Leading Change across Electric Power Industry
As a change management leader, Kristine Pizzo is guiding New York Power Authority during a period of profound transformation across the electric power industry.
As senior vice president of human resources, she oversees employee benefit programs, services and talent development for the country’s largest state public power organization.
She’s also responsible for the company’s Enterprise Shared Services, which include fleet, real estate, facilities and corporate support services.
Pizzo’s colleagues say her insight is leading a continual process of institutional transformation while striving to provide greater access to clean energy. They say her landmark workforce planning and knowledge management initiatives are vital to the company, where she is executive sponsor of its Workforce Development initiative. Her mission is to provide employee programs and services to attract, develop and retain a competent, motivated and diverse workforce to achieve NYPA’s strategic goals.
Pizzo says challenge is necessary for growth. “You must continuously challenge yourself in order to grow,” she said. “If you run a mile every day for a year, you may have run 365 miles, but you may never run a marathon. Growth requires effort and risk,” she said.
Prior to joining NYPA, she was chief of administration at Columbia University, and executive vice president of human resources and chief administrative officer for New York City Economic Development Corporation. She has also served in managerial roles at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the United States Olympic Committee and was a judicial fellow at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While at the U.S. Olympic Committee, Pizzo was responsible for creating the strategic plan to promote diversity in governance and athletics. That work inspired her to make diversity a focus in her future endeavors and pursue a law degree. At law school, Pizzo focused on labor and employment law with the goal of advancing diversity and talent management initiatives within organizations.
“Exploring and exposing yourself to career opportunities as early as college and never stopping is the way to find the right career. You have to find your career; your career may not find you,” she said.
Pizzo holds a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and a law degree from the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law School at Touro College.
