Pamela Puryear, PhD

Pamela S. Puryear, Ph.D. is a business executive with 35 years of global experience in financial services, consulting, healthcare and retail. From 2009 to 2021, Dr. Puryear held several executive leadership roles, including Executive Vice President, Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance; Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at Zimmer Biomet; Senior Vice President, Chief Talent Officer at Pfizer Inc., and Vice President, Organizational Development and Chief Talent Officer at Hospira Inc. Prior to 2009, Dr. Puryear led an independent organizational development consulting practice for 12 years working globally and across industry sectors, including consumer products, financial services, healthcare, professional services and insurance. Dr. Puryear spent her first 10 years post-MBA in financial services in the real estate investment advisor industry.

Dr. Puryear currently serves as an independent director at SpartanNash (NASDAQ), a Fortune 300 wholesale food distributor and retailer, Standard Motor Products Inc. (NYSE), an automotive aftermarket manufacturer and distributor, and Fetch (Private), a Warburg Pincus-backed pet insurance company. Dr. Puryear also served as an independent director of NextGen Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ), a healthcare technology solutions provider.  Dr. Puryear serves on Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, and Strategy committees, and currently chairs one private and two public company Compensation Committees. 

Dr. Puryear is a recognized business and human capital thought leader, currently serving as a member of the Advisory Board, Human Capital Center at The Conference Board, a research think tank that delivers business insights to 1,000 public and private organizations in 60 countries. Dr. Puryear was also inducted into the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the preeminent member organization for Black Executives in 2019, and was named one of the 2021 “Elite 100,” recognizing black female executives changing the face of corporate America. Additionally, in 2023 Dr. Puryear was recognized as a member of the 2023 Most Influential Women Corporate Board Directors by Women Inc. Magazine.

Dr. Puryear holds a Ph.D. degree in organizational psychology; an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School; and a BA degree in psychology with a concentration in organizational behavior from Yale University.