Results
Palagn client work, and the results James delivered as an executive inside some of the country’s most complex institutions.
Palagn client work
Past clients include Keck Medicine of USC, Great American Insurance Group and Enel North America. Names are shared for context and do not imply endorsement.
Designed and ran an engagement survey for a cancer research organization. The analysis combined group comparisons, statistical significance testing and correlations, and fed an executive-ready report.
Delivered: Survey design, analysis, visual reporting and findings that supported leadership priorities and grant work.
People Data Decision SprintA system-wide development effort brought the Deciding Factor simulation to employees through 15 workshops, each using a shared scenario to examine how assumptions influence decisions.
Delivered: Facilitated workshops, debriefs and practical discussion about judgment at work.
Deciding Factor™ Decision LabSupported an ERG program with an employee-interest survey, a branded toolkit, co-chair and sponsor learning, and launch planning for six additional groups.
Delivered: Survey, toolkit, leader workshop and launch plan.
ERG Launch & Resetrespondents in Great American Insurance Group’s Women in Leadership program said they could apply the learning in their jobs. (Single cohort, February 2021.)
Executive track record
These results come from James’s institutional leadership roles, not Palagn client engagements. They show the judgment and experience he brings to the work.
As Global Head, Global Culture & Engagement and a member of the Executive Leadership Team, James led a function of about 40 people supporting roughly 6,000 employees in more than 80 countries and territories. He redesigned the function’s operating model, governance and decision rights, built employee-listening and workforce-dashboard systems, turned more than 1,500 employee comments into executive insight and served on the executive team overseeing AI deployment.
As Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Interim Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer for Johns Hopkins University, James served on the executive leadership team, helped lead spans-and-layers work on classification, leveling and organization design, supported labor-relations matters involving represented nursing populations, and helped grow the number of women in senior leadership.
As Assistant Vice President of HR and Chief Diversity Officer, James led a 50-person team and a portfolio of about $40 million spanning talent, organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and employee and patient experience. A targeted retention initiative improved results by more than 60%, and a redesign of language access preceded a 350% increase in patient satisfaction.
As Director, Human Resources, Talent Management, Diversity & Inclusion, James built the talent capability that delivered 29 senior executive hires in 12 months, about 34% growth in executive hiring, and designed and implemented a Workday-based performance management system.
As Vice President, HR, Inclusion and Linguistic Services, James reported to a Board of Trustees committee and accomplished every goal in the strategic plan. His work included strategic workforce planning and workforce pathways with rural Amish, Mennonite and agricultural communities.
Historical results are specific to their context and are not a guarantee of future outcomes.
A free, 20-minute introductory conversation. No deck, no pitch. Just a clear look at what is in the way and whether Palagn can help.