DK Burnaby

Experience

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  Thred Technologies, Inc.

  Consulting Chief People Officer

  Jan 2022 - Feb 2023

  A spin-out from Brightloom, Thred was a Web3 software company building an AI-powered NFT search and personalized recommendations engine (acquired by Kigo).

  • Operationally managed spin-out and establishment of new entity.
  • Providing ongoing support and transition services to Thred as a consulting People & Operations leader.
  • Partnered with CEO on talent strategy, compensation philosophy, culture, and values.
• 

  Brightloom

  Chief People Officer and Chief Operating Officer

  Mar 2020 - Oct 2023

  Brightloom was a Starbucks backed cloud-software providing AI and data science driven insights, predictive analytics, customer behavior data, and marketing recommendations for the restaurant industry. Head of People Experience & Talent Acquisition teams, leading all people operations, facilities, talent management, DEI, L&D, recruiting, and HRBP functions. Promoted twice in two years, joining the CEO’s Core Leadership team as SVP. As CPO, led the company through CEO transition and stepped up to help run corporate Operations under the mentorship of exiting COO. Took over as Head of Operations at the start of 2023, assuming leadership of all G&A functions (Finance, Legal, HR, & IT/InfoSec), and the Product Development team. Partnered closely with the CEO on company and product strategy, with the goal of setting Brightloom up for successful M&A outcomes.

  • Led Brightloom through COVID-19 and the transition to a permanent, fully remote business model. Instituted successful programs to foster social connectivity, bolster employee wellness, and sustain productivity and engagement.
  • Guided the executive team through conflict resolution and collaboration improvement, including 360 reviews and feedback sessions, 1:1 coaching, and leadership development.
  • Redesigned compensation and performance management strategy to establish a results-driven culture with an equitable and competitive pay philosophy.
  • Infused Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion best practices into every element of the company, especially hiring. Highly successful in building diverse hiring pipelines and growing our women in leadership and technology.
  • Managed two RIFs and restructures as the company navigated pandemic and recession, while streamlining to position the company optimally for M&A.
  • Managed the spin-off and spin-out of Thred Technologies, a blockchain technology startup incubated inside of Brightloom.
  • Oversaw multi-million dollar implementation of customized solutions for Starbucks Global.
  • massive cost-reduction effort to bring burn to a sustainable level and pave the way for profitability (75% reduction in operating costs over six months).
  • Managed investor relations and legal resources through complex transaction involving the sale of Brightloom’s Thred assets and payoff of venture debt.
• 

  Zume Inc.

  Director, Talent Acquisition

  Dec 2018 - Feb 2020

  Zume, Inc. was a SoftBank backed startup creating a “sustainability fabric” of technology solutions using AI/ML, predictive analytics, IoT, and Robotics to help food companies thrive in a delivery-enabled food system while reducing waste and carbon emissions. Zume was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Built the technology Talent Acquisition (TA) team from the ground up while ramping to support 2019 growth of over 260 in the Engineering, Data Science & Product org. Established core TA processes and structure, shifting from site-based self-service & outsourced recruiting to a centralized model with TA partners aligned by executive. Developed TA performance and pipeline metrics, designed and implemented TA dashboards in G-Sheets and Tableau, and established monthly recruiting review & strategy sync cadence within each org. Led the redesign and standardization of Zume’s interviewing practices across sites, implementing competencies, pre & debrief practices, and efficient event & block based interviewing methods. Developed interviewer certification program and led training across all sites and business lines, including behavioral interviewing and unconscious bias. Improved candidate experience by implementing communication/decision SLAs and candidate centered on-site process.

  • Achieved aggressive 2019 hiring plan targets, despite building a team from zero.
  • Reduced agency usage by over 50% within six months.
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  Amazon

  Senior Talent Acquisition Leader - Alexa

  Dec 2016 - Dec 2018

  Alexa Domains was the largest division of Amazon Alexa (a subset of Amazon Devices) comprising several verticals focused on developing the core user experiences with Alexa. Domains was an Engineering-focused organization (85% tech, 65% software dev) and consisted of Smart Home/Properties & Hospitality, Entertainment, Information (Q&A), Household Organization, Amazon Dash & Dash fulfillment services, among others. Led a tech Talent Acquisition organization of 28, with 7 directs (3 managers & 4 ICs). Hired to build a new team from a seed of three to scale division by 495% in 2017 and 70% in 2018 (hiring over 1,000 in 2 years). Established the Talent Acquisition Strategy with a design to bridge the capacity gap against aggressive targets while building the team. Cultivated deep partnerships with client groups and engaged the engineering organization in sourcing, outreach, and events strategy. Trained hiring teams to improve calibration and promote inclusive interviewing practices. Built a recruitment outsourcing program to supplement capacity while ramping up internal events recruiting team which replaced it fully in Q4 2017. Led division expansion to Vancouver, BC and three new locations in California, as well as assisted in integrating an acquisition. In addition to hiring delivery, played a key role on the Devices TA Leadership team responsible for Devices-wide TA strategy. Managed 2019 Capacity modeling for all of Alexa TA. Partnered closely with Head of division HR on leadership development programs and diversity initiatives.

