BD appoints veteran company HR exec as chief people officer

Shana Neal has been appointed chief people officer at Franklin Lakes-based BD, effective April 4.

Neal, who held HR leadership positions at BD —  also known as Becton, Dickinson and Co. — from 2005 to 2018, replaces Betty Larson, who has been named chief people officer of GE Healthcare, where she will be responsible for GE Healthcare’s human resources and communications teams.

Neal will oversee BD’s human resources, communications and social investing functions globally, including talent acquisition and management; total rewards; HR operations; HR business partnering; and inclusion, diversity, equity and engagement. She will report to BD’s chairman, CEO and president, Tom Polen.

“Shana’s highly regarded work and demonstrated leadership across a range of HR capabilities, coupled with her deep, firsthand knowledge of our industry and BD’s talent, HR capabilities and culture, make her the ideal person to lead this function into the future,” Polen said. “I’m proud to welcome Shana back to BD as our new chief people officer, which is a key role to empower our teams to deliver on our purpose as we advance our BD 2025 strategy and create value for all of our stakeholders.”

Neal rejoins BD from Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 health care solutions company, where she has served as executive vice president and chief human resources officer since 2018, as well as president of the Owens & Minor Foundation and the executive sponsor for environmental, social and governance initiatives.

Prior to Owens & Minor, Neal worked at BD from 2005 to 2018 in a variety of senior leadership roles, most recently as senior vice president, human resources, of the Life Sciences segment. Additionally, Neal successfully led the organization and talent integration for BD’s acquisitions of C.R. Bard Inc. and CareFusion Corp.

Earlier in her tenure at BD, Neal led HR across manufacturing and businesses, including Worldwide Specimen Management and Worldwide Diagnostic Systems, as well as a number of roles in BD’s Medical segment, leading HR for the Diabetes Care and Medication Delivery Solutions businesses.