CAREER OVERVIEW
I have led functions for companies ranging from pre-IPO and Venture Capital to large, household names, such as Microsoft and Ernst & Young.
Next47
June 2019-Present
Vice President, People
As a member of the executive leadership team for $2B+ AUM global venture capital fund with operations in California, Munich, Berlin, Paris, London, and Herzliya, I lead the people function. Aside from overseeing and directing daily people administrative and compliance topics, my team and I have successfully built a series of key foundational programs--many of which remain nascent across VC more broadly--to support creating an environment where everyone has line-of-sight to how their roles and skills directly impact the success of the firm. Additionally, I offer strategic operational guidance, planning, and situational coaching to the Global Managing Partner and functional leaders.
Major Projects To-Date:
- Successfully steer complex, multi-country operations, including leading workstreams to develop and move team members into new operating entities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel.
- Designed culture focused initiatives to improve global workforce engagement and collaboration, resulting in 15% increase in employee engagement scores of 80+ across multiple themes, including Enablement, Teamwork, and Alignment
- Developed a global career leveling and total rewards model, contributing to increased talent attraction, retention, and equitable career growth.
- Created formalized performance management process inclusive of continuous feedback and scheduled executive talent reviews to review talent strategy, identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and align on action plans.
- Own all talent-related and compliance initiatives for a global workforce—US, Germany, Israel, France, and United Kingdom.
- Built out performance management process, inclusive of an annual rhythm, executive talent reviews, tool implementation, go-to-market materials, and adoption tracking.
- Lead global talent acquisition and strategy efforts, hiring top-tier talent across diverse regions (US, Germany, Israel, France, and UK). Implemented standardized assessment practices, resulting in more efficient recruitment, candidate NPS of 80+, and new hire NPS of 90+.
- Built and optimized HR technology stack from the ground up, to support the full employee lifecycle by increasing operational efficiency and enhancing employee experience and knowledge access.
- Ad-hoc advising of portfolio companies on People and Talent Operations topics, including recruiting, compensation, organizational design, change management, and restructuring.
Sabbatical
February 2018-June 2019
Enjoyed time recharging the batteries, volunteering at my daughter's school, blogging about my baking exploits, and traveling.
Professional projects:
- Draup/Zinnov: Advisory Board Member
- First Round Capital: Mentor
Ten-X
July 2015 – February 2018
Vice President, People (CRE Business Division)
(2017-2018)
Reporting to the Business Division General Manager, and serving on the executive leadership team, I led the entire HR and People ecosystem--Talent Acquisition, Operations, HRBP, L&D--for Ten-X's Commercial Real Estate business, which was acquired by CoStar in 2020.
- Oversaw and played a hands-on role in the change management development, planning, and roll-out of two major organizational restructures.
- Built the business unit's first-ever People Analytics report which provided a 2017 look back, and data-driven recommendations for 2018 people program investments and priorities.
- Built the 2018 Talent and People Operations plan, with a focus on increased talent optimization.
- Spearheaded early efforts to create a compensation philosophy and model, as well as a career development architecture for both sales and non-sales roles.
- Oversaw the mapping of the 2018 talent development plan to support newly created roles and responsibilities.
- Partnered closely with marketing to develop a People communications plan that aligned with the HR operating calendar, ongoing organizational changes, and culture building initiatives.
Head of People Operations (Entire Company)
(2017)
I led the centralized team responsible for Ten-X's HR shared services; technology & reporting; and total rewards. We accomplished a lot as a team:- Moved away from a tedious Microsoft Excel-based quarterly bonus and performance review process to a streamlined experience in Workday.
- Automated regular reporting and launched Workday HR dashboards, which provided easier access to people data.
- Built a scalable and repeatable HR service model and data capture through ticketing and a tiered support and coverage structure.
- Outsourced employment verifications and protected leave of absence, resulting in an average of 20+ HR hours saved per week.
- Transitioned to an employee-centric and cost-effective immigration management platform, resulting in 25+ HR hours saved per week.
- Successfully led 2018 benefit negotiations, resulting in $1M+ in annual savings, along with increased employee enhancements and provider-funded wellness allowances.
Head of Talent (Entire Company)
(2015-2017)
Hired shortly after CapitalG's investment, I rebuilt and led Ten-X's Talent organization consisting of geographically dispersed recruiting leaders; recruiters and talent sourcers of all levels; and recruiting coordinators who successfully ramped up Ten-X, leading up to a $1.6B majority stake by THL in September 2017.- Rebuilt the engineering recruiting team and processes, which directly resulted in a 180 degree turnaround and the realization of aggressive quarter-over-quarter hiring targets for Ten-X's growing Technology organization.
