Honeywell Corporate Audit VP Amanda supports upcoming talent

Meet Amanda Sabates, Honeywell's Vice President, Corporate Audit.

Amanda explains to Where Women Work the different programs within Honeywell, its support networks, the Corporate Audit Leadership Program (CALP), and the impact the company has in the community.

Enjoying meaningful work, driving an important leadership program

When asked about her role, Amanda explains that she manages the Corporate Audit function globally across IT and Cyber, Integrated Supply Chain, Finance, Fraud and Forensics, Project Business Practice and Compliance Data Analytics. Through her work, Amanda delivers independent and objective audit services assessing the company’s governance, risk management and controls environment with the support of an incredibly talented and diverse team.

"Our Audit team leads engagements of tremendous breadth across the company, and as such we have a development program of distinction, Corporate Audit Leadership Program (CALP). It is such a thrill to lead such an important and foundational leadership program for the company. Cultivating a program that offers top talent the opportunity to develop across multiple domains in Honeywell and helping to solve some of the company’s biggest challenges has been one of my biggest honors," explains Amanda.

Innovating audit practices

When asked about key trends and changes occurring within her industry, Amanda highlights that innovating how audit practices operate is a key trend underway.

"Industry is adopting more sophisticated toolsets relying on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), for example, and moving away from traditional qualitative approaches. I think the talent profile is fundamentally changing as well. Data science and analytics coupled with specialists with Operational Technology and Cyber Security profiles are playing a big role in governance and risk management," comments Amanda.

Attracting, developing, retaining and promoting diversity

One of Amanda's greatest career highlights while working at Honeywell was the opportunity to play a leadership role in the Honeywell Corporate Hispanic Employee Network (HHEN) - one of the company's Inclusion & Diversity Councils. "It has been an incredible honor to build out a program and drive various activities and events throughout the last year, and now planning for this year," says Amanda.

"We have a wonderful team of volunteers whom help curate a pragmatic program for our Honeywell team that focuses on attracting, developing, retaining and promoting diversity. My favorite moment from last year’s program was spending time with pending University of North Carolina (UNC) Hispanic graduates learning about what new career candidates look for when selecting a company to start their career journey!"

Working cross-functionally to solve challenges

When asked about Honeywell's work culture and overall support for women leaders, Amanda suggests that employees can learn something new each and every day. "The breadth of the company and the environment encourages each of us to be business leaders agnostic to discipline and/or function," she explains.

"I lead a team of incredibly diverse and talented leaders that cover the spectrum from IT and Cyber, to Integrated Supply Chain to Finance, to Fraud and Forensics Compliance and also Data Science. While we each have a respective expertise in the function we perform we also work cross-functionally to solve challenges. Everyday, we are able to tackle something new and different and our diversity of experience enables comprehensive problem-solving while also supporting an incredible proving ground for development and breadth of experience," she says.

"Diversity of experience is part of the DNA in Honeywell at its core and I truly believe Honeywell’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion has played and continues to play a big part in the innovative technology Honeywell deploys. I would have never dreamed of working across such a portfolio of game-changing products, nor having the opportunity to problem solve across such a variety of challenges to solve for."

Enjoying the great outdoors

Amanda is an outdoors person through and through. She loves spending time with her family; skiing/snowboarding, trail running, swimming, wake surfing and a long canoe on the lake in the summer.

"Most important is time with my impressionable four-year-old son, Sebastian. We have a ‘Canadian’ cabin on a lake secluded on an island about two hours north of Toronto in a place called “Muskoka” which is an Aboriginal word that translates to ‘not easily turned back in the day of battle’," says Amanda.

"Spending time there with my son and seeing him appreciate the great outdoors naturally is beyond everything for me. Working at Honeywell affords us these incredible personal moments and for that I am grateful. It is incredible to be part of the innovation that Honeywell tirelessly and continually is developing in the name of sustainability so we can continue to enjoy the outdoors in the same way for generations to come," she continues.

Fulfilling further leadership positions

On December 18th, 2021 Amanda joined the Harbison Walker International (HWI) team as an Independent Board Member of the Board of Directors, as well as a member of the HWI Audit Committee.

"HWI is a long-standing industrial company that delivers world class refractory solutions. It is a company led by an incredibly talented woman, Carol Jackson," explains Amanda. "When I started my career, in automotive on the shop floor in a manufacturing site I was unique as a young female in what was at the time a male dominated industry. Carol worked for PPG at the time and likewise was also unique as a female in the paints, coatings, and specialty materials industry. Carol supported the Paint Shop facility in the Oshawa Truck Plant at General Motors where I was a First Line Supervisor at the time. On rotation, years back, we would cross paths as two curious and enthusiastic females in a heavy industrial space both in roles and an industry dominated by men. Ironies of life, many years and experiences later we get to work together, again in a traditional industrial space. Carol has led HWI to new heights and established HWI as a place where diversity is not so unique."

"Honeywell, likewise, has created a culture and environment where diversity in all its many faucets is not unique, but rather the norm," suggests Amanda.