Irena Gargano

Irena Gargano has a diverse work experience, starting from their role as Amministrazione del personale at Prodir SA from November 2001 to April 2010. Irena then moved on to Turbomach, where they served as the Manager of Payroll and Accounts Payable from May 2010 to August 2011. After that, they joined Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUPSI) as the Head of HR Shared Services from September 2011 to April 2017. Their responsibilities included leading the HR team, coordinating HR administrative services, and managing payroll administration.

In 2017, Irena joined Imerys as the Compensation & Benefits, Systems and Mobility Manager, where they monitored competitive trends in compensation and benefits and developed benefits programs. Irena also worked as the Head Office HR and Compensation & Benefits Manager, overseeing general HR management and compensation and benefits of the Imerys Graphite & Carbon Division in Switzerland from April 2018 to October 2019.

Following that, Irena became the Country HR Director and HR Business Partner for the Graphite & Carbon Division at Imerys. Their responsibilities included preparing and executing global people strategies, supporting senior executives, and leading labor relations and HRIS application. Irena held this position from October 2019 to December 2023.

Currently, Irena is working as the HR Director for Switzerland, Italy, and Benelux at Imerys. Irena is responsible for strategic leadership of human capital and executing global people strategies across six European countries. Irena specializes in areas such as strategic planning, organization design, attraction and retention, succession planning, and compensation & benefit design. Additionally, they serve as a coach and Hogan assessor for senior executives.

Irena Gargano obtained a Hogan assessment certification from Hogan Assessments in 2022-2023. Irena completed a Master's degree in Human Capital Management from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland from 2014 to 2017. Irena also earned several Certificates of Advanced Studies in various fields from the same university in 2015 and 2016. Prior to that, they obtained a Master's degree in Corporate Finance and Human Resources from Prague University of Economics and Business in 1996-1997, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Management from the same university in 1993-1995.