2026 People First Leaders to Watch: The Winners!
This year marks our second annual People First Leaders to Watch list, and we could not be more excited to celebrate this incredible group.
These 26 leaders were nominated by someone in their network who has seen firsthand the way they show up for their teams. Each nomination highlighted a consistent people first mindset. These are leaders who prioritize trust, transparency, growth, and care. They build strong cultures. They empower managers. They create environments where people feel valued and supported.
Across industries including healthcare, tech, sports, hospitality, media, and energy, these individuals are proving that how you lead matters just as much as what you achieve.
We are honored to spotlight this year’s winners!
The 2026 People First Leaders to Watch
Chief Business Officer, Fullscript
As Chief Business Officer at Fullscript, Dennis sits at the intersection of growth, strategy, and execution. He is known for aligning business objectives with team development, ensuring that performance expectations are clear while people feel supported in reaching them. Dennis leads with transparency and accountability, creating strong cross functional partnerships and building teams that are empowered to move quickly without losing sight of culture.
VP, Head of Culture, Inclusion & Leader Engagement, Upwork
Erin leads culture, inclusion, and leader engagement at Upwork, shaping how leaders show up across a distributed workforce. She focuses on building inclusive systems that drive belonging at scale while equipping managers with the tools to lead with empathy and clarity. Her work strengthens trust across teams and ensures that culture is intentional, measurable, and aligned with business strategy.
Chief People + Diversity Officer, Detroit Lions
As Chief People and Diversity Officer for the Detroit Lions, Lindsay oversees talent strategy, culture, and diversity initiatives across the organization. She balances high performance expectations with a deep commitment to inclusion and employee experience. Lindsay is known for building strong internal partnerships and fostering an environment where individuals feel valued, respected, and motivated to grow.
Chief People Officer, Madison Energy Infrastructure
Cindy leads people strategy at Madison Energy Infrastructure, guiding workforce planning, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. She blends operational discipline with genuine care for employees, ensuring that policies and programs support both business outcomes and employee wellbeing. Her leadership creates stability during growth and positions teams to perform at a high level.
VP, People and Culture, HighRadius
Stella oversees people and culture at HighRadius, driving initiatives that support engagement, talent development, and organizational alignment. She prioritizes feedback, continuous improvement, and manager capability building. Stella is recognized for fostering strong communication across teams and building programs that help employees grow alongside the company.
Chief People Officer, Hippo Insurance
As Chief People Officer at Hippo Insurance, Tracy leads talent strategy, culture, and organizational design. She is known for building collaborative leadership teams and creating transparent people processes. Tracy empowers employees by establishing clear career paths, strengthening manager effectiveness, and reinforcing a culture rooted in accountability and trust.
Chief Talent Officer, BCBS NJ Horizon
Glenn brings analytical rigor and fairness to his role as Chief Talent Officer. He designs talent systems grounded in data and measurable outcomes, ensuring equitable practices across hiring, development, and performance management. Glenn equips managers with clear frameworks and tools, helping them lead high performing teams built on clarity, consistency, and trust.
Director of Talent Management, ATC
Kristy leads talent management at ATC, focusing on leadership development, succession planning, and employee growth. She partners closely with senior leaders to identify future talent needs and build strong development pathways. Her steady and people centered approach ensures employees have clarity on expectations and opportunities for advancement.
VP, People, Stord
Paola leads people strategy at Stord during a period of rapid growth and operational evolution. She plays a key role in scaling culture, strengthening leadership capability, and aligning talent strategy with business expansion. Paola focuses on maintaining cohesion across teams while building systems that support sustainable, high performance environments.
Chief People Officer, Potbelly
As Chief People Officer at Potbelly, Pat oversees talent acquisition, employee relations, and culture initiatives across a large frontline workforce. He emphasizes authenticity and connection, ensuring that employees at every level feel heard and supported. Pat’s leadership strengthens engagement and reinforces a service driven culture that starts with people.
Chief HR Officer, Sara Lee
Terra leads HR strategy at Sara Lee, guiding workforce planning, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness. She prioritizes communication and alignment, helping teams stay connected to shared goals. Terra fosters a culture of accountability and engagement, ensuring employees understand their impact on business success.
AVP, HR, Cox Enterprises
Kim drives strategic HR initiatives at Cox Enterprises, supporting leaders across diverse business units. She integrates data driven decision making with thoughtful people practices, helping the organization scale effectively. Kim focuses on leadership development and operational excellence while maintaining a strong commitment to employee experience.