- Participated in the content development and roll-out of new values & behaviors to drive company culture.
- Drove constructive assessment processes to foster the building of the company's engineering culture.
- Partnered with executive leaders to other key staff to realize improvements in talent acquisition and talent planning.
- Refined recruiting operations by adjusting the resourcing model; built standardized processes, including interview training and guides; and launched innovative assessment tools to assist scaling.
- Led efforts in building skill matrices to support appropriate talent leveling and assessment.
- Built the company's first university hiring program.
- Hiring Results: 419 hires in 2016, 343 hires for H1 2017 (hires include full-time professional roles and part-time field and auction support)
Q315 Corporate Shining Star Award for rapidly turning around the company's technology talent acquisition efforts.
Microsoft
November 2006 – July 2015
I am grateful to have enjoyed a long and successful run at Microsoft, where I was afforded many opportunities to broaden my portfolio of experience and to work alongside various members of Microsoft's executive leadership team.
Director, Executive Talent Acquisition (Global Executive Recruiting)
(November 2014-July 2015)
- Worked with key cross-functional partners to define new critical talent needs, competencies, and talent pools to successfully support company transformation to a "mobile-first, cloud-first" model.
- Closely partnered with Silicon Valley site HR leader on executive level talent and regional talent strategy issues.
Director, Talent Acquisition (Silicon Valley Development Center)
(April 2013-November 2014)
- Assessed the global staffing model and its regional implications to inform future state planning.
- Led efforts in bringing together a large cross-business group staffing community-both locally and remotely based-to maximize recruiting representation of MSV roles.
- Owned regional workforce planning, inclusive of partnership with local leaders and HR partners to understand cross-regional talent demands to inform the creation of a localized integrated talent management strategy, as well as better awareness of external sourcing pipeline and resourcing needs.
- Oversaw localized value proposition messaging and the continued development of supporting assets.
- Led targeted Bay Area recruiting marketing campaign to extend Microsoft's employment brand and job openings to highly qualified talent.
- Worked with key leaders and HR partners to inform regional charter growth opportunities that align to local talent market availability.
- Partnered with key stakeholders-HR and engineering executive leadership-to drive planning to realize growth of MSV's university hiring program.
Group Manager, Talent Market Insights (Office of the EVP, HR)
(January 2012-April 2013)
This was a very unique opportunity and honor where Microsoft's Executive Vice President of Human Resources asked me to develop and lead a global initiative focused on providing detailed talent-focused insights, analysis and consulting to her, along with quarterly reporting for the CEO's review.
- Prepared and delivered a three-tier resourcing and delivery model to inform EVP's decision on initial and longer-term investment.
- Led the design, development, and deployment of a market intelligence portal.
- Closely managed multiple key stakeholders, including CVPs and GMs, to realize successful rollout and hand-off.
- Developed launch communications plan and user training materials for global HR and TA audiences and key cross-functional partners.
- The portal not only allowed for global centralization of market intelligence across Microsoft HR, it also provided needed process efficiencies for Microsoft's Compensation organization.
- Led v-team to ensure quarterly reporting outcomes for EVP and CEO.
- While managing this project, I remained closely aligned to issues related to Microsoft Silicon Valley central HR and talent acquisition.
Received Microsoft HR Excellence in Execution award for this body of work.
Sr. Manager, Staffing Programs (Silicon Valley Development Center)
(June 2010-January 2012)
- Developed and executed upon plan to create localized value proposition messaging, which included development of a local visual identity for MSV, and socialization of our development site, businesses, and people stories through an external website, a social media strategy, event strategy, print collateral and various other promotional channels.
- Identified opportunity gaps and built offerings to enable staffing readiness.
- Served as interim MSV site HR leader from June 2011-October 2011, where I was responsible for orchestration of an executive visit/site all-hands, management of the local leadership forum, and day-to-day management of regional HR team.
A few other things I managed:
- Regional workforce planning
- Local compensation efforts
- Local talent and opportunity landscape work
- University Recruiting partnership (California focused)
- Ensuring regional inclusion for HQ-based programs and tools
- Data analysis and forecasting
- Critical projects that were highly confidential in nature
- Developed and managed budget to align with business objectives and priorities
FY12 recipient of Microsoft HR Award for Excellence in Execution.
Talent Acquisition Consultant (Legal & Corporate Affairs; Corporate Finance)
(November 2006-June 2010)
- Recruited for Microsoft's Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA) group. Supported all groups within LCA during tenure, with primary focus on Antitrust, Litigation, and Corporate and Regulatory Affairs.
