ESA is thrilled to welcome new Senior Vice President Ayo Oliver, who will oversee the firm’s people and culture programs. In this role, Oliver will serve as a strategic partner with the firm’s executive management team and will be focused on four primary areas—career and leadership development, people program initiatives, employer branding, and strategic risk management—while leading the firm’s Human Resources team.
“ESA is a people-centered, employee-owned firm. Our last few years of deliberate growth, coupled with our now-distributed workforce that emerged from the pandemic, made it clear it was time to take ourselves to the next level in terms of how we support our most important resource: our employee-owners,” said President and CEO, Leslie Moulton-Post. “With a long career in professional services industries, Ayo will help us further develop the strategic people-centered programs that are integral to achieving our business goals and supporting a healthy and forward-looking organization.”
Prior to joining ESA, Oliver led HR programs and served as a business partner to C- and D-level leaders for large international law firms. Oliver also has significant experience in the healthcare industry; most notably as Chief Culture Officer for a medical oncology practice where she was responsible for developing their Culture of C.A.R.E. program, promoting service excellence and consistency across all locations.
In addition, she led skills enhancement and leader development programs to build the management bench strength during a period of rapid growth in the organization. During the pandemic, Oliver partnered with the executive management team to transition the practice to a hybrid remote workforce model and launched an organizational initiative to increase employee morale and engagement, among other accomplishments.
“With Ayo’s demonstrated experience standing up meaningful people-focused programs and navigating the integration of merger and acquisition activities, we believe she will have an immediate impact supporting our employee-owners and helping them develop in their careers at ESA,” said COO, Eric Haase. “It should also be noted that the multi-disciplinary panel that interviewed Ayo instantly and unanimously felt she was just the right person to fill this role for the firm as we continue to build a foundation for continued growth and sustain ESA’s presence as an industry leader.”
Oliver holds a BS in Industrial Psychology from California State University East Bay and an MA in Human Resources and Employment Law from Arizona State University. Oliver will be based out of ESA’s Oakland office but will regularly visit regional headquarters in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and Southeastern United States.