Chief People Officer, The Honest Company
Dorria leads people operations at The Honest Company with a focus on inclusion, transparency, and accountability. She shapes policies and practices that reflect company values while supporting business growth. Her leadership ensures employees feel respected and empowered to contribute meaningfully to the organization’s mission.
EVP and CHRO, The New York Times
As EVP and CHRO of The New York Times, Jacqueline oversees global HR strategy across a complex media organization. She balances innovation with structure, guiding leadership through change while maintaining strong cultural foundations. Jacqueline emphasizes performance, integrity, and employee development at every level.
VP, HR Madison Square Garden
Kelli leads HR initiatives at Madison Square Garden, supporting talent development across a high visibility entertainment and sports organization. She builds programs that enhance engagement, leadership capability, and organizational alignment. Her structured yet people focused approach strengthens culture while driving results.
SVP, HR, BSE
Emily oversees HR strategy at BSE, aligning people initiatives with operational performance. She is known for driving engagement, leadership coaching, and workforce planning. Emily ensures that employee development remains central to the organization’s success.
HR Executive, US Soccer
Matthew supports people strategy within US Soccer, helping cultivate high performance teams in a competitive environment. He emphasizes leadership coaching, development planning, and strong communication. His approach ensures that talent strategy supports both immediate performance and long term growth.
Chief People Officer, United Distributors
Virginia leads talent and culture at United Distributors with a focus on operational clarity and strong manager partnerships. She builds structured people systems that provide consistency while maintaining a supportive work environment. Her leadership reinforces accountability, development, and trust.
Chief People Officer, SeatGeek
As Chief People Officer at SeatGeek, Taylor oversees talent acquisition, culture, and organizational design during periods of scale. She champions strong leadership capability and data informed decision making. Taylor ensures that growth does not compromise culture and that employees remain connected to the company’s mission.
Chief People Officer, Genius Sports
Vera leads global people strategy at Genius Sports, supporting teams across multiple markets. She focuses on engagement, communication, and leadership alignment in a fast paced environment. Vera builds resilient teams by strengthening manager capability and reinforcing shared values.
Tennile Murray
Head of People Advisory, Sportradar
Tennile leads people advisory efforts at Sportradar, partnering closely with business leaders to solve complex organizational challenges. She supports workforce planning, employee relations, and leadership development. Tennile encourages thoughtful decision making and fosters a culture grounded in shared accountability.
Chief People and AI Transformation Officer, Zapier
Brandon integrates people strategy with AI transformation at Zapier, helping the organization rethink how work gets done. He focuses on automating repetitive processes so teams can invest more energy into meaningful work. Brandon’s leadership ensures innovation enhances, rather than replaces, the human experience at work.
Chief People Officer, LiveRamp
Stephanie leads people strategy at LiveRamp, overseeing talent development, engagement, and organizational effectiveness. She builds scalable systems that support growth while preserving strong culture. Stephanie empowers leaders to create clarity, alignment, and opportunity across the organization.
Chief People Officer, Din Tai Fung
Tawanda oversees people operations at Din Tai Fung, supporting a large and diverse workforce. She blends operational excellence with a strong commitment to employee experience. Tawanda ensures frontline teams receive the development and support needed to deliver exceptional service.
Chief People Officer, Firefly Space
John leads people strategy at Firefly Space, guiding talent initiatives within a highly technical and innovative industry. He emphasizes leadership development, clear communication, and organizational alignment. John builds collaborative environments that enable teams to thrive in complex, mission driven work.
SVP, People and Culture, GSW
Erin leads people and culture initiatives at GSW, integrating data and analytics into talent strategy. She uses insights to inform decision making while maintaining a strong focus on employee experience. Erin’s balanced approach strengthens engagement, performance, and organizational clarity.
We are proud to celebrate these leaders who consistently put people first. Each of them was nominated by someone who has experienced their leadership directly. Their impact extends beyond titles and organizations. It shows up in the trust they build, the teams they strengthen, and the cultures they shape.
Here’s to year two and to continuing to recognize leaders who remind us that great leadership always starts with people.
Know a people first leader we should recognize next year? We would love to hear from you. Stay connected with Illoominus and keep an eye out for next year’s nominations. Let’s continue elevating leaders who put people at the center of everything they do.
About Illoominus:
Illoominus helps organizations modernize workforce planning by turning complex people data into clear, actionable insights. We design intuitive, self serve data experiences that empower leaders to explore information confidently and make informed decisions in real time. By combining thoughtful analytics with AI-driven capabilities, we equip teams with the tools they need to move from reactive reporting to proactive strategy.
