Barbara Thoms
About Barbara Thoms
Barbara Thoms serves as the VP and Director of People at Woodruff Sawyer, where she focuses on enhancing employee satisfaction and aligning people strategies with the company's core values. With over 20 years of experience in human resources, she has held leadership roles at notable organizations including Chubb Insurance and CNA Insurance.
Work at Woodruff Sawyer
Barbara Thoms serves as the VP, Director of People at Woodruff Sawyer since 2020. In this role, she develops and executes organizational strategy projects aimed at improving business operations. Thoms oversees career management and leadership development programs, ensuring alignment with the company's core values and culture. She also implements total rewards strategies to enhance employee satisfaction and retention. Additionally, she leads initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the organization.
Education and Expertise
Barbara Thoms holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She furthered her education with a Master of Science in HR and Organizational Development from Golden Gate University. Her academic background provides a strong foundation for her expertise in human resources and organizational strategy.
Background in Human Resources
Before joining Woodruff Sawyer, Barbara Thoms accumulated extensive experience in human resources. She worked at Chubb Insurance as Assistant Vice President of Human Resources from 1998 to 2016, where she spent 18 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. Following her tenure at Chubb, she served at CNA Insurance as Assistant Vice President of Human Resources for the Western Territory from 2019 to 2020, and as Director of Human Resources for the Western States from 2016 to 2019.
Leadership and Development Initiatives
In her current role at Woodruff Sawyer, Barbara Thoms focuses on leadership development and career management programs. She is responsible for aligning people strategies with the organization's core values, fostering an environment that supports employee growth and retention. Her initiatives aim to create a cohesive workplace culture that values employee contributions.