The Software Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 HR Software Executives of 2024. Human Resources platforms have become integral to the success of modern organizations. From payroll and talent management to performance analytics and compliance, these platforms reduce administrative duties and allow professionals to focus on strategic initiatives. The leaders of these impressive platforms are not only tech innovators but also visionaries who understand the broader implications of workforce trends and regulations.
Among this year’s awardees, we recognize Bradley Rencher, Chief Executive Officer of BambooHR, who has over 25 years of technology and customer experience, including his previous role serving on Adobe’s leadership team where he was responsible for its $3 billion Digital Experience unit. Next, we have Carina Cortez, Chief People Officer of Cornerstone, who leads the global HR teams, oversees all strategic HR functions, and has held key leadership positions at Glassdoor, Ellie Mae, Walmart eCommerce, PayPal, and Visa. Finally, Jeremey Friedman, Chief Executive Officer at HireVue, focuses on human potential intelligence to revolutionize the hiring process and has held previous advisory and CEO roles at organizations such as Spiral Connect, Schoology, and PowerSchool.
These executives, along with many others on the list, are essential to navigating the increasing complexities of modern HR and play an important role in creating thriving workplaces. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 HR Software Executives of 2024.
1. Bradley Rencher
Company: BambooHR
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Bradley Rencher is the Chief Executive Officer of BambooHR, the leading provider of cloud-based HR software solutions that assist HR professionals in managing and supporting their employees. The platform’s payroll, time tracking, benefits, performance, and reporting solutions support the full repertoire of HR responsibilities.
Rencher brings over 25 years of technology industry leadership, customer experience (CX) and SaaS expertise, and transformational business experience to his role. He previously served on Adobe's senior leadership team and was responsible for the $3 billion Digital Experience business unit. Under his direction, Adobe's Digital Experience business secured coveted industry analyst leadership positions across 23 categories from web content management to digital marketing analytics and commerce and marketing cloud platforms.
Rencher earned an MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management and an undergraduate degree in business management and finance from Brigham Young University.
2. Michael Seckler
Company: Justworks
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Michael Seckler is the Chief Executive Officer of Justworks, a modern support system that offers solutions for domestic and global teams. Its simple platform and 24/7 customer service with the power of a PEO give businesses and their employees access to corporate-level benefits, seamless payroll, HR tools, and compliance support.
Seckler‘s tenure at Justworks began in 2015 as its first independent board member. After four and a half years serving in this capacity, he transitioned from the Board to join as chief operating officer in 2019 and later became President & CEO in 2022. Before joining Justworks, Seckler was a co-founder and partner at Euclidean Technologies and before that a division vice president at ADP. Earlier in his career, he worked with Mercer Management Consulting. Seckler graduated from Williams College with an undergraduate degree in geology and history.
3. Joshua Reeves
Company: Gusto
Title: Co-founder and CEO
Joshua Reeves is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gusto, an online payroll and HR solution that helps growing businesses onboard, pay, insure, and support their hardworking teams with payroll, benefits, and more. Gusto has become a trusted partner for over 300,000 businesses across the nation. Annually, they handle tens of billions of dollars in payroll processing and offer essential employee benefits, such as health insurance and 401(k) accounts.
Reeves, who has been with the company for nearly 13 years, believes in the power of software to solve complex problems. He graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in electrical engineering and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.
4. Daniel Yanisse
Company: Checkr
Title: Co-Founder and CEO
Daniel Yanisse is the Co-Founder and CEO of Checkr, a platform that uses AI to make background screening more efficient, speed up the hiring process, fill roles faster, and drive more revenue while remaining compliant with applicable Federal and state background screening laws.
Yanisse has grown the company from a background check API to a service used by tens of thousands of companies and millions of job seekers. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the company. Previously, Yanisse was a software engineer at Deliv and before that a software engineer at Mogreet. Yanisse earned a master’s degree in microengineering and an undergraduate degree in microtechnique from EPFL.
