People Moves: September 2019

Dennis Berger

Construction company Suffolk named Dennis Berger as chief culture officer. Berger will oversee Suffolk’s people and culture team and will be responsible for creating a top employee experience across the entire employee life cycle. Berger has more than 30 years of experience across all facets of HR and people management, including the last 14 years as chief human resources officer.

April Castañeda

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has named April Castañeda as director of human resources. She will lead a team of 70 professionals and direct the laboratory’s compensation and benefits, talent acquisition and university recruiting, diversity, leadership and staff development, labor relations and other key HR functions.

Angie Demchenko

Multistate cannabis operator Cresco Labs Inc. named Angie Demchenko as its first chief people officer. Demchenko will be responsible for performance management, recruitment, compensation and employee benefits. She most recently served as vice president, head of human resources for shopping mall operator Starwood Retail Partners.

Angela Persaud

G/O Media named Angela Persaud as senior vice president head of talent. Persaud will focus on the company’s culture, including the core values of diversity and inclusion as well as lead recruitment and retention activities. Persaud also will take a leadership role on union and general team member relations. She will report to CEO Jim Spanfeller.

Peggy Rubenzer

Restaurant brand True Food Kitchen named Peggy Rubenzer as chief people officer to lead the brand’s human resources and training function. Rubenzer will be responsible for developing and implementing people strategies. She will report to CEO Christine Barone. She began her HR career in 1989 with Southwest Airlines.

Kelli Spence

GameWorks Inc., named Kelli Spence as vice president, people and culture. Spence was promoted after spending two years as senior director, people and culture. She now will be focused on initiatives centered around enhancing the employee experience, from identifying talent and recruiting through retention and creating career paths for employees as well as ensuring a fun and rewarding culture.

To be considered for People Moves, email a brief announcement and a high-resolution color photo to editors@workforce.com. 
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