has received numerous awards and recognitions for its workplace, culture, employer brand, DEI and more, including Forbes’ Best Employers for Women and Best Employers for Diversity, Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators, CAREERS & the disABLED Magazine’s Private Sector Employer of the Year, and Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies.

Her prior corporate experience includes VP, Human Resources at Fannie Mae (1993 – 2008) and several senior Human Resource positions at IBM.

Betty holds a Master of Science degree in Human Resources and Personnel Management from American University in Washington, D.C. and holds an NACD Directorship and SHRM-SCP certifications. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and a founding member of Chief DC. She was recognized in 2019 as a Top 10 HR Exec to Watch by Washington Executive and in 2015 with the Activist Woman of Excellence Award by the National Association of Female Executives.