5. Hanno Renner
Company: Personio
Title: Co-Founder and CEO
Hanno Renner is co-founder and CEO at Personio, Europe's leading HR software provider for small and medium-sized enterprises assisting over 12,000 organizations in making their people processes more efficient and managing over one million employees within the platform.
Beyond his day-to-day role, Renner is committed to elevating talent and driving the start-up ecosystem across Europe. He is an active member of the extended board of the German Startup Association and campaigns to support entrepreneurship in Germany and beyond. He also serves as Chairman of the Management Board of the Personio Foundation, which supports progressive nonprofit organizations addressing critical global challenges such as climate action and education. Renner’s journey to co-founding Personio began with his studies in Munich, Auckland, and New York.
6. Sarah Liebel
Company: BetterUp
Title: Chief Growth Officer
Sarah Liebel is Chief Growth Officer and President of Consumer at BetterUp, a coaching platform that drives whole company transformation and provides employees with personalized experiences to boost productivity and personal growth. It brings together world-class coaching, AI technology, and behavioral science experts to deliver change at scale.
Liebel is a seasoned executive with significant experience across revenue generation and operations. She is responsible for driving BetterUp’s growth across Enterprise and Consumer through marketing and product channels. Before BetterUp, Liebel was the chief revenue officer of 1stdibs where she led teams across sales and operations during the company’s growth from an early-stage startup, through IPO.
Before joining 1stdibs, she held several positions at Groupon. She also previously worked in several finance and strategy roles at numerous technology companies. Liebel has a bachelor’s degree in marketing, finance, and business law from Tulane University and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
7. Jason Edelboim
Company: iCIMS
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Jason Edelboim is the Chief Executive Officer at iCIMS, a leading enterprise recruiting software and applicant tracking system that helps employers attract, engage, and hire a great workforce. Edelboim leads the vision and strategic growth plans for iCIMS, as it continues to scale globally. He brings nearly two decades of experience in data, technology, and enterprise software leading product, engineering, and go-to-market organizations, building high-performing teams, and scaling businesses.
Edelboim previously served as the president and chief operating officer at Dataminr where he led the sales, marketing, customer success, business development, partnerships, product, engineering, operations, and human resources organizations. Before Dataminr, he served as president at Cision, the market leader in software and services for public relations and marketing communications professionals. He also held leadership roles at PR Newswire and Bloomberg. Edelboim earned an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
8. Dhiraj Sharma
Company: Simpplr
Title: CEO & Co-Founder
Dhiraj Sharma is the CEO and Co-Founder of Simpplr, an AI-powered employee communications and enablement platform. Since co-founding Simpplr with Piyush Rajput, Sharma has led the company through multiple funding rounds, and with over $61 million, growing it to more than 200 workers globally.
Before Simpplr, Sharma was the CEO and founder of Lirik, Inc., a purveyor of cloud app solution providers, acquired by Tecnos Japan Inc. Lirik’s customers included a diversified set of Fortune 100 companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and mid-to-small size organizations. Sharma also previously co-founded and led Simplion Technologies. He holds a Master’s degree in computer engineering from San Jose State University.
9. Ronni Zehavi
Company: HiBob
Title: Co-Founder and CEO
Ronni Zehavi is the Co-founder and CEO of HiBob, a company that provides HR software for small and medium-sized businesses. It is committed to revolutionizing how organizations navigate the modern workplace landscape with its innovative HR platform, "Bob."
Zehavi has over 25 years of experience in multinational, hi-tech companies. Since HiBob’s founding in 2015, Zehavi has grown it to become a leading player in the HR software space. Previously, Zehavi was an EIR at Bessemer Venture Partners and before that a co-founder at Team8. He was also the co-founder and CEO of Cotendo. Earlier in his career, he worked with Commtouch as a vice president of HR. Zehavi earned a master’s degree in organizational sociology from Bar-Ilan University and an undergraduate degree in history from Tel Aviv University.
