NEWS RELEASE

5/5/03

Kate Chesley, University Communications: (650) 725-3697

Diane Peck named Human Resources Executive Director at Stanford

Diane Peck has been named executive director of human resources at Stanford, Randy Livingston, the university's vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, announced.

Peck, chosen after a six-month national search, succeeds John Cammidge, who resigned in March. She will begin at Stanford on May 19.

As executive director of human resources, Peck will oversee HR client services, compensation and benefits, HR information systems, training and organizational development, staffing, and employee and labor relations for the nearly 13,000 people working on Stanford's campus and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

"Diane Peck brings extraordinary experience, clear vision and a wonderful set of values to this position," Livingston said. "There are challenges facing all employers in the Bay Area, including the high cost of living, a highly diverse workforce and escalating health care costs. Diane has a proven track record of succeeding in similar environments. What impresses us most about her is her appreciation for what all employees offer an organization and her commitment to their professional growth and development. That's very important at an institution like Stanford, where people are our most important asset."

Peck, who currently lives in Bellevue, Wash., has been an independent human resources consultant for the past two years. Prior to that, she was senior vice president for human resources at H. E. Butt Grocery Co. in San Antonio, Texas, an $8 billion, privately held retail and manufacturing company with 45,000 employees. In that position, she was credited with creating succession plans for key positions, redesigning recruitment to reduce turnover and developing service centers for payroll, benefits and human resources support.

From 1989 to 1998, Peck was vice president for human resources and later senior vice president at Safeway Inc. in Pleasanton, Calif. At Safeway, she was one of 13 executive officers at the $23 billion retail and manufacturing company, which has more than 100,000 employees. Before joining Safeway, she worked for the Office Club in Concord, Calif., which is now Office Depot, and for the Mervyns retail chain. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance from the University of Southern California.

"I'm looking forward to learning about the university, understanding how it works and getting to know the people better," said Peck. "Universities are vast ­ and thus very complex ­ organizations, and I'm looking forward to that challenge. I interviewed with many people at Stanford, and I found them to be passionate about and deeply committed to the university's mission. That kind of passion makes for a very stimulating environment in which to work, and it's one I am looking forward to."

Peck was recommended to Livingston by a search committee headed by Susan Calandra, university controller. Other members of the committee included Gene Awakuni, vice provost for student affairs; Melissa Burke, staff counsel in the Office of the General Counsel; Shirley Everett, associate vice provost for residential and dining enterprises; Colleen Foglesong, regional human resources manager; Rosa Gonzalez, director of the Diversity and Access Office; Chris Handley, chief information officer; Patricia Jones, vice provost for faculty development and professor of biological sciences; Stephanie Kalfayan, associate provost; Karen Nagy, executive dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences; and Julia Tussing, director of finance and administration in the Department of Radiology.

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