The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

• 271 - How 100-Year-Old Company (Synchrony Financial) Runs Like a Startup: DJ Casto (CHRO)

  DJ Casto joined us on The Modern People Leader to share how Synchrony is co-designing the future of work with employees.We talked about active listening at scale, building trust by being great not perfect, rethinking leadership for a flexible workforce, and why treating the employee experience like a product creates real business impact.---- Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode271Sponsor Links:🔗 Try Viva’s $950 one-month trial at execviva.com/mpl MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (06:16) DJ’s Origin Story: From First-Gen College Student to CHRO at Synchrony(11:19) What Synchrony Does: Credit Access, Health & Wellness, and Major Retail Partners(14:12) Co-Designing the Future of Work & Adopting an MVP Mindset in HR(18:27) Active Listening as the Operating System for People Programs(29:10) Scaling Listening: Pulse Surveys, Roundtables, ERGs, Wellness Coaches and On-Site Therapists(35:14) Avoiding the “Send One Email” Trap and Communicating 20 Different Ways(38:48) Great, Not Perfect: Building Trust, Prioritizing Requests, and Saying No Openly(44:51) Synchrony’s Hybrid “Way of Working” and Redesigning Leadership for Flexibility(51:48) Rethinking Performance, Onboarding, and Culture Centers in a Hybrid World---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

  --------  

  49:49

  --------

  49:49
• 270 - Escape the HR Busywork Trap: Melanie Naranjo (Chief People Officer, Ethena) & Taylor McLemore (COO, Tilt)

  Taylor and Melanie joined The Modern People Leader to unpack how HR teams can get out from under compliance chaos and admin overload to focus on business impact.---- Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode270Sponsor Links:🔗 Try Viva’s $950 one-month trial at execviva.com/mpl.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (06:00) — The problem statement: HR buried in admin, Q4 pressure, need for practical fixes(07:25)— Taylor on leave management as the high-stakes admin vortex and why great leave drives retention(10:18) — Melanie on overwork vs impact: earn respect through outcomes, not hours(14:08) — Reframing service: self-service, business-first questions, and saying “look it up” kindly(20:32) — Horror Story 1: Mexico-beach FMLA backfire and what the law actually allows(22:19) — Horror Story 2: CEO’s mis-sent inappropriate email and culture trust fallout(24:56) — Horror Story 3: Walk-by performance ratings in open cubes(27:42) — Taylor’s fix: design for simplicity in leave policies and automate approvals(28:57) — Melanie’s fix: make time your asset; test-outs, policy bots, AI course builder(33:47) — Q&A: “Minimum training hours” requirements and assigning only what’s legally needed(37:04) — Feeling “behind on AI”: why most teams are weeks, not years, behind(39:07) — Q&A---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

  --------  

  55:30

  --------

  55:30
• 269 - Hybrid Teams = People + Agents: Jessica Swank (Chief People Officer, Box)

  Jessica Swank, Chief People Officer at Box, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about building an "org brain", preparing managers to lead teams of humans plus agents, avoiding agent sprawl and tech debt, and why every people leader needs to start experimenting with AI personally to stay ahead.----  Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode269Sponsor Links:🔗 Start a one-month trial with Viva for $950.🔗 Talk to the team at Ethena.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (09:24) The GenAI Shift and What It Means To Become an AI-First Company(11:07) Box’s Three Pillars for AI in People and Communities: Optimize, Elevate, Amplify(13:25) Rethinking Roles, Skills, and Job Architecture in an AI-Driven World(16:17) Who Leads the AI Transformation: HR, IT, or a Cross-Functional AI Council(20:32) People Strategy in an AI-First World: Talent, Skills, and Leadership Expectations(23:55) Hackathons, AI Certification, and Box’s Step-by-Step AI People Roadmap(32:44) Leading Hybrid Human Plus Agent Teams and Rethinking Manager Responsibilities(37:20) Coaching, Feedback, and Performance Expectations for AI Agents(38:36) OKRs for Agents, Agent Sprawl, and Governance of Digital Employees(42:29) Tech Debt, Agentic Debt, and How People Teams Decide What To Build, Buy, or Wait On(47:47) The People Team Tech Stack: Build, Buy, Borrow, Bot in Practice at Box(49:10) Practical Advice for HR Leaders Just Starting Their AI Journey---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

