ABM’s Raúl Valentin on Fairness, Humility, and Collaboration in Leadership

This week, Jessica is joined by Raúl Valentin, the Chief Human Resources Officer at ABM Industries. Raúl explains how his belief in fairness drives his leadership–everything from recruiting policies to acquisition strategy to the way ABM integrates AI into HR operations. He opens up about his early life as the son of a single mother, why he almost went to law school, and how that background fuels his commitment to give every employee a fair shot — even if that doesn’t always mean treating everyone the same. They also discuss what it really takes to scale culture across a workforce of more than 100,000 hourly team members across the world, why humility and collaboration are at the heart of ABM’s identity, and how Raúl is navigating the evolving conversation around DEI without getting lost in political labels. Plus, the tactics of leadership — like what makes an acquisition succeed, how physical workspaces shape behavior, and why AI can’t replace the human side of HR, even if it’s helping us do our jobs better and faster. About Raúl Valentin Raúl joined ABM in 2019 and serves as the people leader and advocate for more than 100,000 dedicated team members across the US and the UK. Raúl is dedicated to cultivating a stronger community by growing and developing our people and fostering an inclusive culture where everyone is seen, heard, and valued. Raúl has held key HR leadership roles at Coty, Comcast, and Frito-Lay, with more than 30 years of human resources and management experience. He serves on the board of Quanta Services, Inc., a leading provider of comprehensive infrastructure solutions for the electric and gas utility, renewable energy, communications, pipeline and energy industries in the United States. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rauljvalentin https://investor.abm.com/management/raul-valentin Host: Jessica Kriegel Website: jessicakriegel.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel Instagram: @jess_kriegel Culture Partners Website: culturepartners.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/culturepartners