Suzanne Jakstavich
About Suzanne Jakstavich
Suzanne Jakstavich serves as the Chief People Officer at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, where she has implemented significant employee engagement and diversity strategies. With a strong educational background and extensive experience in human resources, she has successfully orchestrated acquisitions and reduced turnover rates in her previous roles.
Work at Hinshaw & Culbertson
Suzanne Jakstavich has served as the Chief People Officer at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP since 2020. In this role, she has implemented scalable strategies that successfully recruited and integrated over 250 attorneys and business professionals annually from 2021 to 2023. Her leadership focuses on enhancing employee engagement and retention, contributing to the firm's operational success.
Education and Expertise
Suzanne Jakstavich holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master of Arts in Labor and Employee Relations from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She furthered her education at Georgetown University and completed the Institute for Transformational Leadership, achieving certification as a Leadership Coach. Her educational background supports her expertise in human resources and organizational leadership.
Background
Before joining Hinshaw & Culbertson, Suzanne Jakstavich held several key positions in human resources. She worked as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Heartland Alliance from 2017 to 2020 and as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at AvalonBay Communities from 2007 to 2015. Additionally, she served as Head of Human Resources at Crowell & Moring LLP from 2005 to 2007 and as Vice President of Human Resources at BMO Harris Bank from 2001 to 2005.
Achievements
Suzanne Jakstavich orchestrated an acquisition that resulted in an 8% firm expansion and managed change strategies for seamless team integration and operational continuity. She created a holistic employee engagement strategy that included launching the first engagement survey with a 72% participation rate. Furthermore, she achieved a double-digit annual associate turnover reduction by conducting a total rewards study and implementing tailored strategies based on the findings.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
Suzanne Jakstavich has designed and implemented Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies aimed at increasing employee engagement and retention. She also crafted and executed benefit strategies that addressed the diverse needs of a multi-generational workforce, resulting in annual cost savings of $400,000.