Columbus startup Aware has hired its first chief people officer from a publicly traded company as it heads into a major hiring push and headquarters move.
Erin Souza also plans to raise Aware's profile in the Central Ohio community and the industry more broadly, CEO Jeff Schumann said.
"We've generally been under the radar from a community perspective; we're not always out there and pounding our chest," he told Columbus Business First. "One of the things that Erin wants to do is get us a little bit more involved in the local community, but also the national community, in terms of accessing greater talent pools, building relationships with specific organizations, investing in those organizations, creating sponsorships and scholarships."
In a 16-year human resources career, Souza most recently was vice president of people experience at wireless speaker maker Sonos Inc., which had $1.7 billion revenue last year. She reported to the Santa Barbara, California, company's chief people officer and led development of culture across 15 global offices.
"She is phenomenal," Schumann said. "We know the brand is incredibly strong with Sonos, ... and the culture they've established, and Erin played a big part in that."
Aware reached 115 employees this week and could hit 200 to 250 by year's end, Schumann said. The company plans to build out a larger office but stay in the Brewery District.
Revenue tripled last year, as he told me for a related Q&A, and should grow even faster this year. Aware, the DBA of Nullable Inc., recently signed fast food brands and retailers with more than 1 million employees each for its software that manages regulatory compliance and cybersecurity for workplace collaboration platforms such as Slack and Facebook Workplace. It also analyzes employee sentiment in real time.
The company has been expanding its C-suite, adding a chief revenue officer last month. With each shift to a larger scale, entrepreneurs who started out multitasking turn to specialists. Schumann said Souza can invest in diversity, equity and inclusion, and build scalable processes for hiring and developing talent.
"Culture is so important to us," he said, "having somebody that really owns it as we scale that isn't just myself, somebody ... protecting what we've worked so hard to build."
Before Sonos, Souza worked more than 11 years at consulting firm Charles River Associates in the Washington, D.C., area and London, England, rising to vice president of human capital, according to her LinkedIn profile.
"I'm excited to bring my entrepreneurial spirit together with my love of all things people and culture to Aware and partner with a leadership team that prioritized a people-first philosophy from day one," she said in a news release. "The last few years have shown businesses must reflect upon what is important and valued to the modern employee. We must listen, adapt and change our priorities to put people first and foremost to attract, develop and retain top talent."
The move isn't far: For the past two years she's worked remotely for Sonos from metro Columbus.
The prospect of a physical office and face-to-face interaction was one of Aware's advantages in recruiting Souza, Schumann said. Employees have flexibility in where they choose to work.
A few weeks ago Aware added Chief Revenue Officer Bill Strogis, who has more than three decades' experience in sales with the country's best-regarded tech companies.
"He comes from a world a world of the most elite sellers that have been born," Schumann said. "His degree was in mechanical engineering, so it's very process and analytical, and we're seeing that mannerism play out in the day-to-day and I freaking love it. It's awesome to watch.
"He's been a fantastic hire, and one that will propel Aware to a level that we thought was once fantasy, and is become quickly reality."
