USA 
United KingdomLyuba Brouillard
Chief People Officer at Duco
Lyuba Brouillard, Duco’s new Chief People Officer began her career at the American Red Cross, serving as a part of the response teams to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks…
Lyuba Brouillard
Chief People Officer at Duco
Lyuba Brouillard, Duco’s new Chief People Officer began her career at the American Red Cross, serving as a part of the response teams to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks…
In September 2024, Lyuba Brouillard became the new Chief People Officer at the helm of Duco, a leading enterprise data automation platform.
But her rich experience in leading people began over two decades ago when in her quest to help others, she joined the American Red Cross in 2001. As a part of the immediate and long-term response teams following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, empathetic and effective leadership quickly became a part of Brouillard’s HR philosophy.
Accordingly, as she embarks on the new role, it will be with no agenda other than to listen, to learn, and to understand the goals of her business and its teams.
In an interview with HR Grapevine, Brouillard reveals her plans for creating an environment where the employee experience – from skills development to cultural belonging – is inextricably linked to Duco’s goal to become a market leader in the data management domain.
A lot goes into it! It starts with establishing a shared vision and clear measurable goals. Be sure that every team member understands their role in achieving the objectives that we're setting up for the company or team.
One of the other most important things is setting up psychological safety to create the space for people to be authentic, to show up as they are, and to create open communication amongst the team. Allow people to ideate, make mistakes, and not feel like they can't contribute out of fear. With that, having a diverse group of people is critical for a high-performing team. Diversity of thought and an all-inclusive environment for people to feel safe is crucial.
For skill development, I like to focus on individual strengths to improve the team as a whole. I also believe in frequent recognition where we celebrate and reward not just overall objectives but smaller achievements too. It boosts morale and motivates team members to perform at their best and be more innovative.
For a team also to be successful, adaptability and being agile, especially in small companies, is quite important. A key indicator of a high-performing team is whether they can pivot quickly and embrace change as needed. Conflict resolution strategies can help, as you need some sort of skill to help people through difficult situations.
It's not one thing that solves quite everything, but all these different aspects I would say I would look for.
Aligning employee experience with business goals and KPIs creates a mutually beneficial relationship that ultimately drives engagement, productivity, and overall success for both individuals and the organization.
When employees understand how their roles contribute to the organizational success overall, this connection fosters a sense of belonging where employees feel engaged. They start performing at a higher level. You have happier customers. You drive the success of the company, which then drives people to be more engaged, so it's a great cycle where engaged employees drive performance, leading to business success, which in turn fosters a positive employee experience.
It's a learning opportunity. My motto has always been I don't bring my own agenda. Starting with the company, while I have a rich background and tools that I come with, at the very beginning I spend time learning what the organization is about. I meet with all of the stakeholders, the executive team, and employees across the organization.
My motto has always been I don't bring my own agenda. Starting with the company, while I have a rich background and tools that I come with, at the very beginning I spend time learning what the organization is about
I try to understand what works, what doesn't work, and where the pain points are. I'll look at where the strengths are and where there are gaps for us to bring in some new people to fill those gaps, but really, the first couple of months are spent learning what the business is about, who the core clients are, and what our short and long-term goals are. And then with that, I start building an HR strategy to help the organization get to that next level.
Curiosity, an open mind, and an open heart are the absolute minimum for what's needed to build any relationship. Try to speak their language as much as you can, again bringing in no agenda. Understand where they are, how they got there, what their aspirations are.
Then have open conversations as you put together a strategy for executing improvements, but without making empty promises. Deliver even on the smallest scale the objectives you’ve agreed on with whoever the stakeholder is. Credibility creates trust and thus builds relationships.
I started my career working at the Red Cross and it was for that reason. I wanted to do something that mattered and that developed an aspiration to help people in whatever shape and form that might be
Everything I do in life I've been inspired by my mom. My mom comes from very humble beginnings and was a nurse. So, I've always had a role model for a strong work ethic and having natural empathy for people.
Trying to emulate that empathetic style has shaped who I am as a person and who I am as a leader. I started my career working at the Red Cross and it was for that reason. I wanted to do something that mattered and that developed an aspiration to help people in whatever shape and form that might be. As an HR leader, it's probably one of the most satisfying things to see people grow, to see people develop, reach their potential, and create that next generation of leaders. I've been lucky to have an interesting career in HR that helps me make an impact on individuals and organizations.
We have such an opportunity. Duco is scratching the surface of the market that we have, and we aspire to become the market leader in our domain of data management. So, for me, it's enjoying the opportunity to drive talent, seeing people grow into that next generation of leaders, and coming together to build a strong team where we stretch ourselves to achieve our goals and have fun at the same time.
