A classically trained software engineer joins the award-winning firm
HR tech giant UKG has appointed tech industry veteran Brian Reaves as the company’s Chief Belonging, Diversity, and Equity Officer as it moves towards expanding its world-class people initiatives. As a champion of transformation, Reaves brings with him more than three decades of experience in engineering workplace cultures around the values of “trust, fairness, and equality so all people can thrive in their careers,” UKG said.
“I am proud to join UKG, an organization that not only has made significant strides with respect to belonging, diversity, and equity, but a company committed to paving the way for people practices around the world. The work is never done in this vital realm, and it takes continued focus and perseverance to build an equitable workplace where employees are encouraged to be their authentic selves,” Reaves said.
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Reaves joins UKG after having served as D&I chief at Dell Technologies, where he worked to align cultural initiatives with the company’s mission of “driving innovation and sustainable business success,” UKG said. This same “engineering mindset” is what sets Reaves apart in his role as an advocate of belonging and inclusion.
“Together, we have a goal to make UKG the greatest people company in the world. To get there, we must always evolve, keep learning, and live ‘our purpose is people’ every day as UKG transcends the standard for what it means to be a company where all individuals feel welcome, well respected, equally valued, and confident that they belong there. I look forward to collaborating with the team to build an even greater, more inclusive workplace culture,” said Reaves, who started his own career as a software engineer.
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While the C-Suite leader has been at the helm of people programmes in recent years, he also held senior executive and management roles in the software development space, gaining experience across a diverse range of disciplines, such as cloud computing, finance, health care, supply chain, utilities, and telecommunications.
“Over the past year, as part of the merger between Kronos Incorporated and Ultimate Software that formed UKG, the company has continued to refine its focus on belonging, diversity, and equity,” UKG said. “This includes expanding employee resource groups, known internally as Diversity Networks.”
