Getting to Know C2HR President Julie Neimat
Julie Neimat serves as EVP Talent & Culture for Warner Bros. Discovery where she oversees the company's strategy for learning, talent acquisition, org effectiveness, employee engagement, talent management, culture, and wellbeing. As incoming President, we invited Julie to share her vision for C2HR, thoughts on the HR profession and her dream job.
How is C2HR helping HR leaders shape the future of work?
Julie: This is such an interesting time in the HR profession amid this incredible rate of change in consumer behavior, ways of working, workplace culture, tools, tech etc. C2HR actively engage our member community through idea exchanges, learning series and knowledge articles that help us keep pace with change across the spectrum of our craft. We invite thought leaders and key external partners to share learnings, teach new skills and showcase great work across their teams – which is extraordinarily valuable as we navigate some rough waters. I don’t think any of us have all the solutions, but as a community – collectively – we have such a rich toolbox to build with.
What is your vision for C2HR in 2023 and beyond?
Julie: I’m excited to announce that we are launching an Advisory Board this year. The focus of this team will be creative input and innovation in support of C2HR’s mission to advance the influence and capabilities of Human Resources professionals across our industry.
Advisory board members will be empowered to share their expertise, insights and helping to build and drive forward valuable resources to support our members and their organizations as they navigate change, build capabilities, and support the health and wellbeing of employees across our industry.
I want C2HR to continue to focus on developing stars across our member community – and I personally welcome feedback. What is important to you? Where do you want to go? How can we help you get there?
What do you think the HR profession needs to focus on in 2023?
Julie: Continuous evolution of our tools, programs and technologies. As we go through this year and look at all that we do… we must ask ourselves…Do we love this? Do our employees love it? Does it deliver value? Does it support wellness? Does it help accelerate our DEI strategies? If we stopped doing it, what would happen? We should involve our employees to get valuable feedback on the tools and services we provide them and invite them to co-design solutions to help us all thrive.
What attracted you to a career in human resources?
Julie: I was literally lured in by someone who said they were looking for an artist to recruit for “multimedia”. Not going to lie, I’ve fallen in and out of love with different parts of HR as I grew my career – but that’s all part of the journey. I absolutely love the space we get to play in, influence, build, innovate.
You have been at Discovery, now Warner Bros. Discovery, for nearly 18 years. To what do you attribute your longevity with a single company?
Julie: I’ve been so lucky to work with incredible colleagues and clients – I came for the people and stayed for the people. Our new WBD People & Culture team is crazy talented. How lucky am I to work in such an incredible industry with colleagues like this?
Do you have a famous quote that resonates with you?
“Some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.” - Gilda Radner
What words of advice would you share with someone early in their HR career?
Julie: When employees join our companies, they make a decision to spend a big part of their time with us. As HR professionals at all levels, we have the awesome opportunity (responsibility) to create the absolute best work environment we can, to help them be successful, productive, grow their careers, support their wellness and where they can be their authentic selves. I think everyone in HR should think about the bigger picture of what our function can deliver – keep learning, make connections, build a network, and take the time to ask employees to share their stories and advice – this is gold.
What is the best advice you ever received and who gave it?
Julie: My piano teacher once told me, keep your head up or you will miss the world (which was kind of funny since I needed to look down to read the music…) I think about that a lot. Sometimes we get so focused and caught up in our own thoughts that we miss all the clues, ideas and opportunities scattered all around us.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Julie: Making playlists. I have a mixtape for every day of the week, every vibe, and event. If you see me on the train in the morning with giant headphones…I’m definitely making a playlist about this commute.
If you weren’t an HR leader, what would you be?
Julie: Music Supervisor – designing soundtracks for movies and TV. Dream job.
