Home featured Featured Startup Tips | Advice Featured Employment Hero’s first Chief People Officer reveals why startups need people champions James Harkness April 6, 2018 Hot on the heels of an $8 million Series B funding round , Cloud-based HR, payroll and benefits platform Employment Hero has recruited former Google executive Alex Hattingh as its inaugural Chief People Officer. In Conversation with Dynamic Business , Hattingh – an HR specialist who has also served CBA, Yahoo!, St George Bank and Lendlease in senior roles – revealed what drew her to Employment Hero. She also discussed her plans for the Sydney-based HR tech company and the value Chief People Officers can generate for startups. DB: What circumstances led you to join Employment Hero? Hattingh: I implemented Employment Hero as our People & Culture platform in my prior role over three years ago, so I’ve known Ben Thompson (founder and CEO) and his company for a while now. Following the company’s series B capital raise, Ben started conversations with me about investing in the Chief People Officer role. The opportunity to head up People & Culture internally for a business with aggressive growth plans and a culture I knew was amazing was a perfect fit for me. I wanted to be part of it. DB: What about the startup resonates with you? Hattingh: As someone who values high engagement and performance, I’m drawn to organisations with a mission and a purpose that resonates with me on that level. Employment Hero’s mission is