North American HR Executive Summit - Spring Edition

Kate is the executive vice president of human resources and labor relations at United Airlines, where she is responsible for the transformation of the company’s culture by leading a global team of over 800 professionals. Kate oversees talent acquisition, development, retention, fostering high-performing teams that prioritize customer satisfaction in all of United’s operations and collaboration with labor partners, with a focus on enhancing the employee experience.

Previously, Kate served as United’s senior vice president of customer service delivery and chief customer officer, where she played a pivotal role in unifying the customer journey from booking to arrival. Joining the airline in 1998, Kate has a history of leadership in various capacities, including serving as vice president for the office of the CEO, where she worked alongside former CEO Oscar Munoz to align and advance strategic initiatives across the company. Kate has also held roles leading the corporate real estate organization and in procurement.

In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Kate serves as a board member for State Farm Insurance, is an advisory board member of P33 Chicago and serves as a Leadership Greater Chicago Daniel Burnham Fellow. Her academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul University in Chicago and a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

Pat Wadors grew up as the youngest of 8 siblings. Diagnosed with dyslexia while in college but has leaned on her neurodiversity as a strength. She is a mother to 3 millennials, grandmother x2, and wife of 30 years. Introvert by nature, Pat is an advocate for results over talk and works feverishly to embrace the quieter voices. A driver for writing this book is her personal purpose, “I need to leave the world better than I found it, to be kind, to give more than I get, to make a difference.”

Known for transformational and strategic HR leadership, Pat believes that organizations thrive when they have a blend of people with differing backgrounds and ways of thinking, and who feel they belong as a contributor to the company’s success. As a LinkedIn Learning instructor, Pat is known for her course on “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging” which was recognized in 2021 as a top 10 Global course on LinkedIn.

Pat recently joined Intuitive as their chief human resource officer in October 2024. She has held various HR leadership and chief human resource officer positions in the technology sector, including roles at UKG, Procore Technologies, ServiceNow, LinkedIn; Plantronics, Inc.; and Yahoo! She has served on the boards of several prominent technology companies, such as Accolade, Inc., UKG, Second Harvest Food Bank, and El Camino Hospital. Currently, she holds a board position at Moloco.

A multiple-time recipient of the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology award, Pat is renowned for her transformative and strategic HR leadership. She is a sought-after speaker on diversity and inclusion topics. Pat earned a BS in business management and human resource management from Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Stephanie Fehr is chief people officer for UnitedHealthcare and leads the people strategy for the company’s 90,000 domestic and global employees. She has also led employee relations and the employee call center and portal for all of UnitedHealth Group. Stephanie oversees a team of practitioners focused on culture, employee experience, talent management, career development and organizational design. She champions growth through experiences and leads the organization on adapting to new and more flexible ways of working.

Before joining UnitedHealthcare in 2017, Stephanie spent 17 years with Apple Inc., in human resources and talent leadership roles in the company’s engineering, operations, leadership development and retail divisions. She led the design, development and implementation of Apple’s leadership training program (AMP). As a key member of Apple’s retail executive team, Stephanie was instrumental in leading the development of the Apple retail stores’ talent strategy.

Stephanie is passionate about leadership and helping people develop fulfilling careers, supporting women and creating diversity in leadership, and cultivating the next generation of leaders.

Stephanie earned her master’s in human resource development from the University of St. Thomas and received a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College.

Her board commitments include serving as the co-chair of the St. Olaf College board of regents, she is also an executive council member for the Minnesota Historical Society, and serves on the Emmanuel Lutheran Church Council, in Naples, FL.