Michaela Jaap

After graduating with a degree in industrial engineering, Michaela worked in management consulting for more than ten years. During her time with consulting firms in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin, she was responsible for national and international projects focused on organizational and strategy development, as well as human resources development.

Since 2017, she has brought her expertise to Hays AG, one of the world’s leading recruitment service providers for qualified professionals and executives. She initially worked there as a project manager for strategic HR projects before beginning to establish diversity management as a strategic initiative in 2018.

In October 2019, she was appointed Head of Diversity & Inclusion. In this role she was responsible for all initiatives related to equal opportunity, leading the D&I team, supporting the ERGs and the Diversity Council.

Since July 2022, Michaela has overseen all sustainability topics at Hays in an integrated department as Head of Corporate Culture & Responsibility. In addition to Diversity & Inclusion, she is responsible for the Centers of Expertise for environmental sustainability and climate management, corporate volunteering and corporate citizenship, wellbeing and occupational health management, employee engagement and experience, and sustainability reporting.

As a member of the Board of Charta der Vielfalt, she places particular emphasis on representing the voices of small and medium-sized enterprises and developing adaptable solutions for their realities. Other topics especially close to her heart and central to her work include the connection between democracy and diversity, an integrated approach to all aspects of sustainability, and the development of strategies to reduce the shortage of skilled workers.