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Bettina Deynes, Global Chief HR Officer at Carnival Corporation, joins We’re Not Recording to talk about what it really means to lead HR at massive global scale. From supporting 200,000 crew members and employees across 152 nationalities to building trust through intentional listening, Bettina shares why great HR leadership is not about holding all the pressure yourself, but creating the condition...

Margaret-Ann Cole joins Melanie to talk about what it really takes to build trust inside an organization: transparency, follow-through, and communication that actually reaches every employee. From engagement surveys and frontline communication to snail-mail newsletters, wellbeing, AI in HR, and the challenge of making training truly stick, this conversation digs into the hard part of people work:...

Q Hamirani, CPO at HighLevel, joins Melanie to talk about what it really takes to grow fast without losing discipline. They dig into the messy balance between hypergrowth and efficiency, why AI is changing the old headcount math, and how leaders should communicate hard resource decisions without pretending every bet is a sure thing. From hiring smart instead of hiring hard, to reskilling teams, re...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo talks with Brandon Sammut, Chief People and AI Transformation Officer at Zapier, about what it really takes to keep work human while AI changes everything. They dig into how AI is reshaping HR, compensation, career paths, and team leadership, not as an abstract future-state, but as something employees are already feeling in their day-to-day w...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo talks with Nabeel Ahmed, Chief HR and Safety Officer at Wellbore Integrity Solutions, about what it really takes to build a culture of performance, accountability, and safety. Nabeel shares why compensation is one of the clearest ways a company communicates what it actually values, and why performance bonuses only mean something when they tru...

What if the problem isn’t your job—but that you’ve never stopped to ask what actually gives you energy? In this episode, Jeri Doris shares why so many people settle into work that’s comfortable but unfulfilling, and how that disconnect quietly impacts everything—from performance to well-being. They explore the intersection of what you’re good at and what brings you joy, and why finding that overla...

This episode breaks down the shift from managing work to actually activating people. It explores how real leadership isn’t about control, tracking, or oversight—it’s about creating clarity, building trust, and unlocking the effort people already have inside them. When employees feel connected and developed, they show up differently—and that’s what drives customer experience and business results. I...

This conversation sits inside the quiet, often invisible weight of leadership—where helping people grow isn’t just a responsibility, it’s something you carry with you long after the workday ends. Arthur and Melanie unpack what it actually feels like to be responsible for someone else’s development: the pressure to have answers you may not have, the tension between surfacing problems and being able...

As AI rapidly reshapes the workplace, HR leaders are being asked to move fast without losing the human side of work. Karishma Patel Buford joins Melanie to talk about psychological safety, employee fear, burnout, AI and mental health, and why teams need guidance—not just tools—to adapt. This episode explores how great HR leaders help people navigate massive change without making them figure it out...

A fast-moving business demands speed, but the real work of leadership happens in how you bring people along with it. In a world of constant velocity—where priorities shift, acquisitions reshape organizations, and no two days look the same—human leadership becomes the anchor. It’s not just about driving strategy and execution, but about creating an employee experience that feels connected, intentio...

Even as AI transforms how work gets done, the real challenges in organizations still come down to people—communication, relationships, and shared direction. This episode explores why understanding how humans think, learn, and connect matters more than ever. AI can optimize workflows, but it can’t replace creativity, judgment, or the human experience. The organizations that thrive won’t just chase...

Christine Park brings a deeply human perspective to one of today’s biggest workplace conversations: AI transformation. Drawing on decades of experience leading change through everything from shared computers and paper files to remote work and digital platforms, she reframes AI not as something to fear, but as the next evolution in how people work. Through stories ranging from the rise of the inter...

When teams earn the right to win, it starts long before execution. Tiffany Stevenson shares why the first 90 days in leadership should be spent learning the business deeply, building trust across teams, and understanding what truly moves the organization forward. From career pathing and enablement to designing initiatives that actually fit how teams work, this conversation explores why the best pe...

Brad Wilkins joins Melanie to unpack what it really means to lead people through change when the way we work is being rewritten in real time. From how AI is reshaping job levels, promotions, and team structures to why measuring impact matters more than managing headcount, this conversation goes deep on the future of work. Brad shares a powerful four-part framework for understanding why people succ...

Stephen Childs has spent decades leading through constant change—and what he’s learned is that change doesn’t just test leaders, it reshapes them. From sharing his own weaknesses openly with his team to building cultures rooted in authenticity and trust, he explains why vulnerability becomes a turning point in leadership, not a liability. This conversation explores why people resist change—even wh...

AI isn’t just making work faster—it’s changing what your job actually is. The work that used to take hours—writing, building decks, creating training—now happens in seconds, which forces a bigger question: if execution is easy, where does your value really come from? The shift isn’t about becoming technical or mastering complex prompts—it’s about thinking differently, using AI as a partner, and fo...

As AI reshapes the workplace, many leaders feel pressure to become technical experts overnight. But in this conversation with David Hanrahan, SVP of People Success at SolarWinds, the focus shifts to a different idea: the leaders who succeed in the AI era may simply be the most human. David reflects on moving from needing to be heard in every meeting to listening more, asking better questions, and...

When trust is missing at the top, HR doesn’t just feel hard — it feels like “hiking Mount Everest without oxygen”. In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Angela Kiniry, Chief People Officer at Articulate, shares how a lack of trust between HR and executive leadership makes it nearly impossible to lead authentically — and how that absence ripples down through teams and culture. Angela opens up abo...

What does it really take for an HR leader to decide that change is the right move? In this episode, Jeff Bettinger shares the real story behind multiple corporate relocations, career pivots, and the hard-earned lessons that shaped how he evaluates opportunity. From moving his family across states to weighing financial growth against personal trade-offs, Jeff pulls back the curtain on what those de...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Matt Taylor, VP of Global HR at Endpoint Clinical, reflects on what it really means to stay curious as an HR leader in the middle of complexity. From earning a pilot’s license to navigating global people strategy, Matt shares how curiosity—not titles or promotions—has shaped his leadership journey. He explores why the best HR leaders learn to sit in the tens...

Integrity isn’t a slogan in this conversation—it’s a decision that comes with real risk. In this episode, Valerie Workman recounts the moment she walked into a meeting with Elon Musk fully expecting to be fired—and walked out leading Tesla’s 700-person HR organization. What began as speaking up about what the company needed turned into a defining leadership moment: when integrity opened the door,...

When remote work took off during the pandemic, so did a risky new trend: people secretly working two full-time jobs at once. In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo talks with Tracy Simek, Chief People Officer at Locus Robotics, about why this isn’t just a hustle issue — it’s a trust, culture, and mission issue. Both leaders are clear: side hustles are fine. Entrepreneurship is enc...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo sits down with Andrea Cooper, Chief People Officer at Talkspace, to unpack her winding career journey — from working on the retail floor at Walmart, to spending over 20 years inside one of the world’s largest organizations, to stepping into the uncertainty of consulting and ultimately finding alignment in smaller, mission-driven companies. An...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo sits down with Carey Albertine, SVP of People & Culture at Voltus, Inc., to talk about what happens when the job you love suddenly becomes the one you can’t stand. Carey reflects on how a leadership change transformed her work overnight—and how that moment reshaped her views on management, culture, and what truly drives engagement at work...

In this candid conversation, Chief People Officer Jevan Lenox reveals how an impressive résumé can actually intensify imposter syndrome — especially when you’re expected to have all the answers on day one. Jevan shares how a rocky first year at Square shook his confidence, why starting over in sales ops (a field he knew nothing about) became a turning point, and how leading through curiosity inste...