Lester Arnold, Sr.

Lester L. Arnold, Sr. is vice president for Human Resources at the RAND Corporation. He is a human resources leader with extensive experience in the private sector and academia. He brings to RAND a strong and broad experience in leadership roles and across HR functions.

He most recently was chief human resources officer and vice president for Human Resources and Payroll at George Mason University. He has overseen HR functional areas including benefits, classification and compensation, employee relations, faculty and staff engagement, organizational development, learning, payroll, and talent acquisition. Previously, he was chief human resources officer and associate vice chancellor for Human Resources at Winston-Salem State University. He also held senior HR positions at FOCUS Brands, ARAMARK Healthcare, Lowe's, and Wells Fargo.

Arnold earned an MBA with a concentration in human resources from the University of Hartford and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Norfolk State University. He holds HR management professional certifications from the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resources Management.