Nikki Odom begins work as Chief Human Resources Officer

Nikki Odom is now the new Chief Human Resources Officer for the City of Minneapolis. A certified human resources professional with 10 years of experience, Odom previously led a human resources team at a federally qualified health center.

Odom begins her new role with Human Resources this week, overseeing a department tasked with attracting and engaging employees for the City of Minneapolis. Department functions include recruitment, benefits administration, collective bargaining, labor contract administration, compensation administration, training and development, job classification, and employee policy development and implementation. Human Resources also investigates allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Before coming to the City, Odom served as vice president of People & Culture at Minnesota Community Care, which is the state's largest federally qualified health center. Her experience includes leading the Labor & Employment division at 3M in Woodbury and serving as senior employment counsel at Akzo Nobel Inc. Odom received a BS in business administration and a juris doctor from Marquette University.

Before coming to the City, Odom served as vice president of People & Culture at Minnesota Community Care, which is the state's largest federally qualified health center. Her experience includes positions as director of Assistant General Counsel - Labor & Employment at 3M in Woodbury and serving as senior employment counsel at Akzo Nobel Inc. Odom received a BS in business administration and a juris doctor from Marquette University.

"Recruiting and retaining top talent is indispensable right now," said Mayor Jacob Frey. "Every sector of business and government across the country is navigating uncharted waters in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We need a strong leader to step into this role and guide our critical HR efforts - and that is Nikki Odom. I'm grateful to Ms. Odom for her willingness to join the City of Minneapolis, and I'm thrilled to see her build out and support our amazing City workforce."

"I am so excited to have such a high-caliber leader join our great City team," said interim City Operations Officer Heather Johnston. "I look forward to working with Nikki to find creative solutions to the City's unique challenges."

"I look forward to working with the talented staff in the Human Resources Department to create and maintain an environment where all City employees can do their best work," Odom said. "I'm grateful for this opportunity to leverage my experience to benefit all employees in a collaborative, supportive work environment."