Laura Birk: Progress, Not Perfection

Laura Birk is the Vice President of Human Resources for Barilla America, Inc. where she has been  for over 15 years. Laura is responsible for all the talent management and people processes  supporting the Americas business which includes Canada, U.S., Mexico and Brazil. She is a  Board Member for the company and has the pleasure to serve almost 1,000 employees across the  Americas.  

Laura’s recently been recognized by OnCon as a 2020 Top 50 Human Resources Professional and  Chicago Business Crain’s 2021 Notable Leaders in HR. She also leads a great team who has won several industry awards for diversity, wellness, employee benefits, and talent management and  development activities.

Laura serves on the Board for Missouri State University Advisory Board, and former Board Member  for the Tyler Clementi Foundation. She supports and volunteers at the Cradle Adoption agency,  Special Olympic, Walter & Connie Payton Foundation, Hispanic Alliance Career Enhancement  (H.A.C.E.), and several other Diversity and Inclusion organizations.  

She received her degree from Drury University and prior to her current role, Laura spent 10 years  at Morgan Stanley.