Meet our Board: Laura Garrett

By Taylor Dunne,

In recognition of Women’s History Month, we are publishing a series of blogs about the women behind EDC—our fearless leaders, our board members, our executive committee, our guiding lights. Today, we introduce Senior Vice President (SVP) of Human Resources at TaylorMade Golf, Laura Garrett—a Midwesterner turned San Diegan who reminds us to never stop dreaming of what we might be when we grow up.

Tell us who you are and what you do. Why did you choose your career?

I grew up in Ohio and still consider myself a Midwesterner at heart. Having said that, I’ve grown so attached to San Diego—its an awfully special place for far more reasons than the weather. The only thing I still can’t wrap my head around is that my kids won’t ever experience the joy of a snow day.

I currently head up the People and Culture function as SVP of Human Resources at TaylorMade Golf, which has its global headquarters in Carlsbad. As a market leader in the golf equipment and golf ball industry, we have roughly 1,300 employees worldwide.

I can’t really say that I chose my career, but rather that I chose to follow new opportunities as they came along. Despite having been on the planet for more than a half century, I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Every now and then, I have a moment where I wonder things like, “Is it too late to go to veterinary school?” or “How can I keep my current job but be an urban planner at the same time?”

It used to bother me that my career path wasn’t linear, but now I’ve come to accept and even embrace it. I’ve been lucky to get to work in so many different capacities, particularly at TaylorMade where I’ve led supply chain, sales and service, manufacturing, and obviously now HR. Through that, I’ve come to the realization that I care more about who I get to work with than what I’m actually doing. Fortunately, I’m crazy about my TaylorMade team and have opportunities to laugh with them often, while also doing really meaningful work together. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now—I just need a parallel life so I can find time to be a vet too. (I’ve been making a case that we need to have a petting zoo in some excess space we have in our TaylorMade warehouse, but sadly my proposal isn’t gaining traction.)

What does your involvement in EDC mean to you?

I’m happiest when I have ways to integrate community involvement into my life—it creates such needed perspective. Being involved in EDC, especially in the inclusive growth work, ensures that I don’t lose sight of the world outside my bubble. And back to my comment about the ‘who’ being as rewarding as the ‘what’? While the work that’s being done at the EDC is certainly consequential to our region, I have to say that the caliber of the team is just first-rate; such high-quality, wonderful humans that I’m lucky to know.

What role do you see women playing across the San Diego region in the next five years?

Anything. Everything. What I can say with confidence is that we’re all better off if women are meaningfully represented in all aspects of our community. 

Share with us your favorite quote.

I realize this is where I should drop some serious wisdom, but I’m not great at serious things. Instead, I’ll lean on a quote I used in my yearbook eons ago since its one that speaks to my career evolution (not to mention my age—apologies in advance to the Gen Y and Z’ers).

“When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange who you are into what you’re gonna be. Sha na na na na na na na na. Sha na na na na.”  —The Brady Six

Follow along with TaylorMade on Twitter: @TaylorMadeGolf