10. Daniel Chait
Company: Greenhouse
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Chait is CEO and Co-Founder of Greenhouse, a hiring platform that helps thousands of companies worldwide improve their hiring process by creating tools to help deliver seamless candidate experiences, identify and attract top talent, and make smarter hiring decisions.
As a technology entrepreneur for over 22 years, Chait’s firsthand experience leading people and recruitment showed him the value a modern platform to structure and automate the hiring process could bring to businesses. Before Greenhouse, he co-founded Lab49, a global firm providing technology consulting solutions for the world's leading investment banks. Chait graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in computer engineering.
11. John Waldmann
Company: Homebase
Title: Founder and CEO
John Waldmann is the Founder and CEO of Homebase, a company that helps businesses with their staffing and operations, including employee scheduling, time clocks, payroll management, team communication, and HR functions. Over 100,000 small businesses rely on Homebase for its ability to streamline work processes and empower their teams.
Waldmann previously held roles KKR Capstone, Boston Consulting Group, NESsT, and Mr. Formal, Inc. He has an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from Stanford University.
12. Kate Bishop
Company: IFS
Title: Chief Human Resources Officer
Kate Bishop is Chief Human Resources Officer of IFS, a company that develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies worldwide that manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within its single platform, its industry-specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation.
Bishop focuses on all aspects of the employee lifecycle and shaping the company’s vision for diversity and inclusion as well as looking after all of the people and places worldwide ensuring the company is positioned for continued growth. She previously worked as CHRO at the global wealth management platform FNZ and CHRO of Pearson plc. Bishop also previously held senior HR leadership roles at Ceva Logistics, Dell and Nortel Networks. Bishop graduated from Western University, Canada with an EMBA in business.
13. Shane Evangelist
Company: NEOGOV
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Shane Evangelist is the Chief Executive Officer of NEOGOV, a leading provider of integrated HR, payroll, talent management, and policy and compliance management solutions for the government, higher education, and the public sector. It allows organizations to attract, retain, develop, protect, and nurture top talent.
Evangelist is a results-driven business leader with years of experience building and managing high-performing teams. His expertise includes strategically attracting talent, cultivating organizational culture, and optimizing business outcomes. Before joining NEOGOV, Evangelist was a CEO at US Auto Parts and before that SVP & GM at Blockbuster. Earlier in his career, he worked with IBM as a business unit executive. Evangelist graduated from SMU Cox School of Business with an MBA in finance and from UNM Anderson School of Management with an undergraduate degree in marketing.
14. Carina Cortez
Company: Cornerstone
Title: Chief People Officer
Carina Cortez is the Chief People Officer at Cornerstone, a complete AI-powered workforce agility platform that helps organizations identify skill gaps and development opportunities, retain and engage top talent, and provide multimodal learning experiences to meet the diverse needs of the modern workforce. More than 7,000 organizations and 125 million users in 186 countries use Cornerstone Galaxy. Cortez is responsible for leading the global HR teams and overseeing all strategic HR functions, including talent acquisition, people operations and systems, diversity and inclusion, compensation and benefits, and more.
Before joining Cornerstone, Cortez held numerous key leadership positions for distinguished brands, including her most recent position as chief people officer for Glassdoor. She also held HR leadership positions at Ellie Mae, Walmart eCommerce, PayPal, and Visa. Cortez received her bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis in HR management from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo and is working towards her master’s degree in diversity and inclusion leadership from Tufts University.
15. Alan Price
Company: BrightHR
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Alan Price is the Chief Executive Officer at BrightHR, a leading HR and health and safety software service that is transforming people management for 7,000 clients across Canada. It helps small and medium-sized companies manage their employees, save them money, and help them grow with software plans tailored to their needs.
