Much of Mel’s skill and capability was honed as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, in various energy and healthcare related industries, including Exxon Mobil and Glaxo SmithKline. His work experience and major accomplishments include involvement in acquisitions and mergers of organizations. He has also led initiatives to change the culture of organizations, improve the leadership skills of management, coordinate organizational redesign projects, and implement other innovative HR programs that impact human productivity. He has done team building to improve cross functional team collaboration, cross cultural diversity training and implemented total quality/six sigma management initiatives. Mel has a particular interest and experience leading equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programs. He received specialized training in six sigma and EDI under W.E. Deming, the Juran Institute, Pope & Associates and The American Institute for Managing Diversity.  He has done research in race relations and its impact on unionization attempts, and also the impact of diversity on business coaching. Many of the companies for whom he worked achieved “Best Employer” status on a national level as a result of his HR leadership. In addition, he has taught at Purdue University and Southern University as an adjunct instructor, and also coached executives in a wide array of engineering and scientific companies. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and helped implement its first diversity initiative to assist members. He is also a past member of the World at Work Compensation Association. He has served on the board of United Way, Goodwill Industries, American Heart Association, Communities in Schools, and the NC State Human Resources Commission. Asbury was also named “Human Resources Professional of the Year” in North Carolina by SHRM and was inducted into the NC Human Resources “Hall of Fame”.  

Mel has extensive experience in the energy and research sectors having worked at the corporate, division, and manufacturing/frontline service level of such organizations. He has also served as an associate consultant and coach with Duke University, Korn/Ferry International, Learning Technologies, and the Center for Creative Leadership. Mel has also designed and delivered executive education programs in the US and internationally.