Culture Uncovered

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Chris Gros, Chief People Officer of Crimson Phoenix , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fast-growing government contractor supporting the intelligence community and Special Operations Command. Chris shares how Crimson Phoenix grew through the acquisition and integration of seven smaller companies, and the challenge...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Rick Winter, Chief People Officer of RWA Wealth Partners , to explore what it's like to build culture at one of the largest women-led independent wealth management firms in the US, formed through the 2023 merger of two long-established companies. Rick shares how he joined RWA shortly after CEO Michelle Knight took the helm, and w...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Maeghan Sulham, COO of DataSpring powered by CAQH, to explore what it's like to build culture at a healthcare data company operating behind the scenes of nearly every provider search and insurance claim in the country. Maeghan shares the unusual origin story behind DataSpring — a 25-year-old nonprofit collaboration among health p...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with John Bishoff, Chief People Officer of Canopy Mortgage , to explore what it's like to build culture at a mortgage company that gives its loan officers real autonomy to run their own branches. John shares how a 17-year friendship led him to join Canopy during the COVID refinance boom, tasked with building an HR function nearly fro...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Patti Mancini, SVP of People Ops at Zest AI , to explore what it's like to build culture at a company using AI to make lending more inclusive and accessible. Patti shares how she found her way to Zest AI by keeping her professional network warm, and what convinced her to join after meeting a leadership team she describes as leadi...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Robert Buckley, Chief People Architect at Enveda Biosciences , to explore what it's like to build culture at an AI-native "tech bio" company reimagining drug discovery from plants. Robert shares how a recruiter who first reached out years earlier eventually brought him to Enveda, and what convinced him this was the righ...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Billie Wright, Chief People Officer of The Recycling Partnership , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fully remote nonprofit tackling one of the country's least glamorous but most essential infrastructure challenges. Billie shares her own pivot into the recycling space after nearly 30 years in state and local go...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Jason Nadaskay , Chief People Officer at Valor , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fast-growing oil and gas land and accounting firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. Jason shares his unconventional path into HR — from teaching and coaching to marriage and family therapy, to a chance breakfast with a college roommate that...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Jane Viventi, Head of People and Operations at Brand Builders Group , to explore what it's like to build culture at a Nashville-based personal branding firm founded on the belief that everyone is uniquely positioned to serve the person they once were. Jane shares the origin story of Brand Builders Group — born out of a career set...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Brady Pyle, CHRO of Space Center Houston , to explore what it's like to build culture at the official visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Brady shares his 20-plus year journey inside NASA — from a graduate co-op assignment to leading HR across all ten NASA field centers — and what brought him to Space Center Houst...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Lauren Bryant, Head of Talent at Outset , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fast-scaling AI-moderated research startup based in San Francisco. Lauren shares how Outset uses AI moderation to compress traditional qualitative research from weeks down to hours, and how she found her own way to the company through a staf...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Marisa Alexander-Daspit, Chief People Officer at Ibotta, to explore what it's like to build culture at a Denver-based tech company that's grown from a rebate app into a broader performance marketing network. Marisa shares her seven-and-a-half-year journey at Ibotta, starting as Director of Talent Management before stepping i...

Here are the show notes for this episode: In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Jen Flaxman, Head of People at Peak Design , to explore what it's like to build culture at a founder-owned, bootstrapped product design company built without any venture capital. Jen shares her own path to Peak Design, drawn in by a genuine connection with founder Pete Dering's visio...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Noble Gibbens, Chief People Officer at Kiefer Sage , to explore what it's like to build culture and leadership development at a 40-year-old, family-owned manufacturing company in Northwest Arkansas. Noble shares his unconventional path — from military infantry officer to executive coach to Chief People Officer — and how his own j...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Jourdan Pym, VP of People at Karbon , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fast-scaling practice management software company for finance and accounting teams. Jourdan shares the winding story of how she nearly turned down the role entirely, and what changed her mind once she recognized the size of the opportunity in th...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Stephanie Calhoun, VP of People Strategist and Global Culture Transformation at Lumen Technologies , to explore what it's like to reshape culture at a nearly century-old company undergoing one of the largest business turnarounds in recent history. Stephanie traces Lumen's journey from a family-run telephone company founded i...

** SOON A PART OF HINGE HEALTH ** In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Lia Seth, Director of People at Cylinder Health , to explore what it's like to build culture at a fully remote digital health company focused on digestive health. Lia shares how Cylinder Health delivers personalized, clinician-led GI care through a B2B2C model, and what drew her into digital heal...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Dori Armstead, VP of People and Culture at SoftWriters , recorded live in their Pittsburgh office, to explore what it's like to build culture at a market-leading long-term care pharmacy software company. Dori shares her own path to SoftWriters through an executive recruiter and what ultimately sold her — a personal connection to...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Allison Jno-Baptiste, Head of People and Culture at Storyblocks , for a candid, practical conversation about a topic most people leaders avoid discussing publicly: how to navigate a reduction in force with honesty and care. Allison draws on her experience leading Storyblocks through four separate reductions since 2020, sharing the emo...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Anju Choudhary , Chief People Officer at Xoxoday , to explore what it's like to lead HR at a global employee rewards and recognition company navigating rapid U.S. expansion. Anju shares her unconventional path into HR and what it's like stepping into her first Chief People Officer role — including how she works through impos...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with Heather Thompson, CHRO of the Nashville Zoo , to explore what it's like to lead people operations at a nonprofit zoo balancing rapid growth, distinct subcultures, and a mission rooted in conservation. Heather shares her journey into the role through a mutual connection, and why values alignment and a supportive leadership team u...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with Nicole Oliver, Director of HR at N2 , to explore what it's like to build and sustain culture at a mostly-remote, franchise-based media and marketing company that's been evolving for over two decades. N2 partners with local franchisees across the country to help small and medium-sized businesses connect with their communitie...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with Chloe Drew, Chief People Officer at Redox , to explore what it takes to build a thriving remote-first culture while helping power the healthcare ecosystem behind the scenes. Chloe shares Redox's journey from a startup founded by former Epic employees into a leading health data interoperability platform that enables healthcare or...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with Carey Pellock, Chief People Officer at Anaplan , to explore how the global AI-driven planning platform has transformed its culture while scaling across 22 countries and more than 2,200 employees. Carey shares Anaplan's unique journey from a startup founded in a barn in York, England, to a global technology company helping organi...

In this episode of Culture Uncovered , Jena Dunay sits down with Elana Silver from Paperless Parts to explore what it's like to build a career-focused culture at a fast-growing software company serving the manufacturing industry. Elana shares the company's unique evolution from a manufacturing marketplace startup into a software platform that helps machine shops and custom manufacturers...