Price is an employment law and HR expert with 18 years of experience in employee relations. Previously, Price was a chief executive officer at Croner and before that a business manager at Telecom 21 (UK) Ltd. Earlier in his career, he worked with Royal Air Force Air Cadets as a corporal. Price holds several memberships and fellowships with reputable associations such as the CIPD, CMI, Australian Human Resources Institute, and Canadian Human Resource Professional Association.
16. Jeremy Friedman
Company: HireVue
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Jeremy Friedman is the Chief Executive Officer of HireVue, an artificial intelligence and human resources management company that allows its clients to conduct digital interviews during the hiring process, where the job candidate interacts with a computer instead of a human interviewer. Serving over 1,150 pioneering customers around the globe including over 60% of the Fortune 100, HireVue has hosted more than 70 million video interviews and 200 million chat-based candidate engagements.
Friedman focuses on human potential intelligence to revolutionize the hiring process. With a background in technology and finance, he has held advisory and CEO roles at various organizations such as Spiral Connect, Schoology, and PowerSchool. Friedman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an undergraduate degree in economics and computer science.
17. Yasmine Wakim
Company: Asure Software
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Yasmine Wakim is the Chief Technology Officer of Asure Software, a software company offering human capital management solutions, including payroll, time, and attendance, talent management, human resource management, benefits administration, and insurance services. It helps more than 60,000 small and mid-sized businesses develop their “human capital” to get to the next level.
Previously, Wakim was a VP of product management and RPA at OneSource Virtual and before that a VP, co-founder, and co-owner at Crystal Solutions Inc. TaxEx. Earlier in her career, she worked with consultants in ADP and MasterTax as a director of professional services. Wakim earned a master’s degree in civil engineering and geotechnical from Polytechnic University.
18. Amy Garefis
Company: ZipRecruiter
Title: Chief People Officer
Amy Garefis is the Chief People Officer of ZipRecruiter, a leading online employment marketplace that actively connects people to their next job. ZipRecruiter’s powerful matching technology improves the job search experience for job seekers and helps businesses of all sizes find and hire the right candidates quickly. Garefis’ role is pivotal in shaping the company's culture, talent acquisition, and overall employee experience.
Before joining ZipRecruiter, she served as vice president and controller at Wedbush Securities, Inc., a financial services and investment firm. She also worked as an accounting manager at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. and Montgomery & Co., LLC. Garefis is a Certified Public Accountant and has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
19. Sean Behr
Company: Fountain
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Sean Behr is the Chief Executive Officer of Fountain, a frontline workforce management platform that helps the world's leading brands streamline and scale their recruiting function. Its mobile-first platform keeps candidates engaged and reduces drop-off via built-in automated scheduling, text, and email reminders. Fountain’s global customers hire over 1.2 million workers annually in 78 countries.
Behr is an experienced executive and entrepreneur in multiple industries including e-commerce, advertising, and automotive. He focuses on leadership, strategy, product management, sales, growth, and scale. Previously, Behr co-founded and was the CEO of STRATIM. He was also an SVP of global operations at Adap.tv. Earlier in his career, he worked with Shopping.com as a director of product management. Behr graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in history and political science.
20. Kermit Randa
Company: Symphony Talent
Title: CEO
As CEO of Symphony Talent, Kermit Randa spearheads the company's mission and vision, directing efforts towards enhancing client outcomes and delivering data-driven solutions vital for today's talent acquisition landscape. With a background in cultivating cultures of high performance and growth, Kermit has been instrumental in reshaping Symphony Talent's brand identity and the value its solutions deliver.
Randa brings a wealth of experience in driving operational excellence, launching innovative initiatives, and uncovering new value propositions. With nearly three decades of leadership experience, including multiple CEO, Chief Growth Officer and Chief Operating Officer positions, Kermit has a robust track record leading client-centric technology businesses across multiple sectors, including healthcare, education, and HR. He holds degrees from Harvard Business School, Xavier University, and the University of Cincinnati. Kermit also serves as an Industry Advisor and Board Member, contributing his expertise to steer technology businesses toward success.
