Get to Know One of the Women Behind Our Greatest... Get to Know One of the Women Behind Our Greatest Asset: People

As a member of the executive leadership team, Cathy Osborne leads all human resources functions across the entire Accord Financial organization, developing a unified culture between the firm's six operating units. Behind the scenes, Cathy makes Accord's workplace enjoyable, diverse, and engaged. We asked her a few questions to know more about her role at Accord:

Can you describe one of your main goals as SVP Human Resource?

I look at my role as an HR executive from a few different perspectives. One primary goal I have is to ensure we have the right people in the right roles. This includes our leaders, managers and entire team. The more effective our leaders are, the more engaged our employees become, which can lead to higher performance and more valuable contributions. This intentionality translates to our clients and investors with great service from Accord.

What does it take to be a strong HR partner?

In my opinion, in order to be a strong HR partner, it is important to understand the business strategy. I place a great amount of energy and focus on our business strategy and how I support our leaders. Do we have the right people in place to successfully execute and support our strategy? As leaders inspire their teams, engagement goes up and so does performance. My partnership with the leaders throughout the organization is to ensure they have the tools in place to create a high performing team. Our high performing teams then create, enhance and provide our end clients the right solutions for their specific needs.

What is important in your relationship with Accord's employees?

It is important that I know who each employee is, what their role is and ensure Accord is creating an inclusive and rewarding work environment. At accord we put people first and my priority is the wellbeing and success of each employee so they can provide value to our clients and other stakeholders.