"Never Stop Improving, Always Give Back"

As Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Services at NextEra Energy, Deb Caplan is responsible for Human Resources, Corporate Real Estate, Security, and Aviation. She cultivates a fun, “people-first” culture that embraces diversity and inclusion, technology and thinking outside the box.

“At NextEra Energy, we take pride in our innovative approach to technology, quality, safety and customer impact,” says Deb. “People want to make a difference, which is why we’re always looking to empower our colleagues to think in future tense.”

As a result, Deb is always challenging the team to benchmark – ensuring the whole company is improving, leading and learning from other companies. Her focus on continuous improvement allows new ideas to flow from every business area regardless of rank – creating countless opportunities for employees to lead projects and initiatives and make a difference.

“At NextEra Energy, we never stop improving,” says Deb. “We are always looking for better ways to develop the skills and careers of our colleagues, and to better leverage data to streamline our processes, add revenue and drive cost out of the business.”

In addition, Deb’s team is instrumental in ensuring NextEra Energy sustains its culture of innovation and that employees never let their next “big idea” slip by. Every year, Deb sponsors internal events like the Innovation Summit with educators from Singularity University, as well as the company’s annual Shark Tank event, which gives employees a chance to pitch their big ideas to a group of executive “sharks” for project funding.

“These events are always a blast and always make our company better,” Deb says.

Deb also sponsors NextEra Energy’s Intellectual Property Program (IPP), which helps employees turn their ideas into patented innovations.

For another example of innovation, Deb points to a recent project where one of her teams reimagined a company workspace.

“We noticed the way we prize innovation was reflected in every area of our organization except our workspace,” Deb says. “We are always reimagining how we work and discovered it was time to also reimagine where we work.”

Under Deb’s leadership, the Corporate Real Estate team completely transformed one of their workspaces, which is now modern, packed with technology, filled with natural light and flexible enough to accommodate the way the teams work today and how they might work in the future.

Deb also co-sponsored the creation of 35 Mules™ – the company’s in-house innovation hub that provides early-stage startups with mentors, business services, and world-class facilities. When the second cohort graduates next year, 25% of the program’s graduates will have been female entrepreneurs.

According to Deb though, NextEra Energy’s most important value is safety. The corporate safety group works with safety reps and leaders across the business to keep the company’s “zero-incident” culture in effect every day. “We believe all injuries are preventable,” says Deb.

Deb is also quick to point out diversity remains at the heart of NextEra Energy’s collaborative and inclusive spirit. The engagement, diversity and inclusion team hosts several types of training sessions, so every team leads with an inclusive mindset. In addition, the company’s twelve Employee Resource Groups, including Women in Energy, help advance members’ careers by providing industry education and professional networking.

Beyond what Deb and her team do daily to advance diversity and inclusion, Deb is also a valued mentor for women and minorities through formal mentor partnerships, such as her work with Urban League-Palm Beach County. She also actively engages with female and minority talent through special mentoring programs – ensuring NextEra Energy benefits from a diverse and inclusive culture.

“One of the biggest breakthroughs in my career was when I realized success isn’t a destination,” Deb explains. “No matter the stage of your career, you are always learning and always growing. Even when you’re fortunate enough to be someone’s mentor, you discover the people you mentor have something to teach you too.”

However, if you had to take away just one lesson from Deb’s career, she hopes you’d take away this one: “Volunteerism and giving back play a major role in ensuring a long and fulfilling career and are a big part of my family legacy and one that I’m passing down too,” she said. “When I joined NextEra Energy, I was delighted my company shared my deep commitment to giving back.”