Elissa Mahendra

Elissa Mahendra is chief talent and inclusion officer for Cetera Financial Group. She serves as a trusted partner to design Cetera’s strategy, purpose-driven plan, and aspirations in the multiple facets of talent management and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

She and her team work closely with a network of stakeholders to execute an integrated and sustainable plan to elevate Cetera’s impact and drive results focused on creating talent pathways, access to financial education, and economic empowerment.

Prior to her current role, Elissa served as head of learning, talent and culture, senior HR business partner, and director of learning and development at Cetera. Before joining Cetera, Elissa was with Northern Trust for 10 years as a vice president of human resources and held roles across recruiting, compensation, diversity and inclusion, learning, change management and organizational development.