Gale King

Gale King is a retired C-suite executive, corporate director, community leader, speaker, and author with a career focused on building inclusive, high-performing workplace cultures. As the retired executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Nationwide, King was responsible for human resources, diversity, equity and inclusion, corporate real estate, corporate security, and aviation. She began her 37-year career at Nationwide as a claims professional and held key leadership roles, including executive vice president and chief human resources officer, senior vice president for property and casualty human resources, and administrative officer in the Office of the President, Property and Casualty.

At Nationwide, King oversaw a workforce of 33,000 associates and managed corporate real estate, aviation, and corporate security. She led the human resources function, which included HR strategy, talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, associate and leadership development, succession management, organizational effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion. King implemented workforce and culture practices that contributed to Nationwide's recognition by Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, Fortune Most Admired Companies, Forbes Diversity Award, Gallup's Great Workplace Award, Black Enterprise Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index, and the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

King's personal honors include recognition by Ebony's 100 Most Powerful African Americans in the United States, Diversity Women's Elite 100, HR Executive Magazine's Executive of the Year Honor Roll, and Black Enterprise's Most Powerful Women in Corporate America. Additional honors include the University of Florida Distinguished Alumna Award, United Way Community Leadership Award, Black Enterprise Legacy Award, Black Enterprise Corporate America's Most Powerful Executive, YWCA Woman of Achievement, National Urban League Woman of Power, Nationwide's Woman of Achievement Award, and The Gale King Promise Award. King holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Florida, where she also served as the university's foundation chair and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Following her retirement from Nationwide, King has continued to influence corporate governance and Black leadership. She serves as a board director for AutoZone, J.B. Hunt, and Unum Group. King is also a member and board chair of the Executive Leadership Council, a global membership organization for Black CEOs, senior executives, board members, and entrepreneurs. The council works to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline and empower Black leaders to contribute to the marketplace and global communities. As a speaker and author, King draws on decades of executive experience to address leadership, human resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.