Skip to profile

Sana H.

Fractional People Leader for Early-Stage Startups

With over a decade of experience as the first dedicated People leader in various early-stage startups, I have navigated the complexities of building People Operations from 0 to 1 that deliver results for the business. My expertise spans the full spectrum of HR functions, from onboarding to leadership development, continuous performance feedback systems and compensation, hiring and employee retention strategies that align with the company's values and business outcomes.

Whether you're looking to enhance your company culture, streamline your People infrastructure, or develop your team's leadership skills, I am an experienced partner to deliver results. 

I can work with clients in two ways:

Fractional People Leader: Guide People/HR teams to build and execute in all areas related to the People function, including strategic planning, hiring, onboarding, performance and employee development, job leveling, total rewards, HR infrastructure, and employee relations.

Strategic Advisor: Partner with the executive leadership to architect People/HR strategies in all areas related to the employee experience.

If you're building a startup and need help, let's chat.

Hire Sana
Sana H.

Work

Unlearn.ai

unlearn.ai

Recruited after the Series B financing, I matured the People function as the first Head of People at Unlearn.

I established the People & Talent strategy, aligning hiring, onboarding, performance and total rewards programs with company goals. I also launched the company’s Manager Accelerator & Coaching Program, improving management scores by 73% in 12-months. I also implemented the company's first structured culture interview process, and "first, best offer" approach increasing offer acceptance rates to nearly 100%.

Partnering with the CEO and executive leadership team, I iterated on the job-leveling and compensation benchmarking frameworks, and advised on organizational design, leadership development, and talent decisions.

Tophatter

As the Head of People Operations, I oversaw Tophatter's global People Experience. I built all foundational programs (including recruiting & onboarding, talent development through rigorous performance feedback, organizational culture, total rewards and people infrastructure) while scaling from 12 to 180+ employees. I was a strategic partner to the Founders on organizational culture, and architected comprehensive employee programs, driving team alignment and improving employee retention by 50%.

Imago BioSciences

As the fist HR leader, I led and designed a comprehensive People & Talent strategy in support of business goals during a high-growth phase. I revamped recruiting by implementing an ATS, and hired 30+ people in four months. I also enhanced onboarding, and performance review processes, job leveling and compensation benchmarking, and total rewards.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, I facilitated offsites to articulate company vision, mission and culture.

HDS Global

hdsglobal.com

I matured the People function by establishing an efficient and scalable HR tech-stack, reducing employee onboarding time > 80%, and 10x'ed our hiring speed through implementation of an applicant tracking system (ATS). I also boosted retention by implementing semi-annual employee engagement surveys & performance reviews. I worked closely with the CPO and Founder to launch HDS's new website.

I partnered with executive leaders and managers on people-related issues and team development for a growing team of 100+ employees. I launched monthly Manager Workshops to coach and mentor people managers, improving performance feedback completion by 20% and boosting overall employee engagement (>75%) across the company. I also matured the company's job leveling and compensation frameworks for improved retention and hiring.

Experience

May 2022 — Mar 2023
Unlearn.ai

Unlearn.ai

Head of People

Unlearn is a VC-backed company which aims to advance artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate trial and error in medicine. I was recruited after the company's Series B to mature the People function as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

  • Established the People & Talent strategy, aligning hiring, onboarding, performance and total rewards programs with company goals
  • Launched the company’s Manager Accelerator program, improving management scores by 13 points in one year
  • Built and implemented job-leveling and compensation benchmarking frameworks
  • Partnered with and advised the executive leadership team on organizational design, leadership development, and talent decisions
Oct 2020 — Jun 2022

Imago BioSciences

Director of Human Resources

Imago BioSciences, Inc. was a publicly-traded company whose scientific efforts were aimed at developing drugs that improve the management of proliferative diseases of the bone marrow. It was acquired by Merck.

  • Led and designed a People & Talent strategy in support of business goals during a high-growth phase
  • Revamped recruiting, onboarding, and performance review processes by modernizing the HR tech stack
  • Designed and delivered compensation benchmarking and implemented structure for every role
  • Launched an ATS and onboarded 30+ hires across departments
  • Partnered with the senior leadership team on team culture, performance, and employee development
Apr 2020 — Sep 2021
OneDigital

OneDigital

Senior HR Business Partner

OneDigital is the nation’s leading strategic advisory firm focused on driving business growth for employers of all sizes. As a Senior HR Business Partner, I worked with companies across industries and sizes to align the business strategy with the HR strategy. My clients included Foresite Labs, Imago BioSciences, Neurona Therapeutics, Nura Bio, STRM.BIO, Trishula Therapeutics and Vera Therapeutics.

  • Partnered with executive leadership at companies to align HR strategy to accomplish business goals, and operationalize key HR projects
  • Developed HR foundations for clients including employee handbooks and policies, performance management programs, employee surveys, and training initiatives
  • Built and managed onboarding, payroll, benefits, immigration, and offboarding processes
Apr 2019 — Mar 2020
Qventus

Qventus

Director of People & Culture

Qventus is a VC-backed, real-time decision making platform for hospital operations and aims to simplify how healthcare operates. I was hired to the People team following the company's Series B.

  • Partnered with executive leaders and managers on people-related issues and team development
  • Iterated and launched core People programs for onboarding, manager training, job leveling and compensation strategy to improve the overall employee experience
  • Architected systems for feedback, performance management, and communication aligned with company values
Jan 2018 — Apr 2019
HDS Global

HDS Global

People & Business Operations

HDS is a private company focused on large-scale robotics automation-enabled e-commerce. I joined the team pre-Series A as a Founding Member to lead People & Business Operations to support the team's growth.

  • Overhauled HR tech stack, benefits, onboarding and offboarding logistics by implementing an HRIS and ATS
  • Increased employee morale & retention by implementing semi-annual employee engagement surveys & performance reviews
  • Drove organizational improvement by designing & implementing employee exit interview process
  • Streamlined key business operations, accounts payable, cap-table management and vendor due diligence
Mar 2012 — Jan 2018
Tophatter

Tophatter

Head of People & Talent Operations

As the Global Head of People & Talent Operations, I oversaw Tophatter's People Experience including recruiting & talent development, organizational culture, onboarding & performance management, total rewards and people operations across the US and China. Tophatter ceased operations in October 2023.

  • Overhauled hiring, benefits, and enrollment by implementing a human resources information system (HRIS), and an application tracking system (ATS) for recruiting and managing job candidates: paperless and efficient.
  • Increased employee satisfaction and morale by implementing employee wellness and commuter programs, and team-building activities.
  • Drove organizational improvement by designing & implementing employee exit interview process.
  • Managed and controlled all aspects of the company’s daily, monthly and yearly financial and fiduciary responsibilities
  • Managed all due-diligence during financing round, assembling financial records, employee and vendor contracts, and creating account r
  • Spearheaded the establishment of the company HR Operations in China, including hiring, benefits, performance and policies