  • Hit accelerated hiring targets and completed initial 2017 plan by end of Q3.
  • Delivered 103% of full plan with incremental adds in 2017, despite being understaffed.
  • Highest productivity recruiting team in 2018 within Amazon Devices organization.
  • Drove improvements in pipeline diversity and exceeded gender diversity targets for 2017 & 2018.
  • Co-authored the Alexa Diversity Strategy and action plan for the executive team.
  • Conceived, led development, and launched the Devices TA L&D program, significantly improving onboarding experience, new hire ramp, and leadership capability.
• 

  Tableau Software

  Senior Manager, Talent - Global Product Development

  Aug 2015 - Aug 2016

  Tableau is a leader in data visualization software and analytics, boasting the fastest database engine in the world (HyPer) and its revolutionary proprietary Visual Query Language, VizQL. (Acquired by Salesforce) Hired to scale the Product Development talent acquisition function and redesign the model for success through Tableau's product & engineering org restructure during extreme growth. Led the team in entering the Vancouver, BC and Munich, Germany markets. Delivered a new recruiting model and leadership training to maximize partnership with Dev and collaborative, referral driven hiring practices. Received praise for high performance and succeeded against all objectives, but laid off as a result of significantly reduced growth plan for Tableau Product Dev due to macro-economic conditions.

  • Sustained results of 80%+ direct sourced and referred hires.
  • Successfully realigned recruiting to establish strong credibility and consultative partnerships.
  • Built out Dev Recruiting's metrics and Tableau dashboards, reducing referral & application resolution times by 50%+, providing visibility to pipeline health, and enabling improved talent matching across hiring teams.
  • Leader in establishing diversity programs, including development of Unconscious Bias training.
  • Presented at Talent42 recruiting conference on scaling referral-driven hiring from startup to 3k+.
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  Redfin

  Senior Manager - Tech, Business Ops and Early Career Talent

  Aug 2013 - Aug 2015

  Redfin combines technology and customer service to reinvent the end-to-end experience for buying and selling a home in the consumer’s favor. Built and led a team of 16 recruiters and talent acquisition managers including Product & Engineering, Business Operations, and Early Career Talent (University) to fuel radical growth in consumer web application development, mobile, analytics, IT, marketing, finance, and more.

  • Established recruiting metrics and reporting, enabling visibility to pipeline health and improvements in hiring ratios across all teams.
  • Designed and delivered leadership and interviewer training to improve hiring practices, contributing to reducing time to hire by 30%+ and Interview:Offer ratios by up to 75%.
  • Created comprehensive frameworks and training on candidate experience, closing, and pitching stock, which saw increases in Engineering offer accept ratios from ~55% to 86%.
  • Led improvements in referral resolution and rebranding of referral programs, yielding an increase in referral hires from below 20% to above 35%.
  • Led diversity program initiatives and developed unconscious bias training.
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  Sap Concur

  Manager, Talent Programs and Operations

  Oct 2007 - Jun 2013

  Concur is a global industry leader in cloud & mobile-based travel & expense solutions. (Acquired by SAP) Managing Concur's Global Talent Center of Excellence, led an international team across the US, Europe, and Asia. Responsible for driving increased performance and ROI through the delivery of programs, leading practices, process and standards, tools, and global operational support. Areas of focus encompassed process excellence, brand & attraction, diversity and university talent, sourcing, metrics and reporting, candidate care & onboarding, compliance, and vendor management. Previous roles at Concur included management of Americas & Asia Pacific talent team of 13 recruiters across multiple disciplines, scaling Concur by 600%, and project leadership for key strategic initiatives in HR and talent acquisition, including assisting in the TripIt M&A.

  • Streamlined core recruiting processes and software platform, enabling a 100% increase in team output.
  • Established a global recruitment advertising platform, sourcing toolkit, and source channel analytics, contributing to a 23% reduction in cost-per-hire YOY.
  • Built out employee referral and social job-sharing platform, sustaining a continuous rate of 35-40% of hires through the ERP.
  • Created Concur’s employment brand messaging and built career portals at Concur.com, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. 84%+ positive feedback from surveyed applicants.
  • Implemented Concur’s first campus recruiting program, including the campus engagement plan, campus employer and internship program brand, and intern experiential plan. Contributed to the hiring of over 30 interns for the FY13 program year.
  • Launched a reputation management plan and candidate experience metrics which led to Concur holding the top ranked employer spot on Indeed’s best places to work ladder and improved rankings on Glassdoor.com.
  • Built and managed a global talent research function based in the Philippines to empower GTA with market intelligence and proactively map talent against future hiring needs.
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  Viack Corporation

  Director, Human Resources

  Nov 2001 - Nov 2006

  VIACK Corporation was an early-stage innovator in highly secure e-communications and collaboration Software-as-a-Service solutions for business and government. Hands on leader for human resources and recruiting. Managing a small team responsible for hiring a variety of professionals across R&D, sales, marketing, finance, and operations across the US.

  • Designed and built the talent management & acquisition function and programs from the ground up.
  • Defined compensation strategy and built VIACK’s first formal performance management and talent selection programs.
  • Managed OFCCP compliance.
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  Is3 Inc.

  President

  Jun 1995 - Sep 1999

  IS3 was an Information Technology consulting firm specialized in providing IT infrastructure solutions, support, training, database and web development services to SMB and VSB clients. (Acquired)

  • Built an independent consulting practice into a firm of 25 technical and operations employees.
  • Recruited IT talent and led business development to establish a strong client base in the entertainment sector.
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  The Walt Disney Company

  Actor

  Jan 1987 - Aug 1993

  This is really just a fun tidbit about me... I was an aspiring child actor in Los Angeles, growing up. I appeared in a guest star role on "Golden Girls", a couple of print ads, and a student film. Aside from my brief moment in the spotlight, I had some really big near successes... I interviewed with Steven Spielberg personally for the role of Rufio in "Hook" and in fact had the part, until the other kid that actually got it popped up at the last minute. They even fitted me for wardrobe! Oh well. Another similar near success was "Lord of the Flies" - the final audition for the role of Ralph came down to myself and Balthazar Getty, who ultimately beat me for the part. Eventually acting just became too much of a time commitment... I decided to bail out and focus on school just as my acting career was really starting to heat up. I don't regret it one bit... but who knows where I'd be today if I hadn't stopped??? :)

  • Guest Starred on Golden Girls