Michelle Desaulniers appointed as new vice president of people & culture at ISACA
In March 2025, Michelle Desaulniers has been named as the new Vice President of People & Culture at Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), a leading global professional association based in Half Moon Bay, California. This appointment will see Desaulniers leading ISACA’s global human resources strategy, which aims to bolster organisational development, talent management, and employee engagement in direct alignment with the association's mission to enhance trust in technology.
Desaulniers joined ISACA nearly three years ago, where she previously held the title of Senior Director of Organizational Development and Engagement. In this capacity, she was instrumental in fostering culture change, elevating employee engagement levels, and sculpting leadership development initiatives. Her earlier position as Director of Organizational Development and Engagement further solidified her expertise, as she spearheaded programmes geared towards advancing workplace effectiveness and enriching employee experience.
Her extensive background prior to ISACA includes a significant tenure as Vice President of People Operations at Databook, a software-as-a-service startup, where she was pivotal in establishing the company's HR infrastructure. During her six-month tenure, she successfully scaled the workforce from a mere 20 to 90 employees, implementing internal recruiting functions, performance management systems, and necessary HR policies to facilitate this rapid growth.
Additionally, Desaulniers’ experience spans a nearly four-year period at the World Economic Forum USA. There, she managed talent acquisition and strategic HR partnerships and played a substantial role in recruiting for the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with a focus on developing HR strategies that complement policy initiatives in Artificial Intelligence, blockchain technology, and digital trade.
Her earlier career also includes the position of Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition at IHS Markit, where she was responsible for overseeing recruitment operations across six global business units and managing teams in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Through her leadership, she directed large-scale hiring programmes that contributed to the company’s strategic goals.
ISACA is committed to advancing trust in technology and boasts a global footprint with a presence in 195 countries and nearly 230 chapters. Serving over 185,000 members, ISACA provides expertise in crucial areas such as information security, governance, risk management, data privacy, and emerging technologies. To enhance its impact, the association offers robust certification programmes, training, and career resources designed to empower professionals in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Moreover, through the ISACA Foundation, the organisation promotes diversity and inclusion by supporting IT education initiatives aimed at underrepresented communities.