Tina James

About Me

Tina James was the Chief People Officer of H-E-B, a $50B+ company widely recognized for having one of the most admired cultures in business today. Over her 30-year career, she rose from a management training program to become the company’s first-ever Chief People Officer — helping shape the culture behind more than 180,000 employees across 340+ stores.

After earning her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Tina joined H-E-B with an interest in leadership—but it was her passion for people that defined her career. Without any formal HR training, she built and led a world-class Human Resources department, ultimately becoming the Senior Vice President in 2005 before being named Chief People Officer in 2017.

Throughout her career, Tina’s work centered on one thing: people. She is especially proud to have helped lead H-E-B’s essential workforce through the challenges of a global pandemic—preserving employee engagement, morale, and the “people first” culture that defined the company. Upon her retirement in 2023, CEO Howard E. Butt III remarked that “besides Charles himself, no one has had a bigger impact on the H-E-B culture over the last 20 years than Tina James.”

During her time at H-E-B, Tina worked closely with Dr. Brené Brown to bring the principles of her New York Times bestseller Dare to Lead to life inside the company. Shortly after retiring from H-E-B, Tina began working directly with and for Brené to continue this work as she personally experienced the impact it can have on individuals, teams and company cultures. To this day, she continues to facilitate Dare to Lead in addition to running her own leadership consulting and coaching practice. Known for her engaging, candid, often humorous style, Tina is a popular speaker and coach who believes the most meaningful success comes from investing in others and helping them reach their fullest potential.

Tina has been married to her husband, Dominic Grazioli—a former U.S. Olympian and retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel—for 33 years. Together, they have 2 children and are now “Nana and PopPop” to their loud, large and loving extended family.