The Future of Work is Human: Curiosity, Courage, and Corporate Transformation with Mercedes Sullivan

Latina leader Mercedes Sullivan on why legacy isn't the goal, leading with humanity in an AI world, and the power of showing up as your whole self

What if the most profound lessons in corporate leadership aren’t found in boardrooms or business books, but in the quiet, honest moments at the bedside of a hospice patient?

Mercedes Sullivan, Executive Vice President of People, Culture and Communications at McKinley Companies, has spent nearly 25 years navigating the complex intersection of corporate transformation and human authenticity. Her career is a study in duality: a leader who refused to abandon her identity to fit the mold of executive presence, an HR transformation expert who views AI through the lens of humanity, and an end-of-life doula who builds cultures for the living.

In this conversation, we explore how a career built on gratitude, wonder, and a refusal to waste time creates a legacy far more significant than any title.

Interview with Mercedes Sullivan

You have built a nearly 25-year career spanning Fortune 500 firms, social impact work, international consulting, and even co-founding your own skincare company. When you look back, what was the single moment that made you realize you were not just building a career but building a legacy?

Legacy has never really been my goal. What matters more to me is living and working in a way that feels true to myself.

I hope to live in a way that is contagious, where others feel they have permission to question expectations placed on them, let go of mindsets that keep them stuck, and take hold of their lives on their own terms. We really do not have time to waste. Instead of living my life as if it were my last day, I try to live it as if it were my first, with curiosity and a sense of wonder about what is possible.

So I focus on gratitude, being present, and collecting small moments of joy every day. That’s really all we have. In the end, I want to look back, take a deep breath, and know I lived a full life worth living. That’s something I would wish for everyone.

As a Latina leader working at senior levels of corporate organizations, how has your professional journey influenced the way you view representation, leadership, and the importance of supporting future talent?

The higher you go in corporate leadership, the more you realize how often you are still one of the only people in the room who looks or sounds like you.

Along with that comes navigating bias and a fairly narrow idea of what “executive presence” is supposed to look like. For many people from underrepresented backgrounds, the unspoken expectation is that success requires smoothing out the parts of yourself that do not fit that mold.

I made a decision early in my career that I was not willing to abandon who I am in order to succeed. I try to show up as myself and give it my all. When others see someone who looks or sounds like them, it expands what they believe is possible. Leadership also means widening that space so more people can walk into those rooms without feeling they have to leave parts of themselves behind.

When Latinas are able to show up fully and reach their potential, everybody wins. I am going to continue to champion this wherever I go.

You have spent over a decade volunteering with hospice patients while simultaneously leading enterprise transformation at major organizations. What does sitting with people during life’s most vulnerable moments teach you about leadership that no MBA program ever could?

Volunteering with hospice patients and obtaining my end-of-life doula certification has been one of the most profound leadership classrooms of my life.

When someone knows their life may be nearing its end, conversations become very honest. People talk about the relationships that mattered, the things they wish they had done differently, and whether they truly lived in alignment with what they valued most.

Almost no one talks about titles, promotions, or status. What they talk about instead is whether they loved well, lived fully, and stayed true to themselves.

Moments like that strip away a lot of the noise that surrounds leadership in corporate settings. Titles and hierarchy start to matter far less. What remains is how you show up for people. Your presence, your ability to listen, and your willingness to sit with uncertainty or difficult emotions without trying to fix everything.

Experiences like that remind you that leadership, at its core, is about humanity and about making sure the life you are building, and the work you are doing, are aligned with what truly matters to you.

You have led AI-enabled HR transformation at TIAA and now lead people strategy at McKinley Companies. In a world where AI is reshaping the workplace faster than most companies can adapt, how do you see technology influencing the future of work, and what perspectives would you share with women looking to grow and lead in an increasingly digital workplace?

First, we need to start with our values. Technology will continue to evolve, but what it ultimately enables depends on what we choose to prioritize. For me, progress means people and planet supported by technology, not the other way around.

Progress always comes at a cost. The important thing is making sure we understand it and that it’s not a price we’re unwilling to pay.

Second, we cannot treat this like a traditional technology implementation. AI is forcing us to rethink how work is designed. That means a mindset shift, redesigning roles and workflows, evolving operating models so teams can deliver continuously, and investing seriously in upskilling people. Technology alone doesn’t fix how work actually runs.

As work changes, the impact won’t be evenly distributed, which makes it even more important for people to stay curious and keep building both their technical skills and their human ones. Managing bots is not the same as managing humans, and emotional intelligence, judgment, and the ability to navigate complex human dynamics will remain essential.

And for women looking to grow in this space, my advice is to move closer to the technology, not away from it. Learn it, experiment with it, and bring your perspective into shaping how it is used. The future of work should not be built without diverse voices at the table.

Alongside your executive role, board work at UNITED LATINAS, and volunteer commitments, how have you learned to balance multiple goals, and what advice would you share with women who are striving to grow in different areas of their lives and careers?

Someone once gave me advice that changed how I view things. Instead of asking what I wanted to do, they asked me how I wanted my days to feel.

Since then, I revisited how I think about my priorities and how I spend my time. I try to be thoughtful and purposeful about understanding my values, my needs, and how I want my days to feel, and then building a strategy around those.

I also try to manage my energy as much as my time. Life is not linear and there are different seasons for different things. There have been times when I stepped back, took time off, and went inward to reflect and reset. There have also been seasons where I went all in, focused on growth, built new skills, and pushed forward professionally.

The key is being self-aware enough to recognize which season you are in so you can pivot when needed, rest when it is time to rest, and push forward when the moment calls for it.

You have been passionate about building cultures where people feel seen, valued, and empowered. Beyond moments of celebration like Women’s Month, what meaningful actions can organizations take year-round to foster a more inclusive and supportive work environment?

Culture is not built through a single initiative or a month of recognition. It is built through everyday decisions.

It shows up in who gets invited into conversations, whose ideas are taken seriously, and how leaders respond when someone raises a difficult issue. It also shows up in whether organizations invest in development, mentorship, and fair opportunities for advancement.

More than anything, it requires leaders who are clear about their values and willing to align their actions with those values consistently. When people see that congruency, feel respected and able to contribute fully, organizations become stronger, more innovative, and more resilient.