Barbara Elsberg

With more than 30 years of experience leading Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness teams around the world, Barbara Elsberg brings considerable knowledge and expertise in a broad range of industries and cultures.

Most recently, as Vice President of Human Resources with Gap Inc., Barbara had HR responsibility for the Gap brand’s 1,200 stores. Prior to her joining Gap in 2005, Barbara helped lead DHL’s new global corporate team, based in Brussels, through unprecedented change by creating and leading the Global Human Resources Development function. She also headed DHL’s Executive Development, Training & Development, Organizational Effectiveness, Performance Management and Communication groups in the United States. Previous employment includes Head of HR for a large engineering and operations division of Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

A trusted advisor, Barbara has partnered with top executives to shape culture, redesign human capital processes and improve leadership capabilities during company turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions and organizational restructurings.

She has developed a keen understanding of organizational dynamics and openly respects unique cultures and histories. Once Barbara has completed a thorough assessment, she pursues change with an obsession for simple, practical solutions that will bring sustainable, high impact.

Barbara is focused on maximizing the effectiveness of people and organizations, as demonstrated by her recent work:

• Redesigned Performance & Talent Management systems resulting in organizations having simple, fully integrated processes that enable leaders to better inspire, grow and retain their employees.
• Created and implemented a Leadership Program to bring cross-functional, cross-border leaders together to accelerate organizational and cultural transformation.
• Developed a competency framework and assimilated the structure into all HR processes, resulting in increased efficiencies and higher quality talent.
• Ensured new organizational roles, structures and strategies were realized by implementing Talent Assessment/Alignment processes.
• Designed complete management and leadership development curriculums.
• Provided executive coaching with custom Web-based 360s.
• Designed a Central European customer experience initiative.

 

Barbara received a B.A. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations from UCLA. Her graduate studies focused on organization and management, culminating in a Masters of Public Administration from California State University at Los Angeles. She has also completed course work at Babson College in Boston, Massachusetts and at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
 
Barbara is advisory board member of Facing History & Ourselves, a non profit educational and professional development organization devoted to engaging students in an examination of intolerance in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. She lives close to San Francisco, California with her husband and has 2 grown children.

Phone: +1 925 381 8144
email: barbara.elsberg@comcast.net