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As HR increasingly leans into its role as a strategic business partner, data is playing an outsized role. However, for the function to maximize the value of data in developing and executing a talent strategy, people professionals must also recognize the power of storytelling to drive results, along with the imperative of relationship building.
Those elements underlie how Drew Howell approaches HR leadership. Howell, global HR leader at World Wide Fulfillment by Amazon and North America Selling Business Programs and one of this year’s HR’s Rising Stars, joined the online retailer in 2022. He was coming off a decade of leading HR work across the cruise and hospitality industries, including at Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Corp., where he held increasingly senior and global roles. His contributions to Carnival’s talent strategy include reducing recruiting spend by about $1.5 million and designing and launching a new ATS credited with slashing time-to-hire by more than one-third.
See also: Introducing HR’s Rising Stars for 2025
Howell’s demonstrable impact has continued at Amazon, where his work has driven a 15% increase in middle-management mobility, reduced spending by tens of millions, boosted employee engagement by up to 10% and resulted in a nearly 99% retention
