Date:   October 17, 2023
To:       Members of NYU's HR Division
From:  Linda Mills and Martin Dorph

Following a thorough and wide-ranging search, we are delighted to welcome Michelle Piekutowski to NYU as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). She will start on November 9.

At a large, complex university such as NYU, the position of Chief Human Resources Officer presents special challenges, and it calls for someone with special talents. In Michelle Piekutowski, we found just the right person.

A seasoned human resources professional with a demonstrated track-record of driving transformation within institutions of higher education, Michelle comes to NYU from Carnegie Mellon University, where she has been Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer since 2017. During her tenures at Carnegie Mellon and earlier at Clemson University, she developed and implemented a university-aligned human resources strategic plan; transformed the human resources division into a cohesive, proactive, and consultative employee-focused organization; and developed a human resources-related dashboard to provide timely data for university leadership.

She impressed those involved in the search process as a skillful communicator and a highly capable leader who has a clear understanding of the position. She is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has significant experience working in environments with unionized workers. Smart, engaging, highly consultative, Michelle showed a keen understanding of the vital need for both the human connection as well as data and metrics in leading a Division of Human Resources. Her goal of seeing all NYU employees thrive and have career opportunities is one that resonates with our priorities for the University’s future.

Prior to accepting the post at Carnegie Mellon, Michelle was in the Human Resources Department at Clemson University for 19 years, the last nine as Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Earlier, she had worked as a teacher, and in several technology-related training roles.

She graduated with a BS from Western Carolina University in 1991, and received a Masters from Clemson in 2003.

Welcome, Michelle! We are delighted by the many skills you will bring to NYU, and we are looking forward to working with you.