The new HR head is a veteran of the California tech space
Software company Intercom has named its first chief people officer.
The San Francisco-based employer has named L. David Kingsley to the role, and he will lead the company’s global people organization, including talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and development, HR business partners, total rewards, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and real estate and workplace experience.
“As a company, Intercom is known for innovation, and we’re focused on delivering breakthrough value to customers,” said Karen Peacock, CEO of Intercom. “David is an inspiring, experienced leader who will build on the fantastic culture and employee experience that we’ve developed at Intercom to help us continue to grow and build the future. David and I both believe that great cultures and employee experiences result in exceptional customer experiences.”
Kingsley has over 20 years of experience building motivated, highly engaged teams, and developing values-driven people programs. He joined Intercom following his stint as chief people officer at Irvine, CA-based Alteryx. He was also previously the chief people officer at San Francisco-based Vlocity and has held senior leadership roles at fellow San Francisco-based tech firms Mulesoft, Salesforce and Accenture.
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“I’ve long admired Intercom because of the special company the team has built — Intercom’s mission, people and values-centered culture immediately resonated with me,” said Kingsley. “As Intercom helps companies serve their customers in a more personal way, my focus is to do the same for our employees — to equip our people to do the best work of their careers and make sure we stay true to our values as we scale.”
Before Kingley’s hire, Intercom also made several additions to the company. It previously welcomed Declan Ivory, VP of customer support, who held previous leadership roles at Google, Tableau Software and Amazon Web Services. Laurie Borgen, VP of Digital Marketing, also joined the team, after holding senior leadership roles with Accenture, Intuitive and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Recently, GEICO also announced that Shannon Hobbs has joined the company as its new chief people officer.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk recently offered to buy Twitter for $43.4 billion after deciding that he will no longer be joining the company’s board of directors. Musk was set to be appointed to the board for a term that ends in 2024, according to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.
Numerous other companies have also seen movements in their leadership group this year.
Etsy Inc. announced that Kim Seymour has joined the e-commerce giant as chief human resources officer (CHRO). International real estate investment giant JLL named Laura Adams its new CHRO.
Ralph Lauren announced that Howard Smith, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at the company, resigned. Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks Corp., announced he will be retiring next month after 13 years with the company. Bolt founder and CEO Ryan Breslow announced that he’s stepping down after seven years at the helm of his San Francisco-based tech firm.
“If you're having problems with retention, you're having leadership problems,” Josh Johnson, director of leadership development for Talent War Group, told HRD. “Develop better bosses and supervisors. You'll be amazed at the retention levels you have."
