Functional Acceleration is for the HR team drowning in work that can be automated.
It's about putting AI and technology to work on the tasks that eat your days — the chasing, the re-keying, the manual reporting — so your people stop managing process and start doing the work only they can do.
Every HR team is being asked to do more without more headcount, and most are absorbing it by working longer, not smarter. The functions pulling ahead have stopped treating that as inevitable — they've automated the drag and redirected the hours toward work that actually moves the business. SHRM's research shows this is exactly where most functions stall: technology bolted on, never aligned to the goal. Close that gap and you don't just move faster — you free your team to matter more.
Paula Hubbard serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at McLane Company, Inc., one of the largest distributors in America, serving convenience stores, mass merchants, and chain restaurants. As CHRO, she serves as a strategic business partner, aligning people, culture, leadership, and organizational capability with the company's long-term business objectives. During her decade of leadership at McLane, Paula successfully guided the company and its teammates through unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, helped lead a successful business transformation, and championed meaningful enhancements to teammate benefits, including expanded parental leave and a more flexible paid time off program. As a member of the executive leadership team, she leads all aspects of human resources for McLane and its 23,000 teammates.
Prior to her current role, Paula was Vice President of Human Resources, Western Hemisphere Regions, for British Petroleum (BP). One of her most challenging roles included leading human resources for the Gulf of Mexico Region following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. She also served as Human Resources Director reporting to the Chairman and President of BP America.
Before joining BP, Paula held human resources leadership roles with Motorola and Anheuser Busch Companies.
She helped establish Motorola's newly formed Internet, Software and Content Group and led the launch of Anheuser-Busch's Diversity & Inclusion and Work/Life Balance organizations. She began her corporate career with Anheuser-Busch's Employee Assistance Program, where she served as Director of Clinical Operations.
Paula earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of the Rockies. She is also a past board member of North Carolina Central University's Foundation and volunteers with organizations that support victims of domestic violence.
Paula's leadership has been recognized nationally and statewide, including her recognition as a Most Powerful and Influential Woman at the 20th Annual National Diversity and Leadership Conference and her selection by the National Diversity Council as a 2020 Power 50 Award recipient. In addition, McLane has been recognized by the Texas Workforce Commission's We Hire Ability program for its commitment to inclusive hiring, a distinction Paula has publicly connected to the company's commitment to workforce inclusivity.
Paula has two sons, Roland and David, who live in California and Arizona, respectively, and of whom she is very proud.
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