Office Hours with Karyn Twaronite

Karyn Twaronite is a partner of Ernst & Young LLP and is the EY Americas Inclusiveness Officer (AIO). As an EY Americas Operations Sub-Committee member, she works closely with the Americas Executive, her fellow EY member firm partners and their employees in the Americas to maximize the diversity that each of our people brings to the table — e.g., generations, cultural background, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, experiences, and education — so that our EY people feel most included and valued. Karyn also consults with many EY clients on talent management, diversity and flexibility matters. In addition to her AIO responsibilities, Karyn serves on the EY Americas Talent Executive Council. She frequently serves as an EY spokesperson on diversity and inclusiveness matters and has been featured in Accounting Today, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC.com, DiversityInc, Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, FORTUNE/CNNMoney, Fox Business, Huffington Post, Reuters, The New York Times, and USA Today, among other media.

Karyn began her career with EY over 20 years ago as a tax professional. She spent half of her career serving clients full-time before moving into Ernst & Young LLP’s Talent team. Prior to her current role, Karyn led Human Resources for the Northeast region of the firm, and later for the Canadian member firm as well, overseeing talent management for staff through partners, including: recruitment, learning, diversity and inclusiveness, leadership development and advancement, performance management, compensation, community engagement, and succession planning. Karyn co-founded Ernst & Young LLP’s Northeast Professional Women’s Network in 2000 and served as its Co-Chair through 2011. She has also served on numerous firm advisory councils including: Beyond (the firm’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally network); Black Professional Network; Pan Asian Professional Network; Veterans Network; and Latino Professional Network. She currently leads the Americas Inclusiveness Advisory Council.

Outside of EY, Karyn is a Catalyst Board of Advisors member. She is an active graduate of the David Rockefeller Fellows program, sponsored by the Partnership for NYC for senior executives. She is also a proud Board of Directors member for the United Way of New York City.

Interviewed by Freyan Billimoria, Director of Strategic Partnerships