Heather Labadot Smedstad

Class of 1988

Vice President, People Experience & Technology, Amazon

Heather is the Vice President of People Experience & Technology for Amazon.com, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. She leads the HR, Talent and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) teams responsible for supporting Amazon’s global Devices & Services businesses, including Alexa, the Echo devices family, Fire TV, Ring and Kuiper (developing a network of low-flying satellites). Heather also leads the Talent Acquisition teams responsible for hiring for Devices & Services, as well as Global Marketing and Entertainment (Amazon Studios and MGM) and Advertising. Together, these teams include more than 1600 Amazonians globally. Heather started at Amazon in 2017, and worked for four years leading HR, DEI, Talent Management and Talent Acquisition teams supporting Amazon’s Consumer Retail and Operations businesses.

Prior to Amazon, Heather worked for McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois for 15 years, first in its legal department where she became the VP and General Counsel for McDonald’s U.S. business and later in HR as the Senior Vice President leading U.S. Human Resources. Heather graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago with a degree in Political Science, and Order of the Coif from Duke University School of Law where she was a member of the Duke Law Review.

 

< BACK TO ALUMNAE PROFILES

Heather Labadot Smedstad

“When I think of McGehee, I first think of the strong women and wonderful friends I met. I also learned many lessons that have served me well throughout the school, work and life experiences that followed, especially to try new things and not take myself too seriously.”