Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Robert P. France was appointed senior vice president, Human Resources, in June 2019. Prior to this, he was vice president, Human Resources. He is responsible for leading the global Human Resources function to deliver on business requirements.
From 2016 to 2018, France was Human Resources Senior Vice President for Corning Optical Communications. He was responsible for leading all aspects of the Human Resources function across Optical Connectivity Solutions, Optical Commercial Organization, and Optical Fiber and Cable. In addition, he had HR Generalist responsibility for the Corning China organization.
France was Human Resources director for Corning Glass Technologies (CGT) and Asia from 2004 to 2016. He was responsible for leading all aspects of the Human Resources function across CGT, Corning Display Technologies, Corning Specialty Materials, Corning Precision Materials, and Advanced Glass Innovations. He also led the Asia HR Centers of Excellence and HR Generalist groups for all of Asia including China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. During his tenure, the Asia region grew from 3,000 to more than 13,000 employees.
France joined Corning in 2000 as a commercial Human Resources manager for Optical Fiber. He moved to Display Technologies in 2004, where he was the division Human Resources manager.
Prior to joining Corning, France held Human Resources leadership positions with Appleton Papers, Harley-Davidson, Pepsi-Cola, and Smithfield Foods.
France earned a bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College and a master’s degree in industrial and labor relations from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Corning Foundation Board of Trustees.
