Lisa Cannell

Lisa Cannell is Managing Director of Executive Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business. She collaborates with faculty on talent management research and talent capability building solutions for corporate partners. Her prior role at Darden was Chief HR Officer. She brings over 20 years of corporate experience and practitioner know-how on influencing the link between talent strategy and business results.

Lisa’s HR career began with State Farm Insurance Companies, a Fortune 50 financial services firm, where she was promoted into positions in learning and development, field human resources, and corporate human resources information systems. She managed an HR staff at a regional office overseeing 5,000 employees. She then led human resources at SNL Financial (now part of S&P Global Intelligence), an information services firm, where she revamped the compensation structure, created leadership development programs, and supported the company’s global expansion.

Following SNL Financial, Lisa served as Chief Human Capital Officer for StellarOne Corporation, a community bank holding company, and its predecessor banks from 2006 – 2014. She was a member of the executive team and management liaison to the Personnel and Compensation Committee and the Succession Committee of the Board of Directors. Lisa was a key player in the integration of the company with the merger of equals, during which she co-led the reorganization of company structure to include displacement of employees, development of new policies and benefits, and implementation of a new culture and core values. She implemented a new HRIS to empower managers in talent management. After the bank was acquired, Lisa began consulting with firms on their talent strategy, HR capabilities and structure. In addition, she developed a succession planning toolkit used by the American Bankers Association.

Lisa graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her master’s in business administration from the University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business. She earned her Charted Property Underwriter Designation, holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and a certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership from Georgetown University.