True professionals in the world of human resources are organized, experienced, and able to recognize both challenges and opportunities. Exemplary practitioners in the human resources arena are the ones who recognize and dedicate themselves to the human component of their field. By doing just that, Tom Wright has been one that has set the standard for many others in the profession.
After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management and Economics from Marshall, Tom went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Administration from Central Michigan University.
Following his education, Tom joined Hallmark where he served in roles as Director of Corporate Staffing, Director of HR in a seven-plant manufacturing division, Director of Corporate Diversity, Manager of College Relations, and Manager of Affirmative Action Planning. He was recruited in 1996 to join Thorn Americas as Vice President of Field Human Resources, where he created substantive and positive changes in culture, leadership development, employee engagement, and compensation leading to a 30% improvement in staff retention.
In 1999, Tom was recruited back to Hallmark Cards as the Director of HR – Corporate Divisions and served in that capacity until his promotion to Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer of Human Resources. As the Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer of Human Resources, he held responsibility for Human Resources in the United States, the UK, Canada, and Mexico. As the company evolved through several reorganization and transformation initiatives, he led a significant change in the corporate culture that eliminated silos and communication barriers and enabled the company to work across organizational boundaries toward greater success and attainment of growth objectives. The model he created was recognized as best practice and rolled out to managers across the entire company.
Following a career leading his own firm, Tom Wright Consulting, Tom was recruited to join EPR Properties where he performed the role of Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administration and then transitioned to an executive advisory role in the company for the CEO before his first stab at retirement.
In November of 2020, Tom was asked to serve as the interim Senior Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer for Children’s Mercy Hospital of Kansas City, an assignment that was to last approximately eight months while the institution engaged in a national search for a permanent replacement. Two months into this assignment the President and CEO, Paul Kempinski, extended the position on a permanent basis to Tom as Executive Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Director of the Leadership Center within the Berry Institute.
In this capacity Tom has provided exemplary leadership and support to Children’s Mercy as they successfully navigated the COVID pandemic and the period of the Great Resignation. Additionally, Tom has been instrumental in the success realized from the Culture Journey initiative – which impacts all 8500 team members. This program has led to higher levels of engagement, less turnover and immense improvements in many areas of the organization.
He is an alumnus of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Kansas City Tomorrow Leadership Program. He has been recognized as One of Kansas City’s 100 Most Influential African Americans, was named Outstanding Black Alumni at Marshall University, and was recently inducted into the Hall of Distinction of Marshall University’s Society for Human Resource Management chapter.
Over the past 4 decades, Tom Wright has been recognized as a transformational C-Suite executive, with a solid record of success in helping companies achieve operational excellence through innovative business leadership, executive coaching, employee engagement, talent acquisition, performance management, and succession planning. His success was based on building collaborative and high-performance teams, from the top down, by ensuring the career development of employees and fostering a deeply embedded culture of employee dedication to the success of the organization.
Tom is the proud father of three amazing sons: Thomas IV, Jonathan, and Bryan. All three are married and lead professional lives in the Kansas City area. More importantly, Tom is now a grandfather to Thomas V and Jordan, and is expecting the first granddaughter in November. Tom just recently celebrated his fourth wedding anniversary to his wife Joanne, a nationally recognized Master Sculptor with Hallmark Cards for 41 years prior to her retirement this past March. Perhaps Joanne can “teach” Tom the basics of how to retire and stay retired!
