Sonja Narcisse

Adjunct Faculty


SONJA S. NARCISSE

 

CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER| BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION LEADER |

TALENT MANAGEMENT & CULTURE EXPERT| LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE IN 20 COUNTRIES

Sonja is recognized within the human resources field for her unique expertise in international HR and driving change to achieve substantial business results. With nearly 30 years of experience, she has led global restructurings for mid- to large-sized companies, leading efforts to gain efficiency, achieve cost transparency, and spearhead alignments that result in annualized savings of $24 to $650 million. Sonja is viewed as an Entrepreneurial HR expert with proven business acumen and hands-on experience in managing a business and P&L. Additionally, she is widely regarded as a strategic business partner and confident in all facets of HR, serving as a subject matter expertise in business transformation, talent & culture management, and workforce analytics.

 

She currently is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut where she develops and teaches graduate-level courses in Human Resource Management. In addition, she is the founder of Ardaso, an LLC offering a private wine label, organic spa products and customized precious stones jewelry. The company is dedicated to providing a source of revenue to selected local and global non-profit organizations.

 

Prior to this her vast expertise was utilized in the position of Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resource Officer at Tronox, the third largest global producer of the commodity chemical titanium dioxide with $2.6 billion in annual revenue and a team of 4,500 employees at 13 locations in the US, Europe, South African and Australia. She was instrumental in developing processes for the Compensation Committee ensuring compliance with ISS and SEC requirements. Launched innovative compensation, succession planning, and executive development programs for the company’s global businesses, while providing significant contributions during the creation of the company’s mission and values. Furthermore, Sonja was a key player in Tronox’ effort to improve culture, diversity, and morale.

 

Prior to her tenure at Tronox, Sonja was Vice President of HR for Heinz North America where she was responsible for leading all human resources activities for approximately 9,000 employees across the United States and Canada. Sonja has also served as Group Vice President of Human Resources for Alcoa where she supported the Global Rolled Products Division.

Sonja spent 22 years with Weyerhaeuser, an international forest products company, where she held various senior leadership roles both in the business and centers of expertise. There she instituted a best practice approach to succession planning, career development, and performance management. In 2000, she received Weyerhaeuser’s highest award, the President’s award, for achieving $14MM dollars in savings through various human resources initiatives.

 

Sonja is viewed by her peers as a thought leader and has been published on numerous occasions regarding topics of employee engagement, HR metrics and many others, including:

• Narcisse, Sonja. “Ensuring Employee Engagement by Solving Real Business Problems.” Best Practices for Driving Employee Engagement. Boston: Thomson Reuters, 2014. 141-151. Print.

• Narcisse, Sonja, Aumann, Kerstin & Olivier, Sandra. “Driving Cultural Integration and Business Results through HR Metrics.” Human Capital Analytics @ Work. New York: The Conference Board, 2014. 22-31. Online.

 

Sonja earned her bachelor’s degree in business marketing from the University of Phoenix. She is heavily involved in the community and has served on the boards for the H.J. Heinz Company Foundation and several non-profit organizations, promoting the health and well-being of children and families. She previously served on the Board of Directors for McMillen Bloedel in London. Currently she is on the Board of Directors for both the Stamford Museum and Nature Center and the Yale-New Haven Bridgeport Hospital Foundation.

Contact Information
Emailsonja.narcisse@uconn.edu