KinderCare Education Names HR Lead as President
Early childhood care and education is transformed under his leadership
PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KinderCare Education, the nation's largest provider of early childhood care and education, is proud to announce that Wei-Li Chong has been named president of KinderCare. He was formerly Executive Vice President of People and Operations at KinderCare Education.
Since joining the company in 2012, Chong, alongside Chief Executive Officer Tom Wyatt, transformed the organization by prioritizing the experience that employees and families have every day.
"We're focused on providing the very best care and education for young children, creating a culture that we can all be proud of, and expanding the number of young children and families we serve," said Chong.
KinderCare Education key investments include:
- Several million dollars in revamping the education curriculum at every age level, using a science-based approach to ensure the best possible outcomes for children
- More than 100 million dollars in additional pay and benefits for teachers and employees
KinderCare Education key outcomes include:
- Becoming the most accredited provider of early learning and before and after school programs in the country in 2016
- Validating its kindergarten students are on average four months ahead of their peers, according to a 2016 study by KinderCare and Terra Nova
- Increasing employee engagement — a staggering 121 percent over the last five years
Under Chong's leadership Gallup recognized the company's successful evolution earlier this year with the 2017 Gallup Great Workplace Award, which honors organizations for their extraordinary ability to create engaged workplace cultures that drive business outcomes. KinderCare Education is the first in the early childhood education industry to be recognized by Gallup for this award, and one of only 37 companies in the world to receive the distinction.
"As the head of our HR organization, Wei-Li played a pivotal role in the cultural transformation at KinderCare over the past few years," said Wyatt. "Creating a people-first culture enabled us to provide the best possible experience for our children and families."
"We recognize that a strong company culture and engaged employees not only drive revenue growth, but results in a real, measurable advantage to our young children, which is our number one priority," said Chong. "Together, we've made vital improvements to our organization that I believe will set us up for ongoing success and stability, enabling us to better serve our teachers, families and young children."
In his new role, Chong will lead KinderCare Learning Centers and take on additional responsibility for corporate development and the growing suite of offerings for employers that are part of KinderCare Education at Work – onsite and near-site early learning centers, Care Select, and Back Up Care.
About KinderCare Education®
KinderCare Education is an experience-based provider of child care and early learning with more than 30,000 teachers and staff serving 170,000 families every day, where they need us:
- In neighborhoods with our KinderCare® Learning Centers that offer early childhood education and child care for children six weeks to 12 years old,
- At work through KinderCare Education at Work™, family-focused benefits for employers including on-site and near-site early learning centers and back-up care for last-minute child care
- In local schools with our Champions® before and after-school programs.
KinderCare Education operates 1,400 early learning centers, more than 470 Champions sites, and is supported by a corporate team of nearly 500 headquarters employees based in Portland, Oregon. In 2017, KinderCare Education received a Gallup Great Workplace Award – one of only 37 companies worldwide to do so. To learn more, visit www.kc-education.com.
About Wei-Li Chong
Before KinderCare, Chong served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at ANN Inc. in New York, where he was responsible for corporate human resources and the talent investment strategies for more than 18,000 associates representing the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. Through his focus on changing corporate culture and the measurable results he achieved, Wei-Li is considered a subject matter expert in the areas of talent management, change management, and the link between employee engagement and business performance analytics.
Prior to ANN Inc., Wei-Li served in several leadership roles for HSN in St. Petersburg, Florida, and at Macy's in Cincinnati, Ohio.
SOURCE KinderCare Education
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