Deb Yost Honored for Excellence in Human Resources

    EARTH CITY, MO, May 28, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Deb Yost, Vice President of Human Resources for Laird, was recently named a VIP member of Worldwide Registry. This special distinction honors individuals who have shown exceptional commitment to achieving both personal and professional success.

Ms. Yost has 20 years of professional experience, with seven years as vice president of human resources at Laird. Throughout her career, she has set herself apart from her peers, with high energy and a passion for her work, especially in industry areas including consumer-facing environments, manufacturing and professional services. She most enjoys culture transformation, executive leadership, mentoring, coaching and development, training, change management, and utilizing her legal and human resource management experience. On a daily basis, Ms. Yost is responsible for implementing human resource leadership, as well as overseeing company-wide initiatives involving global transformations, improving the customer and employee experience, creating human resource strategies that align to business, market and talent research, improving organizational development, driving change management, supporting talent planning, training and employee development.

Ms. Yost has been in human resources for more than 20 years. She has been a leader in human resources for a string of Fortune 500 corporations, including Sara Lee Bakery Group, where she was corporate manager of global compliance, and Express Scripts, where she was senior director of human resources. She is currently the vice president of human resources for Laird, a global engineering company, as well as a member of the adjunct faculty for Webster University, Department of Behavioral Sciences. She has also appeared as a guest speaker across the St. Louis region with a special talent for bringing creative minds and activists together to push ideas and make changes. Under Ms. Yost's leadership, Laird was named among the Healthiest Companies in America by Interactive Health Solutions. This award recognized the company for its marked improvement in employee health and commitment to a wellness culture. In addition to her professional career, Ms. Yost is the co-founder of the Missouri 22q Support Network and Liaison for the Dempster Family Foundation. She became involved in health advocacy because of her son, Drew, who was born with DiGeorge Syndrome, otherwise known as 22q, one of the most common chromosomal deletions to cause a significant amount of health concerns. Ms. Yost is a St. Louis board member for JDRF and is the founder of Team Brooke Go Fight Cure. She was inspired to create the foundation because of her daughter, Brooke, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 5.

Looking back, Ms. Yost attributes her success to her mentorship from an early age and the habit of surrounding herself with people who leverage what she is good at and round out what doesn't come naturally. As a passionate and energetic leader, Ms. Yost is not likely to give up without a fight. Never a quitter, she is supportive and receptive and sincerely believes in paying it forward, giving generously of her time, talent and treasure. Ms. Yost also attributes her success to her ability to admit what she doesn't know and working collaboratively with others. She became involved in her profession from her initial career and legal background and time working in employment compliance. Her love for employment law turned to the broader elements of human capital processes and talent management. She has many years of experience in human resources for several Fortune 500 companies. The highlight of Ms. Yost's career was her recognition as one of St. Louis' top business executives; it was a big honor to be with great company and peers who are doing amazing things. Another highlight has been learning to balance her career and a family with two amazing children, who both have special needs. Her family situation has helped shape her perspective on life, both personally and professionally.

Ms. Yost received a Master of Science in Legal Studies and Human Resources Management from Webster University. In addition to her degree, she has received a Missouri Supreme Court Mediation Accreditation from Saint Louis University School of Law. She is a member of SHRM. In recognition of her hard work and dedication, she was named as a Top 40 Under 40 Business Executive by the St. Louis Business Journal. In years to come, Ms. Yost intends to create more awareness for the nonprofits that she supports, including holding an executive leadership role or chief human resources officer position.

For more information about Laird, visit http://www.lairdtech.com.

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