Philip Berry Took Human Resources Work to More Than 60 Countries, and Now Coaches the Leaders Who Follow

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. For part of his corporate career, Philip Berry went to work in Paris and looked after people who worked almost everywhere else. As a senior human resources executive at Colgate Palmolive, he put organizational plans into practice in more than 60 countries, with assignments that reached Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia. That experience is now the backbone of Philip Berry Associates LLC, the consulting firm he leads as president.

His education was built in New York, one step at a time. Mr. Berry earned an associate degree in marketing from the Borough of Manhattan Community College in 1971 and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Queens College in 1973. In 1975 he finished a master's degree at the Columbia University School of Social Work, with a course of study that joined behavioral science to organization and administrative development. He later completed an MBA in marketing and management at Xavier University in 1983, pairing a social worker's training with a business school education.

The corporate years began well before Colgate. Between 1968 and 1990 he held roles at the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Digital Equipment Corporation, Procter and Gamble and IBM. A public transportation agency, a computer maker, a consumer products giant and a technology leader each run on different rules, and he saw how each one hired, trained and organized its workforce.

Mr. Berry joined Colgate Palmolive in 1990 as associate director for organizational planning. Over the next 18 years he rose to vice president of human resources and then vice president of global workplace initiatives, serving as a corporate officer. His work there touched strategic goal alignment, executive compensation, talent development and the integration of employees after acquisitions. He also helped the company launch its first global diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, a program that took shape while he was based abroad.

After Colgate he became chief human resources officer of the Clinton Foundation. Moving from a publicly traded multinational to a philanthropic organization gave him a working view of the nonprofit sector and of how community development projects are staffed and led.

Philip Berry Associates grew out of those two worlds. The firm offers executive coaching, organizational development and leadership training, with practice areas that include talent development, team transformation, inclusion, conflict resolution and communication. Mr. Berry describes the firm's approach as one that looks at people at every level of an organization, from new hires to the executive suite. He is certified by the International Coaching Federation and is certified by New York City and New York State as a minority supplier. He also holds designations in blue ocean strategy, cross cultural competency and leadership effectiveness assessment.

He has written for the people he advises. His 2010 book, "Being Better Than You Believe: 8 Steps to Ultimate Success," lays out concrete action steps for individuals and organizations that want more productivity and satisfaction from their work. His articles have covered managing cultural differences, effective leadership, unconscious bias, building a more diverse workforce and getting through financial downturns.

Public service has run alongside the consulting. Mr. Berry served as vice chair of the City University of New York Board of Trustees and as acting chair of the board of the City University Construction Fund. He has served on the board of trustees of the Louis Armstrong House Museum since 2020. He founded and advises the Asia Society's Corporate Diversity Council, sits on the advisory board of New York City Center and has served on the board of the Global Commerce Education think tank. He has been on the advisory board of G2Experience for Global Growth since 2013 and on the senior advisory council of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources since 2017.

Professional groups have recognized the work. Mr. Berry is a member of the American Society for Training and Development and the African American Human Resources Association. His honors include an Outstanding Community Development Award from the State of New York, along with awards from Crain's New York, the Feminist Press, Global HR News, the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers.

Across five decades, the common thread is a belief that a company's results depend on how well it treats and develops its people. Mr. Berry learned that lesson inside large employers on several continents, then in a foundation, and now passes it on to clients one leadership team at a time.

Dynamo Times recognizes Philip Berry for a career that carried human resources leadership across more than 60 countries and for his continuing service to the institutions and professionals of New York.