  --------  

  58:13

  --------

  58:13
• 268 - The Blueprint for a Modern HR Team: Kit Krugman (SVP, People & Culture, Foursquare)

  We dug into Foursquare’s North Stars of vibrancy and velocity, applying design thinking to the people function, and their team-based performance model.---- Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode268Sponsor Links:🔗 Learn more about TopicFlow.🔗 Talk to the team at Ethena.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.Other Links Mentioned:🔗 Kit’s blog on why culture starts with performance ---- (13:04) Kit’s story(24:18) Why rebrand HR to People at Foursquare(25:25) Naming, value proposition, and aligning the people team to business goals(28:26) North Stars: “vibrancy + velocity,” big rocks vs prototypes, new engagement survey(33:11) People function as a product: design thinking, journey mapping, cross-functional experience team(39:09) First major bet: performance philosophy(41:35) Team-based performance model and measurement alignment(42:31) Transition to ONA focus(43:50) ONA background(47:30) Flattening org and team effectiveness coaching to support the model(49:07) Tying behaviors to leadership principles, career matrix, and team-based recognition(50:55) Research basis for high-performing teams vs teams of high performers(54:23) Metrics: measuring velocity (+43%), tradeoffs on coaching/feedback, new interventions(56:29) Theme of focus: advice for overwhelmed people leaders---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

  --------  

  1:01:53

  --------

  1:01:53
• 267 - BNY’s Big Bet on Early Careers — and How They Built 15K Agents & 100 Digital Employees: Shannon Hobbs (Chief People Officer, BNY)

  Shannon Hobbs, Chief People Officer at BNY, joined us to unpack how the bank is scaling its early-career pipeline, flattening org design, and running a culture-first transformation.We discussed BNY’s in-house AI hub “Eliza” (99% employee certification, 15k+ agents, 100 digital employees), plus practical advice for CHROs on building AI capability safely and at scale.---- How BNY is betting big on early talent (PDF): https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode267Sponsor Links:🔗 Talk to the team at Ethena.🔗 Learn more about TopicFlow.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (07:31) Shannon’s career journey to CPO (Citigroup/Smith Barney → Morgan Stanley → JPMorgan → American Century → GEICO → BNY)(10:36) Advice to aspiring CPOs: say yes to high-need roles; build varied skill sets(12:59) BNY in 30 seconds: “the bank of banks,” custody/clearing and client solutions(13:40) Why early careers matter now; meeting talent where they are(16:03) Scaling analysts: 500 → 1,000 → 2,000; investing despite headcount scrutiny(19:12) Timeline & structure: cohorts, rotations, upcoming “franchise” track(20:50) Manager enablement: teaching leaders how to leverage new-gen skills(22:43) The manager role today and why flatter orgs help(25:03) What “flat” looks like: cross-functional pods, closer to clients, more accountability(27:57) Finding hidden gems: visibility, time back via automation, rewarding talent work(29:49) Transformation umbrella: why this is bigger than a reorg(30:27) Platform operating model: phased rollout, end-to-end commitment(32:26) Culture → clients: language, pillars, progress toward full adoption(33:15) Robin Vince’s culture-first, level-agnostic leadership style(34:27) Turning to AI: framing AI as an enabler, not the destination(35:53) Eliza, BNY’s AI hub: built in-house for safety, control, and scale(36:49) Onboarding & safety: 99% employee certification before use(38:45) Hackathons, bootcamps, and recognition to drive real adoption(40:07) What’s inside Eliza: chat, agent builder, governed access(40:28) People Team Agent: launch story, 17k unique users in month one(42:11) Host reaction to adoption stats; why this is notable(43:33) Bottom-up tactics: sandboxing, storytelling, shared language(44:12) Legal as early adopter; multi-touch education to reduce fear(45:56) From “Excel fluency” to “AI fluency” as the new baseline(46:48) Who builds agents? Personal vs. production; step-by-step path(47:47) Idea intake → AI hub prioritization → production digital employees(48:16) Host reflection: rethinking careers in financial services(49:50) Final big question: how to build an AI hub in HR(50:42) Shannon’s playbook: train, equip, dialog, and tie to culture & work redesign---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

  --------  

  57:15

  --------

  57:15

More Business podcasts

Trending Business podcasts

About The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR