Introducing Deel’s Advisory Board on the Future of Work

Where, when, and how we work have changed dramatically in the last five years. Seismic shifts in the workforce, economy, and culture have led businesses to rethink their global workplace strategy; driven workers to expect more flexibility; and caused governments to grapple with the changing nature of “work.” 

Deel helps companies navigate this evolving employment landscape. We’re on a mission to simplify the world of work, making hiring, paying, and managing a global workforce a lot easier. Our vision is to serve as the all-in-one employment infrastructure for global companies. We can’t achieve our ambitions unless we work closely with the policymakers and regulators who shape employment policy.

Today, we're launching Deel’s Advisory Board on the Future of Work. The Advisory Board includes an experienced group of former policymakers and regulators:

• Elaine Chao, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor 
• Charlotte Corley, Former Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance 
• Seth Harris, Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor 
• Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator

An industry first in HR tech, the Advisory Board will help Deel excel in an increasingly complex labor and regulatory environment, implement those learnings into our products and partnerships, and help build awareness for our compliance reputation within the HR ecosystem. 

The Advisory Board will meet regularly with Deel leadership to stay close to our product and business roadmap and shape our engagement with policymakers. They’ll also offer perspective on policy topics related to the future of work, namely the use of artificial intelligence for HR purposes, worker classification, the future of compensation and equity, upskilling and professional development in the workplace, and more. This is an esteemed, diverse group whose insights we’ll learn from to better serve our customers and build the future of work.

About the Board

Elaine Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Labor - Secretary Elaine Chao has been confirmed to two Presidential cabinet positions on a bipartisan basis as the 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor and the 18th U.S. Secretary of Transportation.  She is the first woman of Asian American & Pacific Islander heritage to serve in the President’s cabinet in history. Secretary Chao has also served as President and CEO of United Way of America, Director of the Peace Corps, Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Secretary Chao has served on the boards of numerous public companies while out of government.  She is currently on the boards of Kroger and ChargePoint Holdings. She has also been a director on many nonprofit boards including Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and Global Advisory Board; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; United Way Worldwide; Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee of Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28), and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Advisory Board. Born in Taiwan, Secretary Chao received her U. S. citizenship at age 19, after immigrating to America at the age of 8 not knowing how to speak English.  Elaine earned her undergraduate degree in economics from Mount Holyoke College, and her MBA from Harvard Business School. A proud Kentuckian, she is the recipient of 38 honorary doctorate degrees. 

Charlotte Corley, Former Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking - Charlotte Corley currently serves on the Cadence Bank Board of Directors where she is on the AuditCommittee, Chairs the Trust and Financial Services Committee and is a board member of RIA affiliate Linscomb Wealth. Cadence is traded on the NYSE under CADE with approximately $50 billion in assets. Corley is the Former Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance where she spent 34 years regulating and supervising Mississippi’s financial industry. She is Past Chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), the nation’s leading advocate for the state banking system where she worked to coordinate the regulatory processes of federal and state banking regulatory agencies. Corley is past Chairman of the CSBS Education Foundation and formerly served on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Task Force on Examiner Education. A native Mississippian, Charlotte earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from Mississippi State University. She is a graduate of the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University and a graduate of the American Bankers Association National Graduate Trust School at Northwestern University.

Seth Harris, Former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor - Seth D. Harris is a Distinguished Professor of Practice at Northeastern University and Affiliated Faculty and a Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change where he runs the Initiative on Labor and Economic Justice. Prior to joining Northeastern University, Professor Harris was the Deputy Assistant to the President for Labor and the Economy and Deputy Director of the Biden White House’s National Economic Council. Building on almost seven years of service in the Labor Department during the Clinton Administration, Professor Harris was Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor (and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet) and Deputy U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2014. Between the Obama and Biden Administrations, he was an attorney in Washington, D.C., a Visiting Professor at Cornell University’s Institute for Public Affairs and School of Industrial & Labor Relations, and one of the nation’s most sought-after analysts, speakers, and commentators on work, workers, workplaces, the economy and labor market issues, government leadership, and government performance. Professor Harris also has been an advisor to businesses and labor unions over the course of his career, including businesses in the higher education, workforce development, health care, and technology industries.

Heidi Heitkamp, former U.S. Senator - U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp was the first female senator elected from North Dakota, serving from 2013–2019. Heitkamp previously served as North Dakota’s Attorney General, and elected State Tax Commissioner. She serves on numerous boards including The McCain Institute, The Howard Buffett Foundation, Restore Democracy Initiative and The German Marshall Fund. She is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs of rural America. She serves as a contributor to both CNBC and ABC News.

For more recent news from Deel, please read about our strategic investment in Alviere and welcoming Francis deSouza to our Board of Directors.