Fara Palumbo is Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, a leader in delivering innovative health care products, services, and information to 3.8 million members.
Throughout her career, she has focused on transforming the talent and culture of teams through a focus on innovation, diversity, and change leadership. During her tenure at Blue Cross NC, Fara has led the transformation of the company’s talent strategy, delivering a compelling and credible employment value proposition and leading cultural change to enable and sustain long-term business growth.
Under her leadership, the company has achieved and maintained its certification as a Great Place to Work© and has earned numerous recognitions as an employer of choice, including the Working Mother Top 100, Best Companies in Healthcare & BioPharma, Forbes Best Mid-sized Companies for Diversity, and NAFE Top Company for Women Executives.
Previously, Fara held Human Resources leadership positions at Citibank in both the retail and investment banks. During her tenure, she led teams engaged in a variety of transformational efforts impacting the workforce. Her last assignment, prior to leaving, was head of HR for the Global Securities Division.
Fara has also been engaged with several professional and charitable organizations. As a founding board member of the Triangle Chief HR Officer Association (TCHROA), she helped create an organization to support senior HR leaders in their pursuit of excellence. She has also provided expertise to advisory boards including NC Family Forward and has been an active board member of several charitable organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Triangle to the Coast Affiliate, where she served as Board President.
She has been honored by the Triangle Business Journal in their inaugural class of C-Suite award winners, which recognizes excellence in corporate leadership and community service.
She holds a master’s degree in organizational management from Pfeiffer University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Fordham University.
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