Paula Whitesell

Paula Whitesell joined Cooper in July 2020 as Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). She is responsible for leadership of global human resources and communications.

Whitesell came to Cooper from Peapod Digital Labs (PDL), where she served as Vice President, Human Resources, and was responsible for human resources, communications and customer care. PDL is a unit of Ahold Delhaize, which is one of the world’s largest food retail groups and an international leader in supermarkets and e-commerce. She progressed to this role after serving as Vice President of Human Resources at Peapod, LLC, a leading online grocer.

Prior to Peapod, Paula had an 18-year career with Whirlpool Corporation, where she most recently served as Senior Director—Global Human Resources, a position she attained after progressing through a number of diverse leadership roles in human resources, and within the business, including finance, customer care, and integrated supply chain, leading the trade customer support team. Her career has also included roles in Tier 1 automotive industry suppliers such as VDO-Siemens and Budd Thyssenkrupp Company.

Whitesell holds a bachelor’s degree in public affairs with special studies in labor relations and a master of business administration degree (MBA), both from Indiana University.