For decades, women have been paving the path for entrepreneurs in every single industry. One such woman who has made a significant mark in the business world and has built a world-renowned brand through her hard work and strong drive is Ismat Aziz, Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Sprint.
Ismat is intrigued by businesses that are resilient and have the foresight to continue to transform in order to stay ahead of the competition. She is motivated and inspired by people who continually redefine themselves and never give up. She recently took on a new challenge and joined Sprint, which is in the midst of a multi-year transformation. Ismat is at the center of an effort to change the culture at Sprint, to invigorate the business, stimulate innovation and encourage a renewed entrepreneurial spirit at the company.
Ismat is an innovative human resources executive with proven ability to deliver large-scale change in global organizations. She has broad experience transforming companies with demonstrated success as a chief human resources officer for publicly traded companies. Throughout her career, Ismat has worked in multiple industries including Retail, Telecommunications, Banking, Pharmaceutical, Spirits, and Manufacturing.
Ismat has experience in, Corporate Transformations, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures, Change Management, Talent Acquisition, Innovation, Operational Effectiveness, Compensation-Benefits, Shared Service Management, and Labor/Employee Relations.
At Sprint she reports to the President and CEO and is responsible for overseeing all Human Capital initiatives including organizational performance, culture, compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, employee relations, learning and development, and talent management.
Prior to Sprint, Ismat served as a Senior Vice President at Sam’s Club, one of the leading membership-only retail warehouse clubs that is owned and operated by Walmart. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President, Business Capability, and Human Resources at Sears Canada. Also, Ismat was a Vice-President at Global HR Services, Corporate, MDS Inc.
Sprint, Accelerating Growth
Sprint is a communications services company that helps people get better every day and creates ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint has nearly 60 million connections, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.
No Compromise in Quality
“Our employees are our Partners”, says Ismat. Sprint’s Learning & Development organization offers over 40,000 custom and industry learning assets to ensure that their business goals are supported and the partner needs are met. Sprint’s diverse and blended learning portfolio consists of best-practice and award-winning solutions that provide learning for every step of the partner journey.
Challenges Overcame
“Sprint is embracing a huge business transformation,” said Ismat. “One of the biggest opportunities for Sprint is to ensure that our leaders not only have a deep functional knowledge but also the attributes to lead and transform in an ever competitive and innovative environment. We are committed to creating opportunities for our partners to grow and develop to be personally successful now and in the future.”
Ismat’s Views on ‘Women Playing Crucial Role in Business’
“Women play a critical role in our business by bringing diversity of thought and perspectives that are multi-dimensional. I am a strong believer in the importance of companies ensuring that they are representative of their customers. I am proud of our focus on attracting the best talent and stimulating inclusion through a global approach. We are committed to our internal women’s employee resource group that provides select female leaders at Sprint with sponsored memberships to Kansas City’s Central Exchange (including their annual Emerging Leaders Program), and our support of the Kansas City win: win initiative.”
“Best of Both Worlds”
It is not simple for Ismat to make “Best of Both Worlds”. , “My definition of balance is simple – as a single mother, I prioritize my four children- Shahnia (daughter), Shahab (Son), Salah (Son) and Sabeeh (Son) above anything else. My love of the Sprint business and the energy that is generated by being privileged to work with amazing partners, leaders, and loving what I do, delivers balance. I strive to close out each day without regrets, and look forward to the next.”
When asked if given a chance to start her career over again, what would she do differently, Ismat says, “I would look at my career as a series of milestones and allow for iteration and pivoting along the way without second guessing every step.”
She adds that “the long-term strategy can be as simple as knowing what you love to do, striving to get better every day, and gaining sustainable momentum.”
“Resilience and hard work win above everything – humility, embracing change, overcoming fear, and courage, will differentiate you. Having few regrets, believing in yourself, and celebrating success will sustain you,” says Ismat.
