The Team Gurus Podcast : Interview with Nikki Harland, President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division,

As the President of Paradies Lagardere’s Retail Division, Nikki Harland oversees approximately $800 M in sales that contribute to the organization’s continued success and standing in the Travel Retail industry.  She has leadership responsibility for Store Operations, Merchandising, Business Transformation and Human Resources.  Nikki is also a founding member of the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.

With over twenty-five years of business and specific HR experience, Harland has contributed to various change initiatives in her career that have propelled turnarounds and growth efforts within organizations. Her work experience includes responsibility in the dining, retail, entertainment, and professional sports industries. Prior to her role with Paradies Lagardère, Nikki was the Senior Director of Field Human Resources for Gap, Inc.’s Old Navy Stores. In this role, she provided people leadership for the Brand’s 1,000+ stores and 45,000 employees in North America. Additional leadership experiences also included Turner Broadcasting System, Inc and Toys “R” Us.

Nikki is a counted-on business leader that has consistently expanded her leadership scope over time.  Most recently, she successfully acted as the Executive Sponsor of Paradies Lagardere’s acquisition and integration of Hojeij Branded Foods (HBF) and Vino Volo.  The successful integration supported the organization’s material growth in the Travel Retail Dining space. 

A native of Atlanta, GA, she attended Benjamin E. Mays High School, received her BA in Psychology from Spelman College and holds an MBA in Marketing from Clark Atlanta University. Nikki is also certified as a Senior Professional in HR and is a former Senior Instructor in Human Resources with DeVry University.  She serves on the Airport Council International-North America’s (ACI-NA) HR Steering Committee and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Inc., the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC.)  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Blacks Arts Festival and is a Board Trustee for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. 

In 2017, Nikki joined other leaders in Atlanta and was recognized as one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Women of Influence. 

Nikki and her husband, Joseph, reside in Atlanta, Georgia with their 15-year-old son.