Otha T. ‘Skip’ Spriggs III is the Executive Leadership Council’s New President and CEO

The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) just named Otha T. “Skip” Spriggs III its new president and CEO. Spriggs succeeds Ronald C. Parker, who held the position since 2012.

Spriggs is a human resources executive and industry veteran. He is leaving his current position as senior executive vice president and senior human resources officer at TIAA. He previously had leadership roles at The Home Depot Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., UPS Inc., and Catalent Pharma Solutions Inc. He also served as senior vice president of human resources at Cigna, and was the chief diversity officer and president of the Cigna Foundation.

At Black Enterprise’s BE Smart HBCU Summit, Spriggs shared wisdom from his corporate experiences during the panel session, “Harvesting Talent for Corporate America’s Future,” where he spoke about hiring new graduates.

“Employment is no longer a local issue,” Spriggs told the audience, explaining that today’s graduates are competing with professionals from all over the world. Spriggs adjured students to be vigilant when applying for a job online: “If you don’t follow every step exactly, your application is rejected.”

In his new position, Spriggs will “lead the efforts to sustain the strategic pillars that inform The ELC’s strategic plan, including advocacy for black executive leadership across the globe,” as per a press release on the announcement.

Parker weighed in on his successor. “I am excited that Skip will join The ELC and serve as the new leader of this preeminent membership organization of global black business leaders,” he said in a statement. “He will make a tremendous contribution to our organization as he embodies values that are important to all of our constituents.”

“I want to thank Skip for his many contributions to TIAA over the past five years,” said Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and CEO at TIAA and a member of The ELC, via a statement. “He helped to make TIAA an employer of choice and empowered our 16,000 employees to make a difference for the individuals and institutions we serve around the world. We’re proud that Skip has been selected to lead The ELC, an organization about which he cares so deeply. Under his leadership, I know that The ELC will continue to make great strides in cultivating diverse leaders who can succeed in a complex, rapidly changing global market.”

—Additional reporting by Robin White Goode