The Modern People Leader
The Modern People Leader
Listen to interviews with CHROs, Chief People Officers, and other work experts on how they're pioneering the way that we work. They share what's working, what's not, and how they've gotten to where they're at in their careers.
Recent Episodes
331 - Designing the org of the future: Alexis Fink (Advisor at OpenAI & Workvivo)
Sep 18, 2026Alexis Fink, an advisor at OpenAI and Workvivo, discusses how AI is transforming organizational design and the future of work. Rather than focusing on traditional org charts, she argues that companies must rethink how work gets organized, where decision rights sit, and how to balance human and machine contributions. Drawing on examples like IKEA's transformation of customer service roles into interior design positions, Fink explores how automation can create capacity for higher-value human work rather than simply eliminating jobs.
330 - A career in pivots: Dean Carter on purpose, play, and taking big swings
Sep 17, 2026Dean Carter, a bestselling author and 4x CHRO, discusses his unconventional career path shaped by major life pivots—from sales at Proctor & Gamble to HR leadership at Fossil and Patagonia, to founding Instill. He explores how trusting intuition, prioritizing relationships over titles, and embracing a playful approach to work have guided his decisions, and shares his perspective on AI as an opportunity to save jobs rather than displace them.
329 - Why Match is tripling down on Gen Z talent: D.V. Williams (Chief People Officer, Match Group)
Sep 11, 2026D.V. Williams, Chief People Officer at Match Group, discusses Match's strategic bet on Gen Z talent and how the company is modernizing its approach to work. The conversation covers why Gen Z represents both Match's fastest-growing user demographic and a critical talent pool, the flattening of organizational structures to increase employee agency, and the shift from tenure-based to skills-based career development. Williams shares how Match has rebuilt mentorship programs, launched new rotational and internship initiatives, and aligned product strategy with people strategy.
328 - Christy Lake (CAO, Twilio) on designing for a future nobody can see
Sep 8, 2026Christy Lake, Chief Administrative Officer at Twilio, discusses how AI is fundamentally transforming work in ways that differ from previous technology cycles. She explains Twilio's three-horizon framework for navigating AI uncertainty, emphasizing the importance of skills infrastructure, human judgment in task design, and the challenges of leading organizational change amid continuous disruption. The conversation covers remote-first culture as an advantage for AI readiness, AI-induced burnout, and the critical role of curiosity and adaptability in the future of work.
327 - Putting AI agents on the org chart: Becks Port (Chief People Officer, Okta)
Sep 4, 2026Becks Port, Chief People Officer at Okta, discusses how the company is treating AI agents as digital coworkers that belong on the organizational chart. She explores the implications for org design, role reconstruction, career development, and team effectiveness as humans increasingly work alongside agentic colleagues, including Okta's internal agent Dex and planned agentic coach.
326 - Never let an LLM do the math on comp. Do this instead.
Sep 2, 2026Clare Bonham (Chief Product Officer) and Sébastien Baehni (CTO) from Beqom discuss how managers can make better, fairer pay and performance decisions with AI support rather than replacement. They explore the framework managers need—including pay history, budget constraints, and performance data—to own compensation decisions authentically, and present three principles for intentional AI in compensation: explainable, collaborative, and controllable. The conversation emphasizes keeping humans in control while using AI to reduce complexity.
325 - The M&A Field Guide for CPOs: Heather Dunn (Chief People Officer, Brex)
Aug 28, 2026Heather Dunn, Chief People Officer at Brex, discusses leading the company through a transformational 2024 and the rapid acquisition by Capital One in January 2025. She covers navigating three-week diligence and announcement timelines, managing executive emotional dynamics during the deal, communicating with employees, and relaunching Brex's employer value proposition around 'Be The Founder of Your Career' post-acquisition. The conversation explores how CPOs can advocate for themselves during M&A, protect company culture during integration, and build the internal programs like 'The Foundry' that position Brex as a launchpad for future founders.
324 - The GRIT Performance Framework: Patsy Mangan (Chief People Officer, Scribd)
Aug 25, 2026Patsy Mangan, Chief People Officer at Scribd, discusses how the company built Scribd Flex—a flexible work model—and paired it with the GRIT performance framework to enable high performance without requiring in-office presence. She explains how clarity and accountability through GRIT's four dimensions (Goal-Oriented, Results-Driven, Innovative, Team-Focused) complement autonomy, and shares Scribd's evolution toward becoming AI-native in how work gets done and how people are evaluated.
323 - How ServiceNow's AI heat map answers "what does my job look like in 3 years": Brandon Roberts (SVP Talent Strategy & Workforce Transformation, ServiceNow)
Aug 21, 2026Brandon Roberts, SVP of Talent Strategy & Workforce Transformation at ServiceNow, discusses how the company is redesigning HR for the AI era. He shares ServiceNow's approach to mapping AI impact across every role, reinvesting productivity gains into worker reskilling rather than cost-cutting, and building an AI heat map to guide transformation. Roberts and Jackie Canney developed the ServiceNow AI Transformation Playbook to help organizations navigate the human (not just technological) shift required by AI.
The 3 archetypes of the future people team & Jessica Zwaan's first 4 Months in New Role
Aug 18, 2026Jessica Zwaan, VP of People Strategy and Operations at Leapsome, discusses her first 4.5 months in the role and her vision for the future of people operations. She outlines three emerging archetypes for HR teams—caregivers, architects, and experience managers—and shares how Leapsome is shipping product features at velocity by incorporating a forward-deployed engineer into the people team. Zwaan emphasizes operating HR like a product function, the role of AI agents in automating routine work, and building trustworthy, customizable HR systems.
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