Katie J. Rykal is an accomplished executive human resources leader whose career has been defined by helping organizations achieve sustainable growth through strategic workforce leadership, operational excellence, and organizational transformation. With more than 21 years of progressive experience, she has built a reputation as a trusted executive advisor who understands that business success begins with people. Her expertise spans manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, industrial operations, and electrical industries, where she has consistently aligned human capital strategies with enterprise objectives to create stronger organizations, more capable leaders, and highly engaged workforces. Throughout her career, Katie has demonstrated that effective leadership is not simply about managing people—it is about building systems, cultures, and strategies that enable businesses to thrive in rapidly changing environments.
Katie’s executive philosophy centers on creating disciplined, scalable people systems that support operational excellence while empowering employees at every level of an organization. She has successfully led organizations through periods of accelerated growth, complex restructuring, workforce expansion, and transformational change by combining strategic vision with analytical decision-making and collaborative leadership. Her strengths in strategy, workforce analytics, organizational restructuring, employee engagement, and leadership development have made her an invaluable partner to executive teams seeking long-term business performance. She believes that when organizations invest intentionally in their people, they create lasting competitive advantages that extend well beyond financial performance.
Most recently, Katie served as Chief Human Resources Officer for Critical Project Services/Integra Global Services, where she led the people strategy behind one of the industry’s most remarkable growth transformations. During her tenure, she helped guide the organization from a multi-million-dollar operation into a multi-billion-dollar vertically integrated modular data center company while scaling its workforce from approximately 400 to 2,500 employees. She established a comprehensive HR infrastructure encompassing talent acquisition, organizational development, compensationtotal rewards, employee relations, workforce analytics, and HR technology, ensuring that rapid expansion was supported by sustainable processes and disciplined leadership. Her implementation of modern HR systems and analytics provided executives with real-time workforce intelligence while strengthening onboarding, payroll accuracy, and organizational effectiveness during an unprecedented period of growth. She also successfully launched a greenfield modular manufacturing facility in Houston, growing the workforce to 1,200 employees within six months while establishing the people systems necessary for operational success.
Prior to serving as CHRO, Katie spent more than five years with Triumph Group, one of the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers, where she held multiple Vice President of Human Resources positions. Supporting global organizations generating billions in annual revenue, she partnered directly with executive leadership to navigate significant restructuring initiatives, business divestitures, plant consolidations, organizational redesign, and guiding workforce transformation from 14,000 to 5,000 employees over that period. She directed enterprise HR strategy across the business and managed an HR organization of over 80 professionals, helping modernize systems, improve organizational capability, strengthen employee engagement, and elevate strategic workforce planning. Her ability to lead organizations through uncertainty while maintaining focus on long-term business objectives distinguished her as a transformational leader capable of balancing operational realities with people-centered leadership.
Katie’s earlier leadership experience with Godiva Chocolatier and Eaton further established her reputation as a strategic HR executive capable of supporting highly complex manufacturing operations. At Godiva, she led North American HR strategy for supply chain operations, overseeing restructuring initiatives that generated significant operational savings while improving staffing models and workforce efficiency. Her experience at Eaton spanned more than eleven years and included progressive HR leadership roles supporting manufacturing operations, functional teams and front-end product organizations, as well as multi-disciplined responsibilities across compensation and employee relations.HR roles in. She partnered with business leaders responsible for billions of dollars in revenue while supporting manufacturing operations throughout North America and internationally, helping improve profitability through workforce strategy, organizational design, manufacturing footprint optimization, and talent development. Her work consistently demonstrated the ability to translate business strategy into actionable people initiatives that strengthened both organizational performance and employee engagement.
One of Katie’s greatest professional strengths is her ability to integrate data-driven decision-making with practical leadership experience. She understands that modern organizations require more than traditional HR management—they require executive leaders who can leverage workforce analytics, compensation strategies, organizational design, and business intelligence to drive measurable outcomes. Whether leading compensation initiatives, implementing HR technology platforms, guiding executive succession planning, or navigating organizational restructuring, Katie consistently approaches challenges through a strategic lens that balances financial performance with workforce sustainability. Her collaborative leadership style enables executive teams to make informed decisions while fostering accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
Katie’s professional perspective has also been shaped by meaningful international exposure across Turkey, Brazil, Canada, Thailand, UK, Germany, France and Mexico, providing her with an appreciation for diverse business environments and global workforce considerations. She has worked closely with international operations, supported global manufacturing organizations, and developed leadership strategies that recognize both regional differences and universal leadership principles. Combined with her academic foundation—including a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business and dual bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Psychology from the University of Montana—Katie brings an exceptional combination of technical expertise, business acumen, and behavioral insight to every leadership opportunity.
Outside of the boardroom, Katie maintains a strong commitment to fitness, wellness, travel, and sports, pursuits that reflect her belief in personal growth, resilience, and maintaining balance in both life and leadership. She approaches every professional relationship with authenticity, integrity, and a desire to help organizations unlock their full potential. As she pursues opportunities for corporate board service, Katie is motivated by the opportunity to contribute her decades of executive leadership experience to organizations seeking thoughtful governance, strategic workforce guidance, and transformational leadership. She recognizes that today’s boards require leaders who understand both business performance and human capital strategy, and she is prepared to help organizations navigate growth, organizational change, executive leadership development, and long-term value creation.
Katie’s background makes her particularly well suited to serve organizations operating within manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, industrial, and electrical sectors, although her leadership philosophy extends well beyond any single industry. She brings the rare ability to connect organizational strategy with workforce execution, helping companies build stronger cultures, develop stronger leaders, and create scalable systems capable of supporting sustained success. Her extensive experience advising executive leadership, managing enterprise-wide transformation, and building high-performing organizations positions her as a trusted strategic advisor who understands what it takes to guide businesses through both opportunity and complexity. Katie is committed to helping boards and executive teams make decisions that strengthen organizations today while preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
Character:
Katie leads with integrity, humility, and a genuine commitment to developing both people and organizations. She consistently earns trust by approaching complex challenges with fairness, accountability, and an unwavering focus on long-term success.
Knowledge:
Her deep expertise in human resources, organizational transformation, compensation strategy, workforce analytics, and industrial operations allows her to provide meaningful guidance at the executive and board levels. Her broad experience across manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, and global operations gives her valuable insight into navigating growth, restructuring, and organizational complexity.
Strategic:
Katie excels at aligning people strategies with business objectives to create sustainable organizational performance. She anticipates future workforce needs while designing scalable systems that enable growth, operational excellence, and long-term competitive advantage.
Communication:
Communicating with clarity, transparency, and confidence, enabling executive teams and employees alike to navigate change successfully. Her collaborative approach fosters alignment, builds consensus, and strengthens relationships across every level of an organization.
