People operations
10 VPs of people
These ten VPs of people hold or have held a VP of People or Vice President, People title, including variants such as VP, People & Culture and Global VP of People. Readers can learn how a people leader builds HR and people operations, shapes culture and supports a company through growth.
Professionals to explore
01—10Ally Olney
LinkedInExperience: VP, People · Airbyte
VP, People at Airbyte since 2025 and Senior Director, People & Talent at Airbyte from 2024 to 2025. Her listed roles also include Director, People Partners & Programs at Komodo Health (2020–2024) and Head of People, North America at Zip Co (2019–2020). She describes scaling high-growth organizations from 50 to 1,500+ employees and driving talent strategy, organizational design, performance management and leadership development.
Amanda Kurihara
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, People & Culture (89bio Integration) · Genentech
Vice President, People & Culture (89bio Integration) at Genentech since 2026 and Vice President, People & Culture at 89bio from 2021 to 2026. Her listed roles also include Vice President, Human Resources at Catalyst Biosciences (2021), and she has been a Member of the Board of Advisors at Life Science Cares Bay Area since 2023.
Catie Maillard
LinkedInExperience: Global VP of People · Data Society Group
Global VP of People at Data Society Group since 2024 and Founder & Principal Consultant at Somehow I Manage since 2018. Her listed roles also include SVP, Global Head Of People Success at StreamElements (2020–2022) and Head Of Human Resources at Lord Jones (2019–2020). She says she leads People & Business Operations at high-growth and VC- or PE-backed companies.
Cynthia Bergallo
LinkedInExperience: VP People · Plug
VP People at Plug since 2026; her listed roles also include Vice President, Human Resources Head of People & Culture at iTradeNetwork, Inc. (2023–2026), Sr Human Resources Business Partner at Lyft (2020–2022) and Human Resources Head, Americas Sr. HRBP Sales and Marketing at Meltwater (2017–2020). She says she helps growth-stage companies scale by turning strategy into execution through people, structure and operating discipline.
Julia Rozovsky
LinkedInExperience: VP, People & Culture · Verily Health
VP, People & Culture at Verily Health since 2025; her other Verily Health roles include Senior Director, Head of People Operations, Talent Acquisition & Total Rewards (2024–2025) and Director, Head of People Operations (Ops, Analytics, Technology) & Talent Acquisition (2023–2024). Her listed roles also include Director, People Operations (HRBP) at Google (2021–2022), and she describes herself as a strategic, analytical and business-minded People leader.
Megan Katsanevas
LinkedInExperience: VP People · Binalyze
VP People at Binalyze since 2022; her listed roles also include VP People at Decibel, a Medallia company (2019–2022), Senior Director at Medallia (2021–2022) and Senior HR Director - International at Datasite (2019). Her profile headline covers cybersecurity and global people and culture, and she describes herself as an internationally experienced, commercially driven HR professional.
Niamh Hyland
LinkedInExperience: VP of People · Caraway Home
VP of People at Caraway Home since 2025. Her listed roles also include VP, People & Culture (2022–2025) and Head of People & Culture (2019–2022) at Very Great, Head of People, Culture & Operations at Purpose (2015–2018), and Co Founder & Creative Director at Artists Without Walls (2013–2021).
Rebecca Friese
LinkedInExperience: Vice President of People · Zenni Optical
Former Vice President of People at Zenni Optical (2024–2026). Her listed roles also include Co-Founder, Managing Partner at FLYN since 2014 and Managing Director at Samudra Group (2022–2024). Her profile lists her as an author and keynote speaker and says she wrote The Good Culture: The Leader's Guide To Creating a Workplace That Doesn't Suck.
Robyn Rossi
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, People · Vanilla
Vice President, People at Vanilla since 2025. Her listed roles also include Director, People Partnerships at Smartsheet (2019–2025), Sr. HR Business Partner at Blue Nile (2018–2019), HR Manager at Coinstar (formerly Outerwall) (2006–2018) and HR Generalist at SensArray (2002–2006).
Shae Frazier
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, People & Operations · Thorn
Vice President, People & Operations at Thorn since 2026; her other Thorn roles are Vice President, People & Culture (2024–2026) and Director of People Operations (2022–2024). Her listed roles also include Director of Human Resources at HomeLight (2022). She describes helping mission-driven organizations scale by aligning talent, operating systems and execution, with experience in compensation and total rewards.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's company stage and headcount experience to your own, since building a first people team and running HR at a larger organization call for different trade-offs. Ask early which areas their role owned, such as talent acquisition, total rewards or people operations, so you weigh their advice on the parts you need.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What did you put in place first when you took over the people function, and what did you deliberately leave for later?
- 02How do you decide when to add HR headcount, specialist roles or new HR systems as a company grows?
- 03How do you keep compensation, performance management and culture consistent across teams and locations?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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