Shannon Thomas is Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer for CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy.
Thomas is responsible for the company’s people and culture strategy and activities, including employee benefits, compensation, organization and workforce development, diversity, equal employment opportunity, workforce relations, labor relations and all people and culture services for more than 8,000 CMS Energy and Consumers Energy employees.
Thomas grew up in a small town in a blue-collar family where humility, hard work and community were everyday values. The first in her family to graduate from college, she carries those lessons into her leadership today: showing up with authenticity, pulling her weight and treating people with respect.
With more than 25 years of global human resources experience across industrial, manufacturing and energy companies, Thomas has consistently aligned people strategy to business transformation. She has led initiatives that strengthened culture and engagement, built global succession and leadership programs, advanced DEIB and internalized recruiting operations that saved millions while improving outcomes.
Before joining CMS Energy, Thomas served as Chief Human Resources Officer at EnerSys, a global leader in energy storage, where she executed a data-driven, inclusive people strategy that enabled a CEO transition, accelerated leadership onboarding, and delivered operational efficiencies. Earlier in her career, she held HR leadership roles at The Chemours Company, Owens Corning, Hexion and Danaher.
Thomas describes her leadership philosophy as creating clarity, building trust, and enabling possibility. She brings a balance of being data-driven and tech-enabled with what she calls “moxie with empathy”— combining bold moves with listening and care. She anchors her leadership in purpose, passion, and presence.
She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in human resources from the University of Houston–Clear Lake and a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Marietta College.