United Problem Solvers

CCO Profile: Laura Lane, UPS

This is the latest in a new series of posts featuring CCO stories, examining their priorities and challenges and sharing their experiences. 

Like a growing number of CCOs today, UPS Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laura Lane has an expansive remit. Hers includes communications, government affairs and policy, community relations, sustainability and the UPS Foundation. “That more expanded role allows me to leverage different kinds of stories and pull in different stakeholders from inside and outside the organization in really purpose-driven ways,” she says. 

That’s especially important right now given two big priorities for the company: hiring to meet peak demand for the holiday season and advancing its sustainability agenda, which includes being carbon neutral by 2050. Laura points out that the two are intertwined because they’re about the same thing: people. “At the heart of it all, it’s about our people—our employees, our customers, the people in the communities we serve and the  innovations we are driving to make the planet more liveable for everyone.” 

United Problem Solvers

UPS delivers packages but it’s a logistics company, and that’s what drives its purpose of “moving our world forward by delivering what matters.” Many of the world’s problems demand logistical solutions. Natural disasters or disruptions like the war in Ukraine require the delivery of aid, often in difficult-to-reach places. Poverty is often a result of barriers to trade. And pandemics are ended through the distribution of vaccines, which is precisely what UPS did when it had to figure out how to deliver over a billion COVID-19 doses as quickly as possible.  

These sorts of efforts require a problem-solving mindset and the empowerment of people to innovate. That’s deeply rooted in the company’s culture, which views its delivery trucks as “rolling laboratories” that incubate new approaches for delivering what communities need. 

Delivering for the Holidays

Holiday demand means seasonal hiring, and this year it’s happening in an extremely tight labor market. Laura recognizes that attracting workers requires more than good pay and benefits. “I think a lot of people through this pandemic have become very introspective and said to themselves, ‘what’s my larger purpose?’” 

The company’s hiring push features a new campaign (check out the video on their jobs page here) to address the shifting expectations of candidates, targeting people who prefer flexible working hours and are interested in working through the night (how else do packages arrive first-thing in the morning?!). But, ultimately, the stories being told appeal to those seeking purpose, persuading people that joining UPS isn’t about gig work but about the opportunity to launch a career with the company and be a part of an organization that creates enormous value for the world.

Up in the Air 

Laura acknowledges that the business they’re in creates a lot of environmental impact; in fact, 65% of their emissions come not from the iconic brown trucks but the planes that are needed to move things quickly across borders and around the world. Some might argue that a carbon-neutral commitment by 2050 is not fast enough, and Laura’s mindset is to get there as quickly as possible. That requires massive investment in innovation. EVs can reduce emissions, but the company is also investing in alternatives, like developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, because other solutions might be more effective, especially in places where electricity is rationed, not always renewable or in insufficient supply. And the company knows it needs to attack emissions in the air to reach its sustainability goals, which is why it doubles down on its culture of finding new solutions in its hiring practices. “We’re looking for innovators, entrepreneurs, technologists, people who can help us innovate so we can realize our ESG goals,” she says. 

Laura’s broad responsibilities create cohesion between purpose, brand, culture, community, philanthropy, policy and sustainability—all of which are about stakeholders. She’s energized about her team’s work and its impact on the company. “When I go out to our facilities, everybody wants to be a part of that change that they want to see in the world,” she adds. “Harnessing the power and passion of over 500,000 UPSers is pretty exciting as we truly have the ability to crowdsource solutions for the world.” 

Laura’s been with UPS since 2011, and her journey there most recently included senior roles at Citigroup and Time Warner, before which she held several important government roles. She was a negotiator on China’s entry into the WTO and served as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service in the 90s, during which she led evacuation efforts amid the outbreak of civil war in Rwanda (her TED Talk on that experience is powerful). 

When she’s not splitting time between work in Atlanta and her home in Virginia, Laura is a marathoner and triathlete - pursuits that have taught her the power of mental tenacity for overcoming any challenges. Her husband of 30 years finished by her side for her last Ironman race, reminding her “that love makes everything possible.”