Chris Lawson, SVP, Head of Global Talent Management and Inclusion, leads a 19-member team across Singapore, the UK, and the US. Together, they have built Rakuten’s corporate university (including the AI School), designed and delivered all learning programs, developed performance management tools and employee engagement surveys, measured training and manager effectiveness, and shaped the global inclusion strategy.

With 30 years of related experience—23 as an internal change agent and 7 as an external consultant—Chris provides strategic HR leadership. His expertise spans leadership development, talent management, merger integration, global HR planning, line of business consulting, organization design, training needs assessment/design/delivery, and culture change.

Before Rakuten, Chris held leadership positions in the US and UK. He contributed his expertise at PG&E, SAP, Genentech, Walmart, Bank of America, and Accenture Consulting, and earned a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He also taught Advanced Organization Design & Development and Advanced Organization Culture & Alignment classes at Templeton College, Oxford, United Kingdom.