Mary Wuestenberg

Mary Wuestenberg has extensive experience in human resources, with a focus on talent acquisition and business partnership. Mary has worked at various companies and held multiple roles throughout their career.

Starting in 1994, Mary worked for Target for a total of eight years. Mary served as an HR Generalist in the Distribution Center and later as Team Relations Support in a Target Store. In these roles, they were responsible for all aspects of human resources, including staffing, conducting interviews, performing background checks, new hire orientations, and training HR staff.

From 2005 to 2007, Mary worked as an HR Generalist at VF Imagewear. Mary'sresponsibilities included developing a supervisor development program, coaching supervisors on employee issues, and helping them achieve their career goals.

In 2007, Mary joined Kohl's Distribution Center as a DC HR Supervisor. Mary managed a team and handled various HR tasks such as payroll, attendance, FMLA/LOA, worker's compensation, and staffing. Mary also played a crucial role during an active union drive in Patterson, California, focusing on improving employee engagement and communication.

In 2011, Mary was promoted to HR Manager at Kohl's Distribution Center. Mary led a team responsible for all aspects of the HR department and played a key role in executive recruitment, selection, and development. Mary also developed onboarding programs and became a training center for new HR Managers and Supervisors in the Kohl's Distribution Network.

Mary then moved to Central Garden & Pet in 2013, where they initially worked as a Midwest Regional HR Manager until 2015. Mary then took on the role of Director of Talent Acquisition and improved the recruiting process by implementing new procedures, training field HR members, and streamlining job posting, hiring, and onboarding processes. Mary also managed a team responsible for applicant tracking, job boards, and background and drug testing.

In 2019, Mary became the HR Director for Talent Acquisition and Pet Distribution at Central Garden & Pet. Mary had a dual role, serving as an HR Business Partner to the President of Pet Distribution and leading a team of HR partners responsible for day-to-day support of Pet Distribution employees. Mary was involved in staffing, employee relations, payroll, benefits, supervisor development, safety, and leaves of absence.

Most recently, Mary worked as the Human Resources Director at Central Garden & Pet. In this role, they served as an HR Business Partner for corporate functions and worked closely with the SVP of HR to project manage HR programs and initiatives. Mary'sresponsibilities included overseeing Affirmative Action, Alert Line, Handbook, Engagement Survey, and Succession Planning.

Overall, Mary Wuestenberg has a strong background in HR, with expertise in talent acquisition, business partnering, and HR program management.

Mary Wuestenberg obtained a Master's Degree in HR Management from Capella University from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that, they earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources from Marian University of Fond du Lac between 1998 and 2004. In addition to their degrees, Mary has certifications including SHRM-SCP from SHRM and SPHR from HRCI.