Donna Diederich
CHRO, LMI
This year, Donna Diederich is guiding LMI through a major CEO transition. Her team activated the company’s succession plan, transitioning Doug Wagoner to chairman of the board and preparing Josh Wilson to take over as CEO while maintaining strategic and cultural continuity.
At the same time, Diederich led the reorganization of LMI’s chief technology officer function to align with the company’s future as a technology-first federal partner. Delivering both initiatives in one year underscores how HR can drive enterprise transformation without slowing mission impact, she said.
“Change at LMI is constant – and that’s by design,” said Wilson, incoming CEO and current president of markets, growth and technology. “Donna is the one ensuring our people and organization evolve too. She makes change possible by caring deeply about how every shift impacts our teams and customers. Guiding Doug’s transition to the board while preparing the organization for new leadership is a perfect example – she is able to turn complexity into momentum, and that’s why she is indispensable to LMI’s growth and impact.”
Why Watch
This year, Diederich’s team balanced multiple priorities while advancing two key initiatives: equipping LMI’s workforce with AI and technology tools to boost efficiency, and competing for highly skilled, technical and cleared talent in some of the toughest labor markets. Both efforts focus on making LMI the best place to work, where employees feel supported, challenged and equipped to perform at the highest level, she said.
That balance of enablement and attraction is how we keep LMI ahead as a federal technology partner,” she said.
LMI has long focused on reducing fraud, waste and abuse, but what sets it apart is building solutions that tackle these challenges from the ground up, Diederich said. The company designs modular, scalable systems that address security concerns and provide clients with working prototypes, helping them avoid costly development, maximize existing investments and deploy faster. Internally, employees focus on delivering and supporting these solutions; for clients, they create the space to focus their expertise where it matters most, she said.
“Our industry has been going through a lot of changes, rapidly, and LMI has weathered that change – thrived, even,” Diederich said. “By building adaptability into our organizational strategy and ensuring the right people are in the right place across the organization, we’ve positioned ourselves to meet client needs under any circumstances.”
Fun Fact: Diederich is an endurance rider who competes on high-performance Arabian horses in races spanning 50 to 100 miles.