Michelle Saunders
Vice President, Global Head, Human Resources Shawmut
Michelle Saunders is a transformational HR and organizational development leader with over 15 years of experience driving culture change, talent strategy, and leadership development. As Global Head of HR at Shawmut Corporation, she partners with executive teams to align business and people strategies, foster diversity and inclusion, and implement innovative workforce solutions. Michelle’s career spans senior roles at Brooks Automation, HarborOne Bank, and IGT, where she led initiatives in talent management, learning, and organizational effectiveness. She holds a Master’s in Adult Education from the University of Rhode Island and is passionate about preparing individuals and organizations for long-term success.
Seminars
- Diagnosing the operational impact of leadership gaps – a legacy decision to cut supervisors created uncontrolled spans of responsibility, eroding safety culture, morale, and quality standards across manufacturing lines
- Partnering with operations and workforce planning to reintroduce critical supervisory roles, implement leadership development, and embed accountability frameworks that connect structure to the employee lifecycle and plant-level performance
- Driving measurable improvements in key metrics, targeting reductions in safety incidents, faster time-to-fill for frontline roles, improved retention, and higher engagement, while building a sustainable operations model to maintain long-term productivity gains
- Where are performance, safety, or retention issues being driven less by individual leaders and more by structural flaws, such as spans of control, unclear expectations, or inconsistent enablement?
- How can organizations align leadership structure, selection, and day‑to‑day tools so plant leaders are set up to succeed rather than compensate for system gaps?
- What role should data and technology play in clarifying expectations, reinforcing consistent behaviors, and reducing variability across sites without over‑engineering solutions?
- How can HR, TA, and Operations jointly define what “good” plant leadership looks like in practice and ensure it is tested before hire, reinforced early, and sustained over time?
