Are you interested in learning about leadership? Have you ever wondered about what it takes to acquire a leadership role? sheLEADS: Women in Leadership is a series of sessions where guest speakers who identify as female from a variety of industries and backgrounds are invited to discuss their own career journeys to leadership. Guest speakers share their knowledge about how they overcame challenges and obstacles to hold positions of leadership, and offer advice to participants who may be interested in pursuing leadership roles. There is a portion of every session devoted to student Q & A.
Our guest speaker, Shavonne Gordon, was a First Gen College Student. Trained in software and systems engineering, Shavonne began her career in Tech, and is now an “accomplished HR diversity, inclusion and belonging professional.” She holds the position of Vice President, Enterprise Diversity Recruiting at Capital One. She works to “create access and opportunity for underrepresented groups—especially in STEM.” Shavonne will be sharing her experience and wisdom about how she overcame obstacles to attain her current leadership position, and offer advice to students about pursuing leadership roles.
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Shavonne Gordon’s Detailed Biography: Shavonne joined Capital One in 2001 after spending five years as a Systems and Database Analyst in manufacturing at DuPont and EDS. She spent eight of her 15 years at Capital One in the Technology department as a Business Systems Analyst, Project Manager, and Technical Lead. She also worked in Operations where she created and managed a Project Management Office and the daily operations of our Prepaid and Affinities businesses before joining Bank Operations as a Chief of Staff. As a program manager and Agile Portfolio Coach for our Digital IT organization – Shavonne worked to deliver critical projects to further Capital One’s Digital agenda.
Shavonne decided to join HR Recruiting in November of 2014 after years of partnering with the organization to follow her passion for recruiting great talent to Capital One. As Director of Diversity Talent Acquisition, Shavonne fostered relationships with external organizations to build Capital One’s brand with diverse audiences – highlighting Capital One’s opportunities for innovation and growth in the Technology and Digital space. She partnered with the Talent organization to equip recruiters with the tools and learnings they needed to successfully attract top diverse talent into the company. In 2017, Shavonne was promoted to Senior Director and assumed responsibility for Capital One’s Business Resource Group and Enterprise Partnership Strategy, and D&I Learning and Development programs. In April of 2018 Shavonne returned to her true passion – recruiting – where she led a number of our Talent Acquisition teams supporting line-of-business recruiting. In 2019, Shavonne’s role shifted to focus entirely on leading Diversity Recruiting for all of Capital One. She’s had a tremendous impact across the company through her focus on attracting and developing leaders and mentoring associates – in particular, lending her counsel and insights to advance the growth and development of Black associates. Shavonne is an active thought leader externally in the talent marketplace as she represents Capital One in many ways.
In 2009, Shavonne was featured in Working Mother magazine where she discussed some of the great benefits Capital One offers to working mothers. She was recently recognized as one of Savoy’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America. Shavonne is an active member of the Blacks in Tech and Voices Business Resource Groups (BRGs), and serves as the Strategic Advisor for Voices, our Black BRG. She is the Vice President and COO of the CALIBR Global Leadership Network, and was recently appointed by VA Governor Ralph Northam to the Board of Visitors for Virginia State University, a 138 year old HBCU in Ettrick, VA.
Shavonne is a graduate of the University of Virginia and holds a degree in Systems Engineering. She resides in Glen Allen, Virginia with her two daughters Kennedy (17) and Simone (12).