Executive Spotlight: Anthony Onesto Recruiter.com Magazine's Executive Spotlight features top executives, HR professionals, recruiters, and business leaders sharing their insights on hiring, management, and best recruiting practices. This Issue's Spotlight: Anthony Onesto, Chief People Officer of Suzy, Founder of The Ella Project, and Creator of Ella the Engineer According to a survey from market research software firm Suzy, 76 percent of millennial women think we need more women in STEM, and 27 percent of millennial women wish they had pursued a career in STEM but did not because they were not exposed to STEM early on. To Anthony Onesto, Suzy's chief people officer and a committed advocate for diversity, this is an unacceptable state of affairs. In fact, Onesto is so invested in closing the gender gap in STEM that he created a comic book series to tackle it head-on. In Ella the Engineer, readers can follow the adventures of the eponymous heroine as she uses her tech know-how and coding skills to solve problems and avert disaster. Meanwhile, the comic book's concurrent Ella Project showcases the stories of real-life women in STEM to inspire young girls further. Below, Onesto chats with us about his career so far, his best hiring advice, and the (only slightly) selfish origins of Ella. What do you love most about your job? At Suzy, I love making the connection of people to the business. I am given the autonomy by our founder/CEO, Matt Britton, who understands the power of culture on the business's bottom line, to extract and use data to inform those decisions. We test new programs using more of a designthinking approach by talking to people, rolling out programs, and then iterating on them as we get feedback and see the impact. We also look at the data, which is what I call combining "HeART and Science." At The Ella Project, what is not to love? I create comic books with some of the most talented producers, writers, and artists on the planet. Those books have a great purpose: to entertain young kids and, specifically, to encourage young girls to pursue interests and careers in STEM. I also get to meet so many awesome women who have STEM backgrounds or are entrepreneurs with their own companies. I get to meet all kinds of folks, from those who have created mechanic shops run by women for women to CEOs of global consulting organizations. What is your proudest professional moment? Great question. I think most folks who have the number of years I do wouldn't be able to point to one moment, but a series of smaller events that ladder up into a larger career narrative. As you look at the journey that brought you to a specific moment, you can see it was a whole bunch of different moments and impacts that you had with various people. Recruiter.com Magazine
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