Alumni and Friends Directory
Biography
Hayden grew up in Logan, Utah. He graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor's degree in accounting, a Master's degree in Human Resources, and a Master's degree in Business Administration. Following completion of his education, Hayden started his career with Honeywell where he has been for the past 5 years. He graduated Honeywell's Future HR Leaders Leadership Development Program conducting numerous roles across the HR function with increasing scope. He currently is an HR Director with Honeywell at their Global Corporate Headquarters in Charlotte, NC.
Personally, Hayden lives in Charlotte with his wife, Ali, and his dog, Wylie. In his free time you will find Hayden traveling with his wife, watching sports (SKOL Vikings and Boomer Sooner), or trying a new food or cocktail recipe.
Q. Why did you choose the Huntsman School Master of Human Resources Program?
A. I chose the Huntsman MHR program because I wanted to learn HR from the best. The versatility of an HR education was attractive to me because it provided me the ability to take my career wherever I wanted. To be a true business partner, have meaningful impact, and make a difference on the teams and company I work for is what I was looking for and what the MHR program provided me.
Q. What was your favorite part of the Huntsman School MHR Program?
A. I had experiences I never would have had, met people I never would have met, went to different parts of the world I had never been to before. The program opened my eyes to what a career could look like. Navigating this alongside 25 close cohort classmates provided a memorable 2 year graduate school experience. I also thoroughly enjoyed the ability to give back to the program. Our mentality as a program is All-In. All-In to the program. All-In to your class work. All-In to your recruiting preparations. But what is unique to this program is the way that we build the next generation. Each cohort is All-In to help support and coach the next cohort to continue to grow the USU MHR Program.
Q. What advice would you give current MHR students or recent graduates interested in pursuing a career in HR?
A. If HR is truly the career for you, you have to be passionate, confident, and resilient. Generally, the roles that you learn the most from are the most difficult assignments so be open to new experiences. In addition to being open, these difficult roles require passion and resilience but they also require you to be confident and believe in yourself that you CAN do it. Also, in business you are never alone. Make sure to build a strong network that you can lean on for advice, counsel, or even a venting session.
Q. What are your 2-3 main job duties?
A. In my current role I am an Director HR Operations Excellence. I lead strategic talent initiatives and global projects working with some of our most senior HR and business leaders.