Inspiring People, Inspiring Journeys – Part 7

Inspiring People, Inspiring Journeys, is a new podcast series in 2023, moderated by Sanja Haas, Chairwoman of the Advisory Board for the European Human Capital Center at The Conference Board. Each episode features an informal conversation with a CHRO about their role & responsibilities, professional journey and perspectives about HR careers and the future of the function.

In this seventh episode, Sanja sits down with Khadija Ben Hammada, CHRO at Merck. In a very inspirational conversation, Khadija shares with us how her role is both a privilege and responsibility. She talks about her dual responsibility of driving and supporting Merck’s business (focused on positively impacting peoples’ lives) and of being the “People’s People” in taking care of 66K employees, ensuring values such as fairness, inclusion and integrity are lived up to, and that the workforce has a sense of belonging. The privilege Khadija talks about is linked to this dual responsibility and to the pride in being part of a company with 353 years of legacy and passing this on to the next generations.

Among other key insights, Khadija also shares that for a fulfilling career, it is important to “say yes” as much as possible, focus on the impact one generates (vs titles or promotions), learn as much as possible from these experiences and to “pick a boss” one is inspired to work for.

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