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When a legal mind meets a human heart, the gray areas of work and life start to make a lot more sense. In this episode, Match Group’s Vice President of Global Employment Law and Ethics & Compliance, Katie Dugan, joins hosts Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo to explore how love, law, and leadership collide. From the do’s and don’ts of dating at work to what really defines a “hostile” environ...

In this Halloween-themed episode of We’re Not Recording, Melanie Naranjo sits down with Lamari Brayboy III, Head of HR and People Operations at ThoughtWorks, to unpack a concept he calls “diversifying your happiness.” Drawing from his grandmother’s wisdom about not putting all your eggs in one basket, Lamari shares why tying your identity—or joy—to a single role, relationship, or achievement can b...

In this candid episode of We’re Not Recording, Roxanne Petraeus—Ethena’s CEO and an expectant mom—joins VP of People Melanie Naranjo to unpack the real, often avoided conversations around parental leave. Together they explore the tension between business needs and human realities, from the fear of announcing a pregnancy to the unspoken pressure on women to “do it all.” They question toxic positivi...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo dive into the surprising parallels between executive coaching and leadership therapy—and why every founder should probably have one. Roxanne reflects on how bringing in a coach early helped her and her co-founder navigate growing pains, communication gaps, and the emotional turbulence of scaling a company through big tran...

In this episode of We’re Not Recording, hosts Roxanne Petraeus (CEO @ Ethena) and Melanie Naranjo (VP of People @ Ethena) sit down with Ian White, Founder & CEO/CTO of ChartHop — and former actor turned tech leader — to unpack what truly drives healthy, high-performing organizations. They dive into: Why CEO–CPO alignment matters more than ping-pong perks or culture slogans How long-term people...

What does it really take to lead through change without breaking the trust that makes leadership work? Roxanne Petraeus (CEO @ Ethena) and Melanie Naranjo (VP of People) get personal about tough feedback, cultural transformation, and the messy balance between honesty and empathy. From HR messages that accidentally sound like resistance to leadership offsites built around connection—not KPIs—this e...

Brex grew fast — maybe too fast. When Heather Dunn stepped in as Chief People Officer, the company was fresh off hypergrowth, layoffs, and a complete rebuild of its operating model. In this episode, Heather opens up about what it takes to lead through turbulence, rebuild trust after hard decisions, and recalibrate a culture that once prized speed above all else. From interviewing founders for valu...

Most CEOs would rather eat tax forms than fill out a performance review. Roxanne Petraeus is no exception. In this episode, Melanie corners Roxanne into doing the one thing she dreads most: completing her own self-assessment live, on mic. What follows is equal parts therapy session, leadership masterclass, and roast. Roxanne reveals why structured processes feel like her kryptonite, how she balanc...

Roxanne and Melanie sit down with Justin Clifford (CEO @ Bereave) to unpack what happens when the personal smashes into the professional. From six weeks of bereavement leave for a pet, to the impossible art of firing “well,” to the chaos of going viral on LinkedIn—this episode dives into HR’s messiest gray areas. Expect laughs, discomfort, and maybe a few “did they just say that?” moments as we ta...

Are college degrees even still relevant to get a job? Unlimited PTO might actually work. And the way we talk at work? Let’s just say disagreements escalate a lot faster than they used to. From clashing opinions online to tension creeping into team meetings, it feels like workplace conversations have a new edge. We unpack it all—unfiltered and a little messy.

What does it really look like when a CEO leads with people first? In this episode, Ben Sesser — CEO & co-founder of BrightHire — sits down with Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo to unpack the realities of modern leadership. From navigating PR crises and taking ownership of mistakes, to staying calm under pressure and hiring with intention, Ben shares candid insights from building a company...

In this episode of We’re not recording, Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo explore why HR leaders deserve a permanent seat in the boardroom. With guest Katelin Holloway (Founding Partner at 776, former Reddit HR exec), the conversation unpacks how people strategy drives business outcomes, why culture clarity matters more than perks, and how HR’s influence expands when leaders move beyond complia...

Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo sit down with Kelli Dragovich, four-time CPO and co-creator of HR Heretics, for a candid conversation about today’s toughest workplace challenges. They unpack: Why traditional benefits often backfire (and what actually matters most to employees). The rise in hostility between workers and leaders—from viral CEO takedowns to candidate feedback. How LinkedIn can t...

Layoffs announced to the wrong people. A CEO’s very personal voicemail sent company-wide. Salary spreadsheets dropped in Slack for all to see. Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo react to LinkedIn’s juiciest workplace horror stories — the kind you can’t unhear.

Roxanne and Melanie go down the rabbit hole of AI Agent Mode—yes, the one that can take your compliance training for you. What starts as a conversation about fake receipts turns into a bigger question: when tech makes it easier to cheat, do more people cheat? They swap McKinsey expense horror stories, debate Netflix vs. Army-style trust models, and wonder if the real fix isn’t more controls, but b...

When Ethena announced it would start including “AI fluency” in performance reviews, half the managers pushed back—hard. Roxanne Petraeus and Melanie Naranjo, joined by Ashley Herd of Manager Method, unpack why leadership thought AI adoption was on track while managers felt blindsided. They dig into the disconnect between CEOs, managers, and employees, the psychology behind AI resistance, and how t...

In this spicy episode, Roxanne and Melanie sit down with Heather Doshay, Partner and Head of Talent at SignalFire, to unpack the most chaotic headlines in hiring today. Should you really fire all your middle managers? Is Gen Z being unfairly iced out—or just caught in an economic squeeze? And how close did one company come to hiring a North Korean spy? From AI deepfakes to communication breakdowns...

No buzzwords. No “AI will change everything” monologues. Just three people—Roxanne, Melanie, and Emily—talking about the actual AI tools they use to save time (and sanity). Emily Mabie from Zapier shares how she automated Slack reminders, built 56 bots (casually), and uses GPTs to make workflows smoother—not weirder. Melanie admits where she’s still stuck. Roxanne finds out that even she might nee...

Roxanne and Melanie sit down with Gina des Cognets to unpack why feedback can feel like a landmine—and what to do when it is. They get into fear on leadership teams, the curse of perfectionism, how to spot when the bar is set too high (or too low), and what happens when psychological safety isn't what you think it is. Also: red-yellow-green performance flags, agency vs. victim mindset.

This isn’t the episode we wanted to record, but the Coldplay CEO-CPO news took over our feeds—and apparently everyone else's too. So here we are. Roxanne and Melanie talk about why these kinds of stories hit a nerve, how power and gender dynamics show up at work, and what makes this moment feel especially complicated. Not a takedown, not a think piece—just two people trying to process something un...

In this episode, Roxanne chats with Christina Luconi — former Chief People Officer at Rapid7 and current startup whisperer — about entitlement in the workplace, what authenticity actually looks like, and why being liked is overrated when you’re trying to build real culture. Christina shares war stories from decades in tech, including the infamous “mom called me” moment, her journey toward radical...

In this podcast episode, Roxanne and Melanie explore workplace dynamics, focusing on disagreements between employees and managers, as well as differing work philosophies. But, in the case where a manager is truly incompetent, what should you do? Should you approach their manager directly? Confront them? Or should you simply quit and leave? Tune in to find out!

In this conversation, Roxanne and Melanie discuss short employment stints, sharing their experiences and examining societal judgments. They explore the implications of hiring candidates with brief job histories and the risks involved, emphasizing the need for a good fit between employers and employees. The discussion also touches on a recent LinkedIn controversy involving Roxanne, highlighting cha...

In this conversation, Roxanne and Melanie discuss a hiring process that went awry. It seemed as though a candidate was on track to be hired, but over the weekend, some back-channel information reached Roxanne that changed everything. They talk about the excitement of potentially moving forward with the hire and the disappointment of having to retract that decision when new, startling information b...

Ashley Herd, Melanie Naranjo, and Roxanne begin a discussion on leadership, empathy, and employee relations. They explore the balance between employee perks and performance, as well as what happens when a company needs to retract those perks. The conversation then shifts to a Glassdoor review criticizing a candidate's interview experience, which took place while Roxanne was conducting the intervie...