HR leader ties GE together
January 8, 2010By Alison Lee Satake
No two days are alike for Cheya Dunlap. In charge of more than 3,000 employees worldwide, she leads the behind-the-scenes human resources operation of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy as global human resources leader.
“We have some of the biggest, brightest minds out there and that’s what keeps me in a company like this for 13 years or so,” Dunlap said. Her work reaches nearly everyone in the company from nuclear engineers and scientists to business administrators.
Keeping up with the latest in nuclear energy technology may be a challenge, but strengthening the network within a global company like GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy is right up her alley.
The former political science major who concentrated in international relations now oversees 20 human resources staff in offices in Japan, Taiwan, Canada, California, and Pennsylvania.
“I may have grown up in a small town, but I’ve always been interested in life outside,” she said. She left her small hometown of LaFayette, Ala., to attend Tuskegee University on a full presidential scholarship.
Right after college, Dunlap was an intern at GE, the company she has worked for in Houston, Los Angeles, and New York for nearly 13 years. She joined GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in Wilmington in August 2008. When she moved here from Houston, people wondered if she thought Wilmington was too small. “You have a Banana Republic. This is not small,” she replied jokingly.
In fact, she thinks Wilmington offers the best of both worlds. She’s been able to build a network here by tapping into local chapters of organizations, such as the national service sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, which she joined in college. She’s on the board of the Wilmington Children’s Museum and she joined the Junior League this year.
With her 7-year-old son, she’s involved with Jack and Jill of America, Inc., a national philanthropic and leadership development organization of African-American mothers and children. “There’s certainly an expectation in GE that we give back to the communities in which we work and live, which is great because it is in line with my interests,” she said.
GE is known for fostering community and diversity in the workplace. For more than a decade, the company has supported its employees’ affinity groups, such as the African-American Forum and the Women’s Network Hub. Dunlap is a member of both and champions for all of the affinity groups at the management table. “I’m fortunate to work for a company that ‘gets it’ and actively supports creating an inclusive environment for our employees. We think an inclusive culture is more productive and gives us a competitive edge,” she said.
No two days are alike for her. As the global human resources leader, one day she could be leading a training for interns, the next day she could be strategizing with the CEO for the company’s succession planning. “If our engineering leader won the lotto tomorrow, who is coming behind him that would be a viable candidate to replace him?” she said. “It’s really spending time on making sure we have enough ‘bench strength,’ if you will, to be able to promote into leadership roles when the time comes,” she said. In the meantime, she’s leading by example.
