5 Questions with Ravena Valentine A+E's Chief People Officer On January 1, 2025, Ravena Valentine, EVP and Chief People Officer (CPO) at A+E Networks, took the helm of C2HR.  A longtime member of the C2HR Board of Directors, Ravena has 25 years of human resources experience. She brings a comprehensive perspective of our business to the president’s role, having served in HR roles on both the content side (A+E and ESPN), and the connectivity side (Cablevision). As she begins her presidency, we wanted to tap into her outlook on the year ahead, tips for career growth, and her vision for C2HR. Ravena was generous with her insights. We invite you to keep reading to learn more about our new president.   What is one HR goal that will take priority in the coming year? I think finding the path to continue the important work we do at A+E around employee engagement is key. Building a culture that respects and values the contributions of every employee has been one of our central tenets. We have worked hard to grow our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to foster a deep sense of community and inclusion, and to infuse our culture with the mindset that each and every employee contributes meaningfully to our success as a company. Inclusion and Belonging is imbedded in our fabric and, therefore, is part of our corporate goals, and that work will continue to be vital. If you could solve one HR challenge in the year ahead, what would it be?  I am working in real time along with my brilliant colleagues on how to best ready our organization for the AI transformation. This kind of huge shift can be daunting to some people. The disruption that technology continues to create in the marketplace is fascinating, and it almost always changes our business for the better. I remember when Palm Pilots and Blackberrys significantly changed the way we worked and communicated with one another. Now that is a distant memory. Today, we are all focused on AI, and that is exciting to me. You began your career as an HR analyst and today hold the position of CPO. What helped you to successfully climb the HR career ladder?  Oddly enough, the impetus to begin a career in HR was a practical one. I wanted to work in a space that was geographically agnostic and industry agnostic. I was also fascinated by the way a two-day orientation was facilitated early in my career, and it inspired me to think about a career in the people space. The “secret sauce” to my personal success, if you will, is a combination of a few strategies. Firstly, I am a natural introvert but a fierce networker. I am a people collector and connector. I like to help people identify the synergies and connective tissue in one another, and that has served me well over the years. If you invest in others, people give back, they share, they help, and they’ll be there when you reach out. Also, I firmly believe that it is important to spend time with people in the organization that are at the same career level as you. There is a natural desire to engage with higher ups, especially since we, as HR people, have a lot of access to them. However, you will “grow up” with the people at your current level. The relationship seeds that I sowed with colleagues earlier in my career are now paying dividends. I enjoy having a wide network of relationships with leaders in a variety of disciplines across my company. As a student of life, I have certainly learned a lot from the people all around me. I strive to take little nuggets from all of my interactions and add to my toolkit. That’s what I love about C2HR. With an industry-specific community of nearly 5,000 human resources professionals, we can share ideas, lessons learned and resources we’ve discovered. Also, seeing perspectives outside of my own organization helps give me new insights that I wouldn’t have otherwise. My third strategy was to learn to talk business. In HR, we have so many terms, acronyms and buzz words that don’t necessarily translate to a person in finance, operations or sales. Early on, I immersed myself in business acumen, learning the ins and outs of the financials (enough to be dangerous), to the point where others didn’t immediately recognize that I was the “HR Person” in the room. Being well-versed in business terminology and understanding corporate strategy helped me gain trust and create a level playing field. Do you have a favorite quote that resonates with you? I have a guiding principle that is a quote by the great Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It gives me chills every time and reminds me that interactions matter! What goals do you have for C2HR in 2025? I want to be able to continue the good work that started with the leaders before me. In addition, I would love to see the organization grow and expand its reach. Connectivity is a broad word. We should embrace its most expansive definition and be as inclusive as we can. We can learn from other organizations and build upon the incredible foundation that we have. I look forward to helping the organization continue to grow and thrive. SHARE THIS ARTICLE