HR People on the Move - April

Congratulations to the following new HR and recruitment execs on their recent moves.

Leafly Holdings, a leading online cannabis discovery marketplace and resource for cannabis consumers, today announced that Deidre Boulware will join the company as Chief People Officer. Deidre will lead Leafly’s people organization including talent acquisition and sourcing, talent management and development, and total rewards. Deidre will also lead the development and implementation of the company’s enterprise-wide equity, diversity and inclusion strategy that fosters employee success, growth and career development.

Deidre is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of strategic human resources leadership and change management experience across every phase of the employee experience — from talent acquisition and leadership development to employee engagement and succession management. As Chief People Officer, Deidre will play a critical role in establishing Leafly as the stand-out employer of choice in the emerging cannabis industry.

“Deidre joins Leafly at an exciting time as we embark on our bold vision to become the established one-stop shop for anyone who wants to understand or purchase cannabis. Deidre brings a unique perspective and breadth of experience that will help us nurture a collaborative and innovative workplace that fosters success and allows for individual development and career growth,” said Yoko Miyashita, Leafly Chief Executive Officer. “Her passion for the end-to-end employee experience and talent strategy will be instrumental as we continue to scale.”

KAI Enterprises is excited to announce the hiring of Kristin Copeland, PHR as its new Director of People & Culture.

Copeland has worked in Human Resources for over 20 years and has an extensive background in recruiting, onboarding, benefits administration, performance reviews, diversity and inclusion, wellness programs, compliance, and employee relations and training. Prior to KAI, she worked at Emerson for just over eight years, most recently as an HR Manager.

As KAI’s Director of People & Culture, Copeland will lead and direct the functions of the HR department. Outside of overseeing the daily workflow of the department, she will also spearhead creating learning and development initiatives that provide internal development opportunities for employees, and will analyze trends and best practices in talent management to ensure KAI attracts and retains top talent.

Benefitfocus, a cloud-based benefits administration company committed to helping organizations and their people get the most out of their health care and benefits programs, announced Kristin Adams as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer (CPO). Effective immediately, Adams will lead the company's people strategy with a focus on talent acquisition, development and retention; corporate culture; diversity, inclusion and belonging; employee compensation and benefits and organizational structure.

Adams is a full-scale talent advisor with a proven track record of scaling and managing teams. She spent more than 20 years at Morgan Stanley in various leadership roles where she helped lead future of work initiatives designed to catapult the company into its next phase. As the workplace and talent landscape continue to evolve post pandemic, Adams looks to bring her strong workforce strategy expertise to Benefitfocus.

With more than 20 years of experience overseeing global recruiting efforts at high profile technology companies, accomplished human resources leader Jenna Connell has joined Newfront, the tech-driven insurance brokerage based in San Francisco. Jenna will serve as Vice President, Talent Acquisition.

“Jenna’s talent and expertise, especially in the technology sector and with companies in all stages of development, makes her a perfect fit for Newfront and our expanding team,” said Amy Steadman, Newfront Chief People Officer. “The addition of Jenna to our People Operations team allows us to focus even more on our growth goals and adding more impressive team members to our strong roster.”