Kayla Despres is an HR Business Partner at Bilfinger Westcon, Inc. in Bismarck, ND.
In her current role, Kayla Despres is a strategic and innovative HR Business Partner, who translates business vision into HR initiatives that improve performance, profitability, growth, and employee engagement. She coordinates change management for HR initiatives, organizational development, HRIS technology, and corporate transformations using complete generalist HR techniques for both turnaround and high-growth construction organization. She develops and launches programs to build a high-performance workforce and develop future leaders. An empowering leader who supports the company with a unique perspective and appreciation that human capital is every organization’s greatest asset. Kayla thrives on tough challenges and translates visions and strategies into actionable, value-added goals.
Kayla is a graduate of the University of North Dakota and University of Mary, holding a B.A in Political Science and Public Administration, along with a MBA with emphasis in Human Resources. She joined SHRM in April 2014, earned her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in May 2014, and earned her SHRM-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification in January 2015.
Kayla resides in Bismarck, ND where she has been a member of the Bismarck-Mandan Young Professional Network since 2014 and currently is a co-lead for the Professional Development team. She also is a member of the local chapter Central Dakota Human Resource Association (CDHRA). She volunteers as a Junior Achievement mentor and YMCA volleyball coach. She is excited to add being a member of the 2018 YPAC to this list and is looking forward to positively influencing the next generation of HR leaders.
Connect with her on Linkedin.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always asked questions. I was lucky to have a parent that indulged and encouraged my curiosity and always treated me as an equal part of every equation. My thoughts and opinions mattered in our house. We lived by the saying “you’ll never know unless…you ask for it or you try it.” However, there came a point when I stopped believing “there’s no such thing as a stupid question.” I believe this happens to many of us.
