Speakers
As the Global Diversity & Inclusion Leader for GE Power & Water, Cheya works closely with senior leaders, human resources and talent recruitment teams, and employee affinity networks to develop and implement diversity and inclusion strategies across the business.
Cheya has over 17 years of HR leadership experience across global business units and functions. She began her GE career as an intern with Corporate Benefits in Schenectady, New York and later joined NBC’s West Coast Entertainment division as Employee Relations Manager in Burbank, California. Cheya moved to GE Power & Water in 2000, where she held several senior HR leadership assignments with the services division in Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia. She accepted the HR Leader role for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy – a joint venture between GE and Hitachi in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2008, where she spent four years before returning to Houston as HR Leader for Aero Energy, then HR Leader for Sales & Marketing for GE Distributed Power. Cheya was named to her current position in May 2014. Prior to joining GE, she held sales and HR positions with Nestle’ USA and Lieberman Research in Los Angeles, California.
A native of LaFayette, AL, Cheya earned her Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Tuskegee University, and an MBA in Human Resources Design from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, CA.
Cheya is an active supporter of GE’s affinity networks and GE Volunteers. She is a Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources and she is a member of several professional and civic organizations including the Society for Human Resources Management, National Diversity Council, Texas Diversity Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Junior League of Houston, and Jack & Jill of America, Inc. Cheya is also a graduate of Leadership Houston.
Cheya resides in the greater Houston area with her husband Bernard and their two boys, Isaiah and Zachary.