21. Adam Robinson
Company: Hireology
Title: Co-Founder and CEO
Adam Robinson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hireology, a hiring and HR platform that empowers decentralized businesses to attract and retain talent. It’s an all-in-one recruiting, hiring, and employee management platform that equips HR and business leaders with the support and tools needed to manage the full employee lifecycle from pre- to post-hire in one seamless platform.
Robinson’s mission is to help business leaders succeed by building exceptional teams and workplace culture. Previously, he was a co-founder and CEO at illuma Group, LLC and before that a senior director of professional services at Click Commerce, Inc. Earlier in his career, he worked with Maxim Group / TekSystems as an account executive. Robinson graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received his MBA from DePaul University.
22. Amy Mosher
Company: isolved
Title: Chief People Officer
Amy Mosher is the Chief People Officer of isolved, a trusted HCM technology leader that provides a combination of software and services to meet the needs of HR, payroll, and benefits professionals. From talent acquisition to workforce management, its solutions are delivered directly or through its HRO partner network to more than 5 million employees and 145,000 employers nationwide.
Mosher is accountable for the overall people strategy at isolved. With over 20 years of global human resources experience, she has contributed to the success of several progressive multi-national public and private companies in various industries including biotechnology, hardware, and software. She started her career as a human resources generalist at Exelixis. From there, she went on to Foxconn, before eventually rising to VP of human resources at HighWire Press, Inc.
23. Andrea Lagan
Company: Betterworks
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Andrea Lagan is Chief Operating Officer at Betterworks, a pioneer in intelligent performance management solutions that help workforces and organizations achieve their highest potential. It simplifies performance management and fosters greater manager effectiveness, higher employee engagement, and intelligent decision-making for HR professionals.
Lagan is a customer experience veteran with nearly 25 years of experience. She has successfully led teams responsible for driving business growth, customer retention, and exceptional customer experiences. Lagan is a successful business leader who planned and implemented organizational change in global support services from a loosely managed, physically dispersed cost center to a critical driver of business retention and growth.
She was previously COO at FinancialForce, chief customer and people officer at Alfresco, VP of cloud support at Oracle, VP of global support and operations at NetScout, and director of operations at Remedy. Lagan graduated from Western Michigan University.
24. Kathey Palmer
Company: Inova
Title: Chief Growth Officer
Kathey Palmer is Chief Growth Officer for Inova Payroll, a company that provides smart payroll and HR solutions to employers across the United States. The company’s services range from simple payroll for businesses with a few employees to robust human capital management solutions for those with 1,000+ employees.
Palmer is responsible for driving the company’s growth engine including marketing, positioning, branding, communications, and strategic partnerships. She has focused her career on building successful sales and marketing teams, promoting strong partner and client relationships, and expanding revenue growth and profitability.
Before joining Inova in 2021, Palmer spent over 20 years in the HCM industry and held senior sales, marketing, and business development leadership positions with Asure Software, ISystems, BenefitMall, CompuPay, and PayMaxx. Palmer received her bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Mississippi University for Women and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Alabama.
25. Jess Peluso
Company: HR Acuity
Title: Chief Revenue Officer
Jess Peluso is the Chief Revenue Officer of HR Acuity, a technology platform specifically built for employee relations and investigations management. HR Acuity’s SaaS technology helps achieve consistency in how organizations track, investigate, and analyze employee issues.
Peluso is a mission-driven sales leader who has led sales, account management, and customer success teams for almost 20 years. Most recently, she has been focused on the HR tech space, creating long-term partnerships with customers at iCIMS and Handshake before joining the HR Acuity team.
Before joining HR Acuity, Peluso was a VP of enterprise sales at Handshake, and before that a senior director, of global strategic and enterprise sales at Bitly. Earlier in her career, she worked with The State of New Jersey as a financial analyst II. Peluso graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus with an undergraduate degree in finance and economics.