- On boarded and mentored new staff.
- In partnership with L&D, developed a hiring manager training curriculum that consists of 14 on-demand podcasts.
- Partnered with Staffing Center of Excellence (COE) team to create and deliver new internal candidate staffing procedures across US staffing. Additionally, led LCA efforts with COE to develop standardized, competency-based interview questions to be used across the LCA organization.
- Partnered with UW Statistics program students to test assumptions of key characteristics of successful hires.
- As of January 2010, I also supported Microsoft's Corporate Finance Groups: Treasury, Tax, RE&F, Business Excellence, Financial Planning & Analysis, and Corporate Strategy.
Recipient of two Microsoft HR Awards--Excellence in Collaboration and Excellence in Execution--as well as two Microsoft Gold Star Awards for exceptional execution-one of which was awarded by a CVP within the Corporate Finance organization.
Ernst & Young
June 2003-November 2006
Senior, Talent Acquisition
- Recruited senior and management staff for Ernst & Young's AABS, BRS, TAS service lines.
- Built and launched a nationwide internal marketing campaign to promote the firm's employee referral program.
- Partnered with West Coast recruiting leader to operationalize an international recruiting pilot that evolved into a larger program for the firm.
- Served on project team responsible for the customization and rollout of Taleo applicant tracking system and new internal recruitment processes.
- Developed junior staff.
Various Recruiting and HR Consulting Roles
June 1999-October 2004
After spending a successful year in an agency recruiting environment, I provided recruiting and human resources management services to a variety of Silicon Valley companies, including early stage startups. Industries covered: Internet technology, wireless technology, and architecture.
Responsibilities varied by client, but included:- Full life-cycle recruiting
- HR auditing
- Benefit plan creation and management
- Authoring employment policies
- Immigration
- Employee relations
- 401(k) and retirement plan management
- Multi-state payroll
- HRIS implementation
- Terminations/RIFs
Companies included:
- ConsultNet (Acquired by TekSystems)
- UltraDNS (acquired by Neustar)
- Group4 Architecture
- PNS Communications
- Arraycomm
Education
Mississippi State University
Bachelor's, Psychology
Magna Cum Laude
Psi Chi Honor Society
Recommendations
Lisa Brummel
Former CHRO at Microsoft,
Co-Owner of WNBA's Seattle Storm
(former executive partner/client)
Nicole is a creative and talented leader. She and I worked together on a number of projects at Microsoft and I found her skills in project management and people engagement to be exceptional. She can work through all levels of an organization as a valued business partner and strategic talent manager. She is a brand-builder, a practical project leader, and a passionate (and fun) team member.
Paul Patterson
CEO
Cinchy (Data Collaboration Platform)
(former executive leadership team peer)
Nicole and I worked together closely to create the GTM function at Next47. While, of course, the day to day was managed well, more importantly, Nicole was a strategic thought partner in designing the organization, getting the right people in place and driving culture through out the organization. Nicole's partnership made me a better leader of my team and I would work with her again in a heartbeat.
Chris Galy
Former Chief People Officer Couchbase
(former manager)
Nicole brings a trio of unique capabilities that make her a special human resources executive – strategic business and organizational acumen; deep operations and execution chops; and an insanely strong creative disposition. That said, possessing these capabilities and doing amazing things with them are two different things. She has them and can do.
Sabrina Guttman
Managing Partner and Global Tech Practice Leader
FINN Partners
(former executive leadership team peer)
I had the pleasure of working with Nicole at Next47 where we collaborated closely on employee communications and several change management projects. Nicole is a great combination of passionate and strategic. She knows what it takes to create a high performance culture, and understands how to recruit and retain top-notch talent. She's also a great colleague, always there to lend a hand or an ear.
Ravi Keswani
President, Technology
Freedom Financial
(former executive partner/client)
Nicole did a fantastic job of creating a well-oiled TA organization that delivered. The results from her efforts in building and setting up the Talent organization surpassed my expectations early on.
Kevin Francis
Director, Talent
Lark Health
(former direct report)
Nicole is a great leader, who provided vision and created an environment where we could succeed! She is a great sounding board, and provided both strategic and tactical advice to help us accomplish our goals. When faced with challenges, she provided our team the direction and support to help us successfully navigate to great outcomes. Bottom line, she knows how to drive results through others!
Annual People Report, 2018
Fifteen-page year-end summary of People Team performance and broader organizational people data insights, trends, and data-driven recommendations for future targeted initiatives.
