Laura E. FitzRandolph
Executive Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer, HMSHost Corp.
“After working nearly seven years in a private law practice, defending companies that had made errors, I wanted to get in on the other side and help prevent errors from happening in the first place,” says FitzRandolph, Executive VP and Chief Human Resources Officer for travel-dining restaurateur HMSHost Corp.
In 2006, when a friend connected her with a company in the hotel industry—Interstate Hotels and Resorts—that was looking for a labor and employment attorney, she began her journey in HR and hospitality.
“I found the right industry for me,” she says. “Hospitality companies are centered around people. The product they provide is service, and without people, you can't have a good service experience. So many of us in this field are drawn to it because we have a service mindset, and being in HR and labor and employment law, I’ve been able to witness that every day. I get to work with people who have hospitality running through their veins.”
FitzRandolph, who served as Interstate’s Chief Human Resources Officer and Assistant General Counsel for 10 years, focused on talent acquisition, labor relations, and employment law. She worked with different teams, participating in problem prevention and problem solving.
Most importantly, she learned how to build the right relationships and grow her own confidence. The position also gave her the tools and experience necessary to advance to her next role. She joined Bethesda, Md,-based global travel restaurateur HMSHost in 2016 to oversee HR functions for the company and its more than 21,000+ employees.
“As a lawyer, you’ve got to learn to think seven steps ahead, and know the right questions to ask,” she says. “When I got an opportunity to be a chief human resources officer, I maybe thought I had half the experience necessary for it.
“I think this happens to a lot of women— we worry about what we don’t know instead of what we do know—but I knew my natural curiosity, ability to put the right team in place, and desire to lead with empathy would provide what I needed. I was determined to make people feel heard, understood, and included in the decision-making process.”
Fast-forward seven years, and FitzRandolph remains passionate about her role as a servant leader, helping employees be their best, and removing the barriers they face in their day-to-day work. She’s also instrumental in helping develop policies and priorities that allow more women to succeed in business.
“I look at what happened during the pandemic, at how much of the home responsibility fell so heavily on women, causing many to make the decision to not work to care for their families. I believe company policies must meet and accommodate those needs. If they don’t, it could be a barrier to more women succeeding in business. We must make accommodations for people where they’re needed, meet them where they are.”
FitzRandolph offers three tips to advance to the executive suite:
- Have confidence and believe in yourself. If you wait until you match a job opportunity perfectly, you won't be raising your hand for jobs you’re perfectly suited and qualified to fill.
- Seek out mentorship. Find support where you can, whether it’s inside your company or an outside group or relationship. Mentorship comes in different shapes and sizes. Finding an executive coach can also be helpful. They could put a lens on what and where you need to grow that you haven’t been able to see.
- Network to find opportunities. You never know; you could meet someone who will remember you three or four years from now, find you on LinkedIn and tell you they have a great position for you. It’s important to keep networking and stay in contact with people to the best of your ability. A person may not have the right opportunity for you now, but they could in the future.
“There's a lot going on in the world now that I think sometimes makes us doubt the goodness in people,” she says. “If I spend the rest of my career ensuring we work in a diverse, equitable, civil, and inclusive company and society, I’ll have achieved what I want to achieve.”