Lipscomb's College of Business honors Kevin Myatt as Hero of Business
Grace Mestad |
Lipscomb University’s College of Business works hard to develop future business leaders who embrace Christian virtues and values. These values are defined as being purposeful, bold, credible, creative and servant-like in their professions.
It also understands the significance of exposing students to business leaders that lead in such a way that their faith and values shine through their business careers.
Since 2009, Lipscomb has been honoring these individuals as Heroes of Business, an award program established to honor executives and business leaders whose missions and faith have greatly impacted their industry.
"Our mission is to develop business leaders who embrace the values and virtues of Jesus and what better way to do that than have our students, faculty and friends in the business community have an opportunity to spend time in conversation with someone like Kevin Myatt,” said Ray Eldridge, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Business. “Kevin lives out these virtues in his professional and personal life."
On Monday, Nov. 7, Kevin Myatt was recognized as the college’s latest Heroes of Business recipient.
Kevin Myatt is the senior vice president of human resources at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Health System.
Myatt joined Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Health System in 2007 as senior vice president of human resources after serving five years as associate vice chancellor and chief human resources officer at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Myatt’s previous positions included serving as vice president of human resources for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
He has a wealth of human resources experience in both medical and academic settings. Myatt has served on the boards of directors for a number of organizations, including Aid to Adoption of Special Kids, Black Family and Child Services in Arizona, and Urban Leagues in Arizona and Nebraska.
While on campus, Myatt spoke to several groups including fellow business leaders at a community breakfast, and then to students in a business class.
"Kevin is a mentor, a master of HR strategy, management and leadership, and a man of faith,” said Natasha Johnson, instructor of management in Lipscomb’s College of Business. “It was certainly my pleasure for our College of Business to honor him as our Hero of Business not only for his contributions in/outside of the workplace, but also for the content of character & his success in the HR field."
Myatt was honored at a special roundtable, breakfast event where he was able to speak and inspire other HR leaders from the community, as well as faculty from the College of Business.
During his time at the roundtable series, Myatt challenged the HR leaders in attendance to become catalysts for change in the HR field as well as discussed his innovative way of reshaping the culture at the Yale New Haven Hospital and Health System.
“We are blessed to be in a profession that has the opportunity to impact right from wrong and if we’re doing our jobs right we will make sure that right is done,” said Myatt. “The most important thing in HR, the one thing no other function can impact the way HR professionals can do is through the building of culture in the workplace.”
Myatt also spoke to the importance that HR leaders play in handling the impact the recent social and political tensions our nation is facing impact workplace culture.
“There are unspoken and unresolved issues out there and we as HR leaders can’t expect to stop at the door when people come to work. If we don’t figure out how to adjust the culture to help those struggling with issues, it’s going to affect their work,” Myatt said. “If we as HR executives don’t have a voice and don’t have an environment that gives folks a culture that allows them to breath and work through those struggles, then we need to bring those people in and instill in them the values that are so important to our work, to help them, to create that culture. That’s our job.”
Myatt ended his time by challenging those in attendance to be a catalyst of healing in work culture, to not be afraid to connect with the hearts of their employees to motivate the behavior that will shape work culture.
For more information about Lipscomb’s College of Business visit business.lipscomb.edu.