Jacqueline Perez Relentlessly Pursues Excellence

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The job Jacqueline “Jackie” Perez took on two years ago doesn’t look anything like it does today. Perez, a veteran, expert, and change maker in retail HR, came to home builder Lennar in 2023 as vice president of human resources. The Miami native was drawn to the role because Lennar’s name carries a lot of weight in the communities she grew up in and because of the encouragement of chief human resources officer, Drew Holler.

“Drew promised me that I would have the opportunity to come in and create change,” Perez remembers. “That was two years ago, and what we have accomplished in that time is nothing short of phenomenal.”

When Perez joined, Lennar had a completely decentralized HR function, with five independent teams operating their own processes. Titles, structures, and recruiting functions varied greatly.

“When you consider growing an organization, you need to have core functions that are scalable,” Perez explains. “We embarked on a journey to build a new model of what we wanted to look like, how we wanted to operate, and how we would roll that out across the organization.”

Perez spent her first eight months building out sustainable and scalable practices from the corporate team to the rest of its functions. Initially hired to oversee the corporate HR function, Perez now oversees all HR functions at Lennar, including HR business partners out in the field. Perez is also responsible for talent management for Lennar, including life cycle programs, high-touch development initiatives, and enterprise-wide organizational design. She has built out job architecture as well.

At the same time, Perez has taken over Lennar’s HR operations team. She automated backend HR processes and integrated payroll into the team.

One major accomplishment was building an associate relations function from scratch. “Think of all the high-touch investigations that can happen for an organization our size,” Perez explains. “We now have a team of certified investigators that have a prescribed matrix of how we handle cases so there is fairness and consistency across the whole organization for those claims.”

“When you consider growing an organization, you need to have core functions that are scalable. We embarked on a journey to build a new model of what we wanted to look like, how we wanted to operate, and how we would roll that out across the organization.”

Jacqueline “Jackie” Perez

Since Perez joined Lennar, the hiring and talent teams have experienced significant evolution, with new AI capabilities aiding interview scheduling. Perez says AI also will be a big part of a new associate-facing app, which will include a massive repository of institutional knowledge available for associates across the organization.

Perez was able to balance her role while earning a CHRO certification through the Wharton School of Business. She says the last couple years have convinced her that it’s time for her to move her own personal goalposts of success.

“Five years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined being ready for a CHRO role,” Perez says. “But the moral of my story is that if you maintain a relentless pursuit of excellence and passion, those posts have to move at some point.”

That pursuit started early. When she was in kindergarten, she remembers the first time she didn’t get a perfect mark—a mere “satisfactory”—for her coloring efforts. She was inconsolable, and the school guidance counselor had to come collect her.

“I just laugh now, because I’ve always been this way,” Perez says. “It’s just been a relentless pursuit to be the best version of myself that I can be. My parents worked so hard for my sister and me.”

Perez’s parents, both Cuban immigrants who fled their home country during the country’s revolution, demonstrated incredible work ethic. Perez’s father learned how to be an electrician and supported his family through the trade. Perez’s mother, a woman the VP says could have been just about anything she wanted to be, gave her life to her daughters, instilling in them the passion and curiosity to be their very best selves.

“My mom wanted my sister and me to have every single opportunity that she didn’t have,” Perez says. “She sacrificed herself for us. It made me push myself for them. And I hope I’ve done them proud.”

Perez has driven HR results for Target, Walmart, Saks Fifth Avenue, and is currently making an impact at Lennar. Perez notes that her passion for people is evident, along with her relentless pursuit of shaping and driving impactful HR strategies. She hopes to find more ways to pass on the incredible knowledge she has already accumulated in her career.

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