JEA has hired human resources executive Helen Materazzi for the new position of vice president of organizational effectiveness to handle the utility’s talent planning, employee engagement and organizational development practices.
The city-owned utility announced Materazzi’s hiring at a $225,000 annual salary in a news release June 2.
Materazzi has more than 30 years of experience in global human resources, talent management and organizational effectiveness from a range of industries including manufacturing, financial services, chemical, pharmaceutical, agribusiness and technology, the release said.
According to JEA, 30% of its workforce is eligible for retirement, which its corporate leadership says could become a financial and labor liability for the electric and water utility.
JEA CEO Jay Stowe said at the utility’s April 25 board meeting that maintaining a strong workforce needs to be a focus to coincide with the JEA’s long-term water infrastructure projects and goal to reduce carbon emissions and reach 35% clean energy production by 2030.
“We are working diligently to be sure that we can retain and recruit well-qualified people to be able to help support ongoing (workforce efforts) as part of what we always have done,” Stowe said April 25. Before moving to JEA, Materazzi was chief people officer at VisasQ-Coleman Research Group, where she led organizational change initiatives and provided human resources leadership throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the release said.
Previously, she was vice president of organizational learning at Bowne & Co. Inc. in New York.
She will report to JEA Chief Strategy Officer Laura Dutton.