Postal Service CHRO Named Among Best of Best in HR Field

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Nov 17, 2010, 08:23 ET

First Public-Sector Executive to Receive Honor

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The head of human resources activities for the nation's second largest employer with well over half a million employees has been selected as the first public sector executive to receive the nation's top honor in the field of human resources.

Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president was named Fellow at the prestigious National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) Nov. 4.

Founded in 1992, the NAHR recognizes individuals for professional achievement by election as "Fellows of the NAHR" – the highest honor achievable. Fellows are widely known as leaders in the profession, have meritorious national reputations for shaping human resource thinking and policy and have demonstrated an unfailing commitment to success.

"Tony is an outstanding HR professional who has made major contributions to the Postal Service and its employees while adhering to the highest ethical and governance standards," said NAHR President Richard Antoine. "There have been only 136 HR professionals who have been deemed worthy of admittance into the National Academy, and we are honored that Tony is able to join this elite group."

"Tony is one of the most highly respected and valued leaders of the Postal Service," said Postmaster General John Potter. "He has led the transition to a highly productive, innovative and responsive human resources function and will be a real asset to the Academy."

Other NAHR Fellows represent a "who's who" of HR executives among America's top companies and the nation's colleges and universities. A sampling of Fortune 500 corporations with Fellows includes American Express, AT&T, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Federal Express, Gannett, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, Marriott International, McDonald's, Proctor & Gamble, Wal-Mart and United Parcel Service. Select leaders from Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are also Fellows.

The Postal Service operates from the sale of stamps and related services without taxpayer support. Heading HR functions for more than 585,000 career employees, Vegliante is responsible for labor relations, employee development and diversity and employee resource management functions while managing the world's largest Human Resources Shared Services and Human Capital Enterprise System.

Vegliante is regarded as one of the architects of the Postal Service's highly successful Pay-for-Performance program that now serves as a model for all government agencies. He successfully aligned individual performance with organizational goals through a focused performance appraisal system that encourages superior effort. The program's success, evidenced by record on-time mail delivery performance, positioned him as the fourth recipient in Postal Service history to receive its John Wanamaker Award. He is also a recipient of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governor's Award.

He participated in 20 national negotiations with the Postal Service's unions and served as chief spokesperson in six of them. He successfully negotiated 10 major contracts with the national unions and has been involved in six interest arbitration hearings. He has also served as an expert witness and strategist.

Vegliante graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. He began his postal career in 1978 working nights as a distribution clerk in New Haven, CT, while earning a Master of Science degree in business education from the University of Bridgeport in 1979. He obtained his second Master of Science degree in industrial relations in 1996 from the University of New Haven. He also has completed the Summer Executive Program at the University of Southern California.

Click here to learn more about the National Academy of Human Resources. Click here to view Vegliante's biography.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service