THE HR CHIEF INTERVIEW
IT’ s only 7.30am in the US. But Jason Desentz is, in his own words,“ already pumped up for the day ahead”. Spend any amount of time speaking with the seasoned HR exec, and it’ s hard to not feel the same. He is a leader passionate about serving others, using his own hardearned early experiences to provide opportunity and a culture that inspires risk takers, and nurturing the next generation of leaders. They’ re a set of rules that have underpinned a career spanning more than 25 years of leadership in industries such as automotive, manufacturing, healthcare and financial services, where Jason has driven HR innovations that enhance organisational performance and position the role as a strategic enabler. Over this time he has led global integrations and scalable HR frameworks, aligned talent, operations and strategy in complex environments, and used datadriven insights to build high-performance cultures and lead organisational change. Not bad, considering it may never have worked out like that.“ I wanted to be a police officer … well, a detective. Like you see on TV,” says Jason, of the formative years and early upbringing that both shaped his approach to human capital and taught valuable lessons he passes on in the workplace today.
Jason began life in a humble environment, growing up in a low income family – a background he avoided talking about until recently.“ Over the years, I’ ve just learned to not care,” he says, of the vulnerability and authenticity that are a key part of his leadership style.“ If you use it properly, vulnerability is a real gift in any environment. I teach it and advocate for it with my teams and in my work; the ability to put yourself out there, be unafraid to take the initiative and grasp something outside of your space is one of the most important lessons.” Jason leads people based on his lived experience. He is passionate about hard work and a relentless drive, continuous learning and a‘ no one’ s coming to save you’ approach to grasping opportunities with vigour and ambition“ I’ ve always done all I can to educate myself, and that really helps me to influence those I work with and for – I always try to serve before I lead,” he says.“ I’ ve been in the shoes of people early in their career and I know what it’ s like, and having that empathy helps me support our teams. For me, HR leadership is about how I can impact others rather than about my own career or ambitions.
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