NEWS

Louisiana Tech University College of Business alum Karen D. Taylor, the senior vice president, human resources and chief diversity officer for RRI Energy, Inc. (RRI), will hold a lecture Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in the CenturyTel Auditorium in the College of Business building.

The lecture, open to all Louisiana Tech students and the public, is part of the annual William Ardis Marbury, Jr. & Virginia Lomax Marbury Lecture Series hosted by the College of Business and Cedar Creek School.

“As a native of Ruston and a graduate of Louisiana Tech, I am honored to speak at the Marbury Lecture Series,” Taylor said. “I owe much of my success to the strong academic foundation and guidance I received at Louisiana Tech and am looking forward to sharing my experiences with today’s generation of students.”

Taylor will speak to the students and guests at the lecture on the topic of “Branding yourself – building a reputation based on integrity and ethics.” In a world with many spectacular and public business failures, one factor within an individual’s control is what they stand for and how they conduct themselves personally and professionally. She will share experiences in creating a personal brand and how to take control of your future in today’s business environment.

Taylor, who is also responsible for all human resource and administrative functions company-wide, has served RRI or its predecessor companies since 1985, having joined the company with the acquisition of NorAm Energy Corp. in 1997. She has held a variety of senior management positions in planning, finance and human resources.

Before being named senior vice president in late 2003, Taylor was vice president of human resources with responsibility for RRI’s wholesale operations and corporate services.

Previously, Taylor served as vice president of administration for the RRI wholesale group; vice president of planning and procurement for the former RRI trading and transportation group; and vice president of finance for the former Arkla pipeline group, whose operations are now part of CenterPoint Energy.

Taylor holds a master’s degree in professional accountancy from Tech and is a certified public accountant. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Written by Brian Miller