James Gemmell has been appointed as Chief Human Resource Officer for Akamai. Genmmell, is a former Cisco executive and he brings over 25 years of global HR experience within high-growth organizations. Gemmell will lead Akamai’s global HR strategy including employee development, talent acquisition, inclusion and diversity, and compensation and benefits. He will report to Robert Hughes, Akamai’s President of Worldwide Operations, and will be a member of the senior management team under CEO Tom Leighton.
Having served in a number of senior executive HR positions at Cisco Systems for the past 13 years, Mr. Gemmell most recently held the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role he was responsible for creating and implementing holistic and global people strategies, while also optimizing the talent portfolio, driving high levels of employee engagement, and stewarding Cisco’s culture.
Tom Leighton, CEO , Akamai said – "Throughout his career, Jim has demonstrated proven HR leadership across both large, multinational organizations as well as within smaller engineering and sales-focused lines of business. Having developed strategic and transformative programs around compensation and benefits, Jim brings to Akamai a wealth of experience and perspective in architecting successful talent management, organization design and development, and work force planning initiatives. We look forward to his contributions and leadership as we look to continue to expand our global employee base and build on Akamai’s reputation as a rewarding and fulfilling place to work."
"Akamai has attracted and grown an enviable employee base of leading engineers, software developers and Internet technologists," said Gemmell. "I am thrilled to be joining such a tenured and successful management team, and to become part of a business that has truly defined and pioneered how we all interact with today’s Internet. I welcome the opportunity to help build on Akamai’s next phase of growth and global expansion."
At Cisco he served as Vice President, Human Resources, advising Cisco’s senior leaders on optimizing human capital across the company. He provided strategic and operational leadership in the areas of compensation, benefits, HR mergers and acquisitions, and international assignments. He also held HR leadership roles within the engineering and sales organizations, in corporate compensation, and in key geographic regions, including Cisco India. Prior to Cisco, Mr. Gemmell held HR leadership positions at AlliedSignal, Mobil Oil Corporation, and General Electric.
Over the past year, Akamai has been named a National Top Workplace 2013, one of the 25 Best Companies in America, and one of the Top Places to Work, 2012 by The Boston Globe. The company has also earned recognition as one of India’s Best Companies to Work for 2012 by Great Place To Work Institute, and as one of the Best Places to Work 2013 and Top 25 Companies for Career Opportunities in America by Glassdoor.