The success of any organization isn’t just about strategy, technology, or products—it’s about people. And at the heart of every thriving company is forward-thinking HR leadership, driving innovation in culture, engagement, and business impact.
Today’s HR leaders are not just policy enforcers—they’re strategic architects, culture shapers, and workforce innovators. They are redefining how companies attract, develop, and retain top talent, ensuring that people remain the strongest competitive advantage.
At GoProfiles, we created the HR GameChangers webinar series to spotlight the big ideas and innovations shaping HR. Now, we’re taking it further with the Top 100 HR GameChangers award recognition. We are celebrating the most influential leaders driving the future of work. This award extends our commitment to celebrating HR as a strategic driver of business success.
Haven’t heard of GoProfiles? GoProfiles helps organizations connect, recognize, and empower their people. With rich employee profiles, skills mapping, and rewards, we make it easy to build a more engaged and connected workforce.
What is the HR GameChangers Award?
The HR GameChangers Award, powered by GoProfiles, honors 100 trailblazing HR executives shaping the future of work. These leaders aren’t just keeping up with change—they’re driving it. By using AI, data, and people-first leadership, they’re building workplaces where both employees and businesses thrive.
Award Categories
We recognize excellence across multiple areas of HR leadership, including:
- 🏆 HR Technology & Innovation – Leaders leveraging AI, automation, and digital transformation in HR.
- 🏆 Employee Engagement & Experience – Champions of workplace culture, well-being, and retention.
- 🏆 Culture – Advocates making workplaces more inclusive, engaging and rewarding.
- 🏆 Leadership & People Strategy – Visionary CPOs, CHROs and HR execs shaping the workforce of tomorrow.
How We Chose the Top 100
Our selection process involved nominations from industry experts, peer recommendations, and research into HR leaders making a measurable impact. Each winner exemplifies leadership, innovation, and a commitment to shaping the modern workplace.
- Innovation in HR Technology: Leaders using AI, automation, and HR tools to streamline processes, enhance employee experience, and drive business success.
- Employee Engagement & Well-being: HR leaders who drive employee satisfaction, culture, and wellness—boosting morale and productivity.
- Advancement of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI): Pioneers of inclusive initiatives that foster diversity, equity, and employee support.
- Strategic Leadership & Talent Development: HR executives aligning people strategies with business goals to drive talent development and organizational change.
- Measurable Business Impact: HR leaders drive business growth, reduce turnover, improve recruitment, and enhance company culture.
Meet the HR GameChangers
The winners are listed alphabetically by first name. This honors the diversity and collective impact of these outstanding leaders.
* Indicates they have or are scheduled to speak in our HR GameChangers series as of March 2025.
- Alexandra LaMaster, Chief People Officer, Jellyfish
- Alicia Goodman, Chief Human Resources Officer, Cerus
- Allyson Carr, Chief People Officer, Cyberreason
- Ambrosia Vertesi, Chief People Officer, Ironclad
- Amy Broughton, Chief People Officer, Veryon
- Amy Garefis, Chief People Officer, ZipRecruiter
- Amy Obana, VP of People Operations, Modern Health
- Amy Rossi, Chief People Officer, Expel
- Amy Veater, Head of People & Culture, Veza
- Andrea Walton, Chief People & Culture Officer, bluebird bio
- Andrew Heywood, Staff Technical Recruiter, Rivian and Volkswagen Group
- Angela Crossman, Chief People Officer, Dragos
- Anjali Jamdar, Chief People Officer, KX
- Anna Wenngren, Chief People Officer, SafetyCulture*
- Anthony Onesto, Chief People Officer, Suzy*
- Autumn Besselman, Chief People Officer, Quora
- Beckey Cole, Chief People Officer, Pluralsight
- Brendan Castle, Chief People Officer, Zscaler
- Casey Bailey, Global Head of People, Deel*
- Cassandra Pratt, Chief Human Resources Officer, Progyny
- Cecelia McElearney, Head of People, Instabase
- Chatelle Lynch, Chief People Officer, The RealReal
- Chelly Conley, Director of Global HR & Incl., KnowBe4
- Chris Havrilla, VP, HCM Product Strategy, Oracle*
- Cindy Lo, Director of Global Employee Support Center, Open Society Foundations
- Cynthia Carpenter, SVP of People, DigitalOcean
- David Bornor, VP Head of HR, Xandr
- Debra Thompson, Chief People Officer, Chegg
- Donald Knight, Group SVP, People & Culture, Warner Bros. Discovery*
- Edwin Lemus, Chief People Officer, Softeq
- Erika Westphal, Sr. Vice President of People Operations, WorkSpan*
- Gianna Driver, Chief People Officer, Lattice*
- Gunjan Aggarwal, Chief People Officer, Kong Inc.
