Corporate Community at HGST

Jason Khalipa, seven-time CrossFit Games competitor and owner of NorCal CrossFit, recently teamed up with HGST Solutions to create CrossFit HGST. The tech company has incorporated CrossFit into its corporate-wellness program, and Mike Cordano, president of HGST, says it helps with employee health and community at the company.

“We’re in the midst of a big, strategic transformation as a company. CrossFit’s one of the things we’re using to enable transformation, and, as you see from the turnout here today, we have over 10 percent of our people participating …. and that’s having a real impact on our culture,” Cordano says at the HGST BroDown, an event held for multiple branches of the worldwide company.

Around the globe, about 1,000 HGST employees are doing CrossFit, according to Cordano.

“That’s an amazing achievement,” he says. “Couldn’t be happier.”

Khalipa adds: “Ultimately, CrossFit is being used as a catalyst to just develop community, and this is what it’s all about.”

Cordano says having events like the BroDown has helped the culture at HGST and created camaraderie among its members.

“When I look around and see everybody totally engaged, totally committed, cheering each other on, (you) couldn’t make me more proud of what we’re doing here,” he says.

Video by Eric Maciel

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Additional reading: “The Hospital Affiliate” by Andréa Maria Cecil, published April 21, 2014.