Kia Painter Holland
Atlanta
Summary
Visionary Chief People Officer with over 20 years of experience leading enterprise-wide transformation for a multibillion-dollar company. A proven partner to the President and senior executive team in shaping high-performance cultures and executing talent strategies that deliver measurable revenue growth. Expert in aligning talent strategy with Technology and Strategy/Finance to drive organizational agility. Navigates complex crises with a data-driven, people-centered approach.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief People Officer
Cox Communications
Atlanta, GA
08.2022 - Current
- Reporting to Cox Communication President, while serving on Cox Communications senior executive team.
- Business Transformation-Established and led the Business Transformation Office tasked with finding ???
- In revenue and expense potential. In fourteen months, BTO deliver. The overall BTO program portfolio exceeded the 2025 Approved Bankable Plan OFCF by $227M ($561M vs. $334M) and EBITDA by $112M ($338M vs. $226M) in 2025
- Inclusive of Segra and Polaris, the 2026 LRP Bankable Plan delivered $826M in OFCF (vs. Horizon Full Potential of $419M) and $602M in EBITDA in 2025
- HR Operations-
- Corporate Affairs and Internal Communications
- A leading broadband communications and connectivity company.
Senior Vice President, HR Business Partnerships
Cox Communications
06.2021 - 08.2022
- Reporting to the Chief People Officer, leading senior HR partners to deliver talent solutions across all major business units.
- Operating Model Transformation: Partnered with the CFO and CIO to redesign operating models for the Media, Supply Chain, and Finance units. Transformed static structures into agile, future-ready organizations capable of rapid scaling.
- Crisis Leadership & Business Continuity: Spearheaded the enterprise-wide Vaccine Mandate and Exemption Management Program during a critical regulatory period.
- Mitigated operational risk by maintaining turnover at
- Strategic Workforce Planning: Implemented an accelerated recruiting engine to offset intense market volatility, reducing recruiting cycle times by 22 days.
- Retention of Critical Technical Talent: Designed and executed specialized incentive programs for Technology (engineering and cybersecurity) teams to safeguard intellectual capital and prevent attrition in a hyper-competitive talent market.
Vice President, Strategic HR Solutions
Cox Communications
03.2018 - 06.2021
- Led HR Centers of Expertise (COE) including Compensation, Talent Management, Succession, and Organization Design.
- Agile HR Transformation: Transformed siloed HR functions into agile, project-based teams. This resulted in a 30% improvement in cycle times for pricing and job evaluation requests, directly accelerating business decision-making.
- M&A Readiness & Integration: Designed the Integration Management Office (IMO) and operating model to prepare the enterprise for high-volume Mergers & Acquisitions activity. Proposal was unanimously adopted by the Senior Leadership Team.
- Future of Work Architecture: Launched the 'Empowered People' cultural model, redefining leadership expectations and development practices to drive organizational agility across the enterprise.
- Tech Org Modernization: Directly led the organizational design and implementation of a new Wireless Organization in partnership with Product & Technology leaders.
Executive Director, Organization Effectiveness
Cox Communications
06.2015 - 04.2018
- Cost Optimization & Efficiency: Conducted spans-and-layers analysis to streamline organizational structure, reducing layers from 11 to 10 and decreasing executive-level roles by 2% within 18 months.
- Internal Consultancy Model: Launched an internal Org Design COE to eliminate dependency on external firms, establishing proprietary design principles that saved several millions in consulting fees.
- Employee Engagement Turnaround: Partnered with the C-Suite to set data-driven engagement objectives, delivering a 10-15 percentage point improvement in 'Openness and Engagement' scores enhancing our company culture.
Vice President, Field HR (Southeast & Florida/GA Regions)
Cox Communications
05.2007 - 06.2015
- Regional Consolidation: Led the complex integration of Louisiana and Florida markets into a single operating structure, generating $1.5M in cost savings while maintaining an 82% employee satisfaction rate.
- Change Management:
- Sales Performance Turnaround: Engineered a new Performance & Rewards ecosystem for regional sales teams, resulting in increased close rates and an 8% reduction in voluntary turnover.
- Extensive career began at Cox Communications as a part-time HR assistant after undergraduate studies. After multiple roles, advancing through the company with increasing responsibilities, joined the executive leader ranks in May 2007 charting the course to the Chief People Officer role.
Education
Executive M.B.A. -
Tulane University
M.A. - Human Resource & Organizational Development
George Washington University
B.B.A. - Business Administration
James Madison University
Skills
- Strategic Governance: Succession Planning, Organization/Operating Model Design
- Organizational Health: Change Management, Crisis Mitigation, Hybrid/Remote Culture Building
- Modern HR Operations: AI Adoption & Governance, People Analytics, Agile HR
- Internal Communications: Smart Brevity, Intranet Strategy, Employee Wellness
Prepared for 2026 LRP
- 2026 LRP Bankable Plan – OFCF (Includes Segra & Polaris) The updated 2026 Bankable Plan 'pulled forward' over $900M in OFCF above the Horizon Full Potential over the 2026 LRP Period... HIGHLIGHTS 2026 LRP Period ('26-'28) 538 in incremental OFCF over baseline $900M above Full Potential OFCF 10Yr Cumulative Period $1.25B in incremental OFCF over baseline 524 above Full Potential OFCF 2034 6Yr Year 516 in incremental OFCF over baseline On plan with Full Potential OFCF
- Note: All bankable plan program benefits have been accounted for in the August R&O/2026 LRP
Timeline
Chief People Officer
Cox Communications
08.2022 - Current
Senior Vice President, HR Business Partnerships
Cox Communications
06.2021 - 08.2022
Vice President, Strategic HR Solutions
Cox Communications
03.2018 - 06.2021
Executive Director, Organization Effectiveness
Cox Communications
06.2015 - 04.2018
Vice President, Field HR (Southeast & Florida/GA Regions)
Cox Communications
05.2007 - 06.2015
M.A. - Human Resource & Organizational Development
George Washington University
B.B.A. - Business Administration
James Madison University
Executive M.B.A. -
Tulane University