- Halai Shukran, Chief Operating Officer, Pluribus Digital*
- Hallie Condon, Sr. Director of People, Chili Piper*
- Hamutal Oren-Fox, Chief People Officer, Snappy*
- Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer, Workweek*
- Janelle Henry, Head of People, Rad AI*
- Janice Robinson Burns, Strategic Advisor, Skill Collective
- Janice Schwartz, VP of People, Placer.ai*
- Jared Wakefield, Director of People Operations, Routable
- Jessica D. Winder, SVP of People, CoLab Software*
- Jav Saeidi, HR Director, CTM Biomedical*
- Jeffrey Schmitz, Chief People Officer, Zebra Technologies*
- Jeri Doris, Head of People, Justworks*
- Jill Domanico, Chief People Officer, Submittable
- Jill Olmstead, Chief HR Officer, LendingTree
- Jim Miller, VP of People and Talent, Ashby*
- Joe Andrews, Head of People Operations, Rise8
- Kaity Benedicto, Head of People, Cherry
- Katie Kulikoski, Chief People Officer, Veracode
- Kendra Mitchell, VP of People, Chainguard
- Kim Homenock, Chief People Officer, Stem
- Kim Skornik, VP, Head of People, ThoughtSpot
- Kim Wittman, Chief People Officer, Waystar
- LaPora Lindsey, HR Consultant, LaPora Lindsey & Co.*
- Laura Dominguez, VP of HR, Qualys
- Laura Thiele, Chief People Officer, Optimizely*
- Leslie Collin, VP of People & Culture, Zipline
- Linda Ho, Chief People Officer, Seismic*
- Lori Chasteen, VP of People, Wonder
- Lorraine Metcalf, Chief People Officer, Quantexa
- Mariah Nagy, Chief People Officer, Weights & Biases
- Maya Marcus, Chief People Officer, Abnormal Security
- Meg Pittman, VP of People, dbt Labs
- Meghan Welch, Chief People Officer, Plaid
- Melanie Naranjo, Chief People Officer, Ethena
- Miguel Vieira da Silva, Head of People Care, Superside
- Missy Waggoner, Chief People Officer, Model N
- Nadia Singer, Chief People Officer, Figma
- Nia Darville Stokes-Hicks, IDEAS Experience Director, Risepoint*
- Nirit Peled-Muntz, Chief People Officer, HiBob
- Pria Amin, SVP, People & Culture, TPN
- Priti Patel, Chief People Officer, G2*
- Q Hamirani, Chief People Officer, HighLevel
- Rachel Fish, Chief People Officer, Clover Health
- Ray Smith, SVP, People & Culture, Arbinger Institute*
- Renee Cutright, Chief HR Officer, Cloudinary
- Richard Deal, EVP & Chief HR Officer, FICO
- Robin Merritt, Chief People Officer, Gainsight*
- Rolando Jessurun, Global VP Talent Acquisition and HR Operations, Backbase
- Sarika Lamont, VP, People and Culture, Vidyard*
- Scott Day, Chief People Officer, Alludo
- Sharn Dhami, VP of People & Operations, GameChanger
- Shelley Ferguson, Vice President of Human Resources, SkillPath
- Sheren Chiang, VP of People, Helix
- Sophie Lemieux, Head of People, Fable
- Steffania Campagnolo, Chief HR Officer, Mistplay
- Stephani Studebaker, Head of People, Guidewheel*
- Stephanie Garcia, Chief People Officer, Uniphore
- Sunaina Lobo, Advisor, CHRP, ex. Gong, Marqeta, Cisco*
- Susan Elaggan-Jackson, Head of Global People Service Delivery, Pegasystems*
- Thang Ly, VP of Human Resources, Katalon
- Tina Krebs, Chief People Officer, Relias
- Titus Yao, Head of HR, Orum
- Tom McNerney, Chief People Officer, Impel
- Tracy Tobin, Chief People Officer, Adswerve
- Vanesa Cotlar, VP People and Culture, PolicyMe
- Veena Dua-Chillar, Chief People Officer, iSeatz
- Will Blott, Chief People Officer, NextGen
- Yolanda Seals-Coffield, Chief People Officer, PwC
Celebrate & Share the Recognition
If you’ve been named a Top 100 HR GameChanger, congratulations! We encourage you to share your achievements with your network and inspire the next generation of HR leaders.
To learn more about HR GameChangers, register for our monthly thought leadership series featuring exclusive insights from top HR executives.
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Introducing GoProfiles: The People Platform
At GoProfiles, we know HR leaders do more than manage people—they shape the future of work. Our platform makes it easy to unlock workforce potential. GoProfiles is a people platform with AI-powered search, employee recognition, rewards, rich profiles, directories, org charts, and maps.
Whether you’re boosting employee engagement, driving diversity initiatives, or aligning talent strategies with business goals, GoProfiles has you covered. Our tools help you stay ahead in a rapidly changing workplace.
Get a demo today to see how GoProfiles can transform your HR strategy and streamline processes. Discover how it drives measurable impact across your organization.
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