Chief People Officer Kevin Vilke understands bottom-line results are directly related to engaged employees who understand the business and want to make an impact. Through his own firm, he currently is providing fractional Chief Human Resources Officer consulting services to small to mid-sized companies, including change management, talent development, transformation, recruitment and Executive Team collaboration.

Prior to this, Kevin was Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer at Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages a property portfolio of office, retail and multifamily assets in the New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building. There, he was responsible for providing strategic leadership on organizational design and change management to support new business verticals and increase business growth.

This followed his time as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Seritage Growth Properties, a self-administered and self-managed REIT with 211 wholly owned properties and 26 joint venture properties totaling approximately 37.5 million square feet of space in 48 states and Puerto Rico. In this role, Kevin served as a strategic advisor to the Executive Team on development, retention and driving company culture and diversity. He also developed and implemented Human Resources policies and procedures. At Barnes & Noble Inc., Kevin was the Senior Director of Field Human Resources & the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer. He served as a key Member of the Field Leadership Team, leading a direct team of eight HR professionals and indirect team of 20 HR professionals with a keen focus on establishing a unified values-based culture and brand. He was responsible for 23,000 employees and 700+ stores. Earlier in his career, Kevin had leadership roles at Diageo North America, Inc., culminating in Senior Manager, Talent Diversity & Organizational Development. He also has been the Director of Corporate Counsel Employment Law for Gap Inc. and a Labor & Employment and Litigation Associate for Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Kevin earned a Juris Doctor at the Duke University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in English (Magna Cum Laude) at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and also is certified in Basics in AI through LinkedIn. He has Condominium Board experience and has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He also has been a Member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Cal Alumni Association. He is a sought-after speaker and presenter at several industry forums, conferences and seminars.

Outside of work, Kevin is passionate about cooking and has taken numerous courses at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. He played amateur soccer for 25 years domestically and internationally. He also enjoys solving puzzles.