Oak Street Health : Crain's Chicago Business Notable Leaders in HR - Cynthia Hiskes, Chief Human Resources

As the first chief human resources officer at Oak Street Health, Cynthia Hiskes has built the department. She standardized systems for more than 2,000 employees, including programs for employee engagement, internal communications and recognition. She launched a survey that enables the health care provider to make data-informed decisions. And she championed the formation of employee resource groups and a diversity committee. Hiskes also developed a pipeline for recruiting future leadership with a focus on events at the Wharton and Kellogg business schools. Before joining Oak Street Health in 2018, Hiskes was chief people officer at Cars.com, where she added technology and other initiatives that helped the privately held firm complete its IPO. Earlier, she was chief HR officer at Ferrara Candy in Oak Brook.