Jensen Hughes, a global leader in safety, security and risk-based engineering and consulting, announced a successful end to its search for a new Chief People Officer with the recruitment of Heather Sanchez, a seasoned Human Resources leader.

Sanchez has an exceptional track record of ensuring that powerful, fulfilling employee experiences – from culture, diversity and inclusion to engagement and career development – drive sustained growth and other positive long-term business outcomes.

Sanchez brings extensive experience in the global architectural, engineering and construction (A/E/C) market, building high-performance teams and leading business transformation initiatives from concept to execution. She excels at developing high-morale work environments, as well as teams rich in diversity, experience and talent that help propel businesses to leadership in their markets.

“We are fortunate to have to found Heather,” said Jensen Hughes CEO Raj Arora. She brings the experience, skillset and values critical to our strategic focus on our people, purpose and culture. She’s an all-star executive, who will help us continue transforming our approach to People and Talent. Those are the most important drivers of our commitment to client service, industry leadership and long-term profitable growth – and Heather has moved the needle significantly in every one of these areas many times during her career.”

Sanchez served as an executive for enterprises such as Western Digital, Jacobs, The Alpert Group and Technicolor. As a leader in these organizations, she was responsible for initiatives in areas such as HR strategy, cultural transformation, leadership development, M&A, change management, organizational design, talent acquisition, employee and labor relations and total rewards programs.

“I’m excited about joining this industry-leading team, and learning about Jensen Hughes and the heartbeat of its people and culture,” says Sanchez. “This company has momentum. It’s setting challenging targets and exceeding them. It’s reshaping its industry. I’m eager to build a powerful talent agenda that helps drive this growth, not just here in the U.S., but across the new markets that the company is targeting around the world.”

Over the last few years, Jensen Hughes has significantly expanded its global footprint through organic growth and M&A, including acquiring more than 25 companies, aligning these teams behind a unified purpose, creating a dynamic new culture, and reorganizing worldwide to improve client service and internal efficiencies.

In 2021 and the years ahead, the company expects to continue expanding beyond its fire protection and life safety services, especially in high-growth areas such as security risk management, emergency preparedness, wildland fire consulting, industrial process safety, risk-informed maintenance, and software and technology-enabled services.