Chéla Gage

With her global HR experience and authenticity in everything she does, Chéla Gage stands out in her field and in her role as the Chief People Officer with OLI Strategies. 

She helps her clients in all aspects of HR – including talent acquisition, talent management, organization development, talent mapping and planning, M&A activities and change management. Her goal is to help organizations get from where they are to where they want to be through the lens of inclusivity and aligning people ’ s passions with their purpose.

She got her start as an executive recruiter, placing talent for companies in Silicon Valley, and was known as a diversity recruiter. This eventually led to her doing diversity consulting.

She has recently worked with several large companies in various roles, including Starbucks as the VP of Global Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, where she led a team of 18 inclusion and diversity consultants across strategy, compliance, and partner networks.

She also worked at Reformation as the Senior VP of Talent & DEIB, Pratt & Whitney as the Global Head of Recruiting, and Nissan as the Head of Global Talent Acquisition.Her expansive experience in human resources made an impact and has helped create strategies and move forward organization performance and culture. Her ability to see around corners is key to her success in working across industries.

Chéla is a foster advocate and has found a way to blend her passion and purpose through the creation of Miles Above and 1Million Fosters, which mentors former foster youth. She is a also board member for One Mind At Work, an organization that destigmatizes brain disease.

She received her MBA from California State University Sonoma, a certificate in employment law from the Empire College of School of Law, and her bachelor ’ s degree in international law and political studies.

Chéla and her partner live in Southern California with their three children, and two dogs.