WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner Named as 2019 Great Place to Work For All Leadership Award Honoree

At a gala dinner in San Francisco last night, WP Engine CEO Heather Brunner was named as one of the 2019 Great Place to Work For All Leadership Award honorees. The award celebrates top innovators from companies on Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, 100 Best Workplaces for Women, 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity, and 150 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work For.

In addition to placing on one of the distinguished lists above, the leaders must be nominated by their companies for their work in creating a new program or product developed with widespread participation across the organization that delivered a significant business benefit.

Heather was joined by nearly 40 additional honorees for the award, made up of top executives and business leaders from around the country.

The award itself was inspired by recent research conducted by Great Place to Work, which surveyed about 500,000 U.S. employees at nearly 800 public and privately-owned companies—mostly based in the U.S. Employees were asked how often they were included in larger, strategic decisions, whether they felt management was interested in their ideas, and if they were encouraged to try new approaches to their work.

The results clearly showed companies that welcome ideas from all employees have better growth prospects than those with a less-inclusive approach to innovation. In fact, businesses that successfully create an “Innovation By All” culture see revenue growth that is 5.5x greater than others, as they’re able to tap into the innovation potential of all their employees.

Great Place to Work CEO Michael C. Bush gave a nod to that innovation potential at last night’s gala, expressing how innovation by all can positively affect an organization.

“We are honored to celebrate your shining examples of innovation by all,” Bush told the honorees and attendees. ”The individuals and teams who have successfully created new products or built more inclusive cultures, and those who have led their organizations to more fully maximize the human potential within their workforce.”.

At WP Engine, Heather’s leadership after a key investment from Silver Lake last January has been instrumental in helping the company build an enduring, predictable business. She heads a diverse leadership team and has overseen WP Engine’s growth as the company surpassed $132 million in revenue and 90,000 customers at the beginning of 2019.

“Heather’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is a key driver of innovation at WP Engine,” said Annette Alexander, WP Engine’s Chief People Officer.

“She believes that creating a workplace in which people can authentically be themselves is intrinsically tied to progress and performance. Her unwavering dedication to our core values and contagious positivity inspires employees to bring their A game every day. There’s no question that she has provided fuel for our continued innovation and success.”