On November 11th, countries around the world celebrate those who risk their lives in patriotic pursuits. In the United States, we call this day Veterans Day. In Canada, Australia, South Africa and many European countries, they celebrate Armistice or Remembrance Day.
For Veterans Day, ZS not only honors those who have served in our armed forces but continues to foster a welcoming environment where veterans can thrive. Veterans@ZS is an diversity, equity and inclusion group that helps ZS recruit, retain, unite and develop talented people with military experience around the world. The group takes pride in empowering its members to translate their military experience into success at ZS.
“Being a member of Veterans@ZS means that I always have someone to go to when things get rough.”
Meet two of our newest members of Veterans@ZS and learn how they’ve found a community at ZS.
Dan Giampietro is a business operations associate based in Princeton. He joins ZS after serving in the United States Air Force for three years.
Giampietro says, “Being a veteran means that I am part of something bigger than myself. I am part of a group of people that are willing to give everything they have in order to protect their country and the people that live in it. I have personally seen the sacrifice that some of our service members make on a daily basis and I could not be prouder to be part of this team.”
As a proud veteran, Giampietro is always looking for way to connect with other vets in and out of work. “I joined Veterans@ZS because it gave me a group of people that I know had been through something similar to me, and that is extremely important when making the transition from the military to civilian work force,” he says. “The military has a different culture, one that you have to experience to truly understand.”
When asked what other value he finds in Veterans@ZS, Giampietro pointed to the people: “Being a member of Veterans@ZS means that I always have someone to go to when things get rough. It doesn’t matter if it is ZS related or not; it doesn’t really even matter if I know them all that well—I can rest assured that this support system will be there for me when the going gets tough, in the very same way that I would be there for them.”
Conner Kelly joins ZS after six years as a Green Beret in 5th Special Forces Group. Now, he works as a strategy insight and planning associate consultant based in San Diego.
Kelly is proud to talk about his experience in the military and enjoys supporting other veterans. “I have participated in all of the Veterans@ZS events that have occurred since I joined the company last April,” he says. “Being an active member of this group gives me a space where I can learn how other veterans have successfully used their experiences and skill sets to add value at ZS. It also gives me a place where I can talk about the veteran experience, which is always comforting.”
Of the veteran experience, Kelly says, “Being a veteran, first and foremost, means that you volunteered to join a mission that is bigger than yourself. You took a huge risk in joining the military, as you didn’t know what to expect and likely sacrificed a lot during your time serving. Being a veteran gives you a unique perspective; you’ve likely traveled to places that most of the world never sees and experienced cultures that are so foreign to us here at home. Lastly, being a veteran means you will forever belong to a tight-knit community that does whatever they can to help each other out—even if we are extra hard on each other too.”
Thank you to Conner, Dan and all who have bravely served our country. Learn more about our Veterans@ZS group.
Life at ZS
Add insights to your inbox
We’ll send you content you’ll want to read – and put to use.
