Dawn Stastny, SPHR, SHRM- SCP
Dawn Stastny, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a seasoned Chief Human Resources Officer and compliance executive based in the Chicago metropolitan area, known for leading enterprise-wide people strategy, operational excellence, and cultural transformation within manufacturing and regulated industries. She serves as CHRO of BelPak, where she oversees the full spectrum of human resources and compliance functions, including talent acquisition, total rewards, employee relations, HRIS systems, environmental health and safety, and sustainability. With more than two decades of experience in male-dominated manufacturing environments, she has built a reputation for aligning workforce strategy with business growth, regulatory compliance, and organizational performance. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business, Human Resources from Texas Woman's University and maintains senior professional credentials including SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. Throughout her career, she has held senior leadership roles across HR, organizational development, and compliance, consistently advising executive teams on workforce planning, leadership development, and change management. Her expertise spans strategic planning, HR operations, employee engagement, labor relations, mergers and acquisitions support, and the design of scalable organizational structures that strengthen long-term business capability. Dawn is also recognized for her leadership influence beyond her primary role, including her involvement with Chief and her selection as a Chicago Titan 100 honoree through Chicago Titan 100. She is widely respected for her philosophy that human capital is the core driver of enterprise value, and she actively contributes to shaping leadership culture through board service, mentorship, and community engagement. Her career reflects a consistent commitment to building ethical, high-performing organizations while developing leaders and strengthening organizational resilience.
• Certified Human Rights Consultant
• Senior Professional in Human Resources® (SPHR®) Certification
• SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)
• Texas Woman's University - BS
• Chicago Titan 100 for 2026
• Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
• International Warehouse Logistics Association
• Human Resources Capital Institute
• SHRM
• Children's Advocacy Center of North and Northwest Cook County
What do you attribute your success to?
People like to call it luck when something great happens. I don’t. I believe it’s the ability to recognize opportunity when it appears — and having the grit to seize it when others hesitate.
Talent matters. Timing matters. But persistence matters more.
I’m relentless by nature. I don’t have it in me to quit. I keep going, adapting, pushing, solving, rebuilding — no matter the obstacle in front of me.Most breakthroughs aren’t luck.
They’re endurance meeting opportunity.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Jack Welch told me very early on in my career that they have to like you enough to let you in the room, but they have to respect you enough to let you stay and listen to you. This advice has shaped how I approach professional relationships and leadership throughout my career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say you don’t ask for a seat at the table. You go get it. You take it. You don’t wait for permission or validation to lead.
And this may sound ridiculous, but that term “girl boss” never sat right with me. Be a boss. Period. My gender should have no bearing on my capability, authority, or leadership. Don’t let anyone make you feel like your leadership needs a qualifier attached to it.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my industry, and most of my career has been in industries that are very male-dominated, is that women view things from such a very different perspective. That's why women-run businesses are more successful, because we view it differently. If you take AI as an example, men are looking at AI from a different lens than we are. Women at the executive level are not only asking what can it do for us, we're asking what is it doing to us. How does it impact critical thinking? How is it impacting emotional IQ and the ability to critically think in the younger generation, the shortcut model? We're viewing it from a completely different lens than our male counterparts. I'm the only woman in my C-suite, and that perspective matters.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Absolutely, it is ethics. Ethics is paramount to everything I do. And I believe that your legacy isn't what you do as an individual, it's the people that you leave behind to carry on your work that you've brought along with you. So, that's really your legacy. It's the people that carry on the work after you're done.