Hanold Associates Recruits Global Head of People Experience for Zoom
October 14, 2020 – Chicago-based Hanold Associates HR & Diversity Executive Search has assisted in the placement of Kim Blue Terrell as global head of people experience partners at Zoom. Mayank Parikh, Keri Gavin, Ashley Schiele and Jason Hanold led the assignment. “Zoom has become the ubiquitous solution to allow us to safely attend class, go to work, meet our friends and see our family,” said Mr. Parikh, a partner with the search firm. “With so many people relying on their product, Zoom is evolving, growing and getting better. Bringing on a great new addition to their people leadership team like Kim enables them to create better experiences for their employees, and in turn, lead to better and more reliable experiences for the millions of people globally who trust Zoom.”
“Kim has a distinctive blend of approachability and authenticity, which makes her a trusted relationship builder who can lead candid conversations and serve as a role model within an organization,” said Mr. Parikh. “As a company scales, it’s so important to have innovative culture champions in all corners, and Kim is someone who can both serve that role and enable others to be better leaders. She perfectly embodies Zoom’s people-first culture and will be a fresh voice as they continue to raise the bar on how the best organizations think about culture and talent.”
Ms. Blue Terrell is a strategic and data-focused crisis-manager with over 15 years’ experience developing and executing human resources strategies for employee populations in technology, telecommunications and entertainment. Most recently, she was senior HR manager for the U.S. East region for Microsoft. Before that, Ms. Blue Terrell was a senior HR business partner with ESPN. In this role, she directly supported one regional and one local senior vice presidents regarding a variety of site and client group dimensions while supporting more than 200 Southeast region employees.
“Kim is a creative HR leader who brings exceptional experience and a valuable perspective to Zoom during a time of unprecedented growth and change,” Mr. Parikh said. “We know Kim will have a profound and lasting impact on the company and the many millions of people who rely on their solutions to work, learn, socialize, teach and connect with others.”
Reporting to the chief people officer of Zoom, Lynne Oldham, Ms. Blue Terrell will lead the company’s HR business partner team globally driving strategic business partnership and HR strategy with business leaders and stakeholders across the organization.
Essential Resource During COVID-19
Zoom was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan and other leaders and engineers. After years of funding rounds, including some time spent as a “unicorn” with a valuation of more than $1 billion, the company went public on the NASDAQ as ZM in April 2019. In its first year as a publicly traded company, Zoom earned $330.5 million in revenue. Zoom offers video, voice, chat and content-sharing technologies through its meetings, online conference rooms, phone systems and chat and video webinar platforms. All platforms run on a reliable cloud platform that operates on mobile devices, desktops, telephones and room systems.
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Zoom maintains its Silicon Valley roots with its headquarters in San Jose, CA. The company’s success has led to rapid growth and scaling, with 3,200 current employees and additional growth expected. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom has become renowned as a resource for remote work, social interaction and distance education. The executive search industry has also relied heavily on Zoom during the global pandemic.
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“The pandemic has really allowed search professionals to open their horizons, meet more people and deepen relationships as thought leaders and advisors,” said Mr. Parikh. “Luckily for us all, we have solutions like Zoom to help us ensure that while the process may have to evolve, there’s no sacrifice in the substance or quality of those assessments and interactions.”
Trusted Recruiters
Hanold Associates is a boutique executive search firm focused on HR and diversity and inclusion officers. Its client list is diverse across industries, geographies and business scenarios, and culture is at the core of everything the firm does. Its clients include the National Football League, Zoom, Domino’s Pizza, Under Armour, Patagonia, Gucci, The New York Times, Tom Brady’s TB12, Kohler, REI, Live Nation Entertainment, Dick’s Sporting Goods, McDonald’s, Major League Baseball, Kellogg, Apollo, Big Ten Conference, Blackstone, TPG, L Catterton, Northwestern University, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Electronic Arts, Fiat-Chrysler, SC Johnson, eBay, Moderna, Hillrom, Great Place To Work, Fossil, Vail Resorts, AbbVie, Carnival Corp., Biogen, Allstate, Bridgestone, Wikimedia, ClubCorp, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Ford Motor Company, among others.
Mr. Parikh focuses on recruiting world-class HR leadership talent to organizations undergoing significant transformations. He’s held progressive roles within the firm, having first joined the firm as a summer intern while a student at Northwestern University.
Ms. Gavin focuses on all functional areas of HR and diversity and inclusion. Prior to joining Hanold Associates, she was director of host relations and consulting for Ragan Communications. Before Ragan, Ms. Gavin was a television anchor and reporter in Des Moines, IA.
Ms. Schiele, a partner with Hanold Associates, uses her advanced degree in organizational psychology to leverage both organizational dynamics and skill assessment in order to identify and recruit key talent. Ms. Schiele has experience recruiting across industries and functions including, but not limited to, manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, IT, sales and marketing.
Related: Hanold Associates Launches Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practice
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
