Michael Watson, former Senior Vice President, Talent and Culture at National 4-H Council, develops human resources strategies and systems to achieve organizational results. With more than 20 years of executive-level experience at Girl Scouts of the USA, GE, IBM and Time Warner, Inc., Michael integrates nonprofit and corporate best practices.

At National 4-H Council, Michael implemented a new compensation system and performance management system for staff that connects performance to rewards to drive achievement of organizational priorities. He also created career development resources and programs to improve employee engagement and empower employees to manage their careers. At Girl Scouts of the USA, Michael directed the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and programs in executive compensation, succession planning, diversity and executive search. Among other accomplishments, he advised the CEO on two major reorganizations to streamline staff structure and facilitate core business strategy implementation, and led redesign of Girl Scout’s executive and staff compensation systems, which strengthened organizational capacity to recruit, retain, and recognize talent.

Michael outsourced Girl Scout Council CEO Search function, which saved more than $3.2M and contributed to increasing diversity of Girl Scout Council CEOs from 8.9% in 1999 to 27% in 2013, the highest level in Girl Scouts’ history.

He served as chair and co-chair of the National Human Services Assembly’s Human Resources Council and was a member of the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition Board of Directors. Michael was granted the first Spirit of Collaboration Award from the National Human Services Assembly in 2010 for leadership in this association of 85 nonprofits with 1.1 million employees.

“Michael is one of the most remarkable executives working in HR I’ve ever encountered,” said Karen Key, Executive Vice President at the National Human Services Assembly. “His outstanding work extends not only to the HR function he led within Girl Scouts of the USA, but also to his leadership role in attracting and developing talent for the entire nonprofit sector.”

Prior to joining Girl Scouts in 1999, Michael was human resources partner for IBM Global Services, where he served as senior human resources strategist for two businesses with combined revenues exceeding $2 billion. He was also manager, corporate human resources for Time Warner, Inc., and manager, staffing and cultural diversity for GE Capital’s 7,500-employee Retailer Financial Services business where he was awarded Pinnacle Club for top performance.

“Michael makes everything that he touches better via his leadership competence, technical mastery, experience portfolio, and ability to communicate effectively at every organizational level,” said Angel Rodriguez, Senior Vice President for Human Resources at GE Capital. “His significant impact on my life and career is incalculable.”

In 1997, as part of a self-financed, one-year sabbatical, Michael volunteered at two public elementary schools in New Brunswick, NJ, where he helped develop education programs for students and a pilot tutoring/volunteer program with Rutgers University. He was inducted into the 2008 Hall of Distinguished Alumni by the New Brunswick Education Foundation. Currently, Michael serves on the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps Board of Directors and on the Manhattanville College Board of Trustees. He is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Black MBA Association. Watson has a BA in economics from Yale University and an MBA in organizational management and human resource development from Manhattanville College.