Tomya Watt, MBA, is the interim Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). She assumed her role as interim CHRO in February 2023 and became MSK’s first CDO in November 2019.

As interim CHRO and CDO at MSK, Watt oversees the Human Resources division and the organization’s people growth across New York City, Westchester County, New Jersey, and Long Island. She spearheads MSK’s talent organization, developing and driving talent acquisition, internal mobility, and retention strategies.

Since joining MSK in 2009, Watt has served various roles within HR, mostly recently as Vice President of Talent Acquisition, responsible for the strategic approach to attracting and retaining talent in a competitive market.

In 2020, Watt, alongside other members of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Governance Group and Council, set the institution’s inaugural ED&I goals. These goals showcase MSK’s commitment to accelerating change and becoming a more inclusive and diverse institution. Under Watt’s leadership, a mandatory ED&I learning program and the first phase of a skills-first-talent approach were implemented. As CDO, Watt also oversees the Office of Inclusion & Belonging, committed to building a diverse workforce and cultivating an inclusive environment for current and prospective employees, patients, and visitors.

Through key partnerships, including with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and diverse workforce development partners, such as OneTen, the New York CEO Job’s Council, and CareerWise New York, Watt has made it her priority to support, educate, and elevate the underrepresented talent community in Greater New York.

Watt was named a Notable Black Leader by Crain’s New York in 2021 and received the 2022 Moves Mentor Award from Moves magazine.

In her twenty-plus years of experience, Watt has held senior positions in commercial lending, sales, and talent acquisition. At Kelly Services, where she held three senior roles through career progression, she managed global relationships with Fortune 100 clients with portfolios of over $40M in revenue across varying industries. She implemented a value-added strategy that realigned Kelly Services’ nascent supplier diversity program, resulting in the company winning the client’s coveted Supplier Diversity Award. In her previous positions, Watt has been a trusted advisor and valued colleague at JPMorgan Chase and Comerica Bank.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Spelman College and a Master of Business Administration from Howard University.