Arnold is a dynamic and engaging human resources professional that exhibits a winning blend of team leadership, strategic talent management, and business acumen. Skilled in managing large and complex enterprise human resources functions, his main objective is to produce exemplary results via proactive involvement and cross-functional collaboration.
Today, Arnold is responsible for providing leadership, development and execution of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits human resources initiatives in support of the overall business and strategic objectives, including organizational design, talent management, talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards, diversity and inclusion, human capital management, people analytics, labor relations and compliance, policies and procedures.
He engages a unique combination of strategic agility, analytical expertise and commercial and operations focus to consistently exceed performance goals by aligning staff talents and efforts with organizational objectives.
Arnold is a military veteran, having served eight years in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer with 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and 4th Infantry Division and is a proud Army Ranger. He holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Florida A&M University, a Master of Science in human resources management from Troy University, and executive education from GE’s Crotonville Leadership Institute, University of Michigan and Harvard Business School. He is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Arnold is married to Denise Arnold, retired U.S. Army Colonel, and they have two sons, Lance and Langston.
Favorite Quote: Do thy duty, that is best; leave unto the Lord the rest.
Fun Fact: French horn player
How do you unwind after a long day of work? I unwind before my day begins with a 5-mile run each morning.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? Pace yourself.
What qualities make for an outstanding HR professional? Business acumen—get cross functional experience (i.e., ops, finance, sales, etc.).
How have you adapted your HR skills to COVID? Progress, not perfection. It’s OK to move forward with a 50% solution and keep building on it. Flexibility and agility are the new HR table stakes.
What are some misconceptions about HR and how do you combat them? That HR lacks business acumen and financial acuity. I demonstrate that I have both given my diverse roles as plant manager, finance leader and sales account representative. It’s imperative that we share our experience by walking the walk and talking the talk.
What do you like most about working in HR? Being intricately involved with our people and strategy.
