With the 2025 UNLEASH Startup Award now open for entries, here’s your chance to get to know the judging panel on the hunt for the best and brightest technology startups in the HR world.

Returning for its 13th year at UNLEASH America 2025, the award shines a spotlight on the most exciting and valuable innovations taking place in the HR technology world.

With a sponsorship package prize from UNLEASH worth $50,000 available to the winner, the UNLEASH Startup Award will showcase the best new businesses and ideas.

The finalists will pitch before a panel of expert judges and thought leaders in HR tech, competing for the grand prize on 7 May at 11:30 AM.

The competition is a must-see for anybody looking to procure cutting-edge tech or simply curious about what the hottest market trends are today and what the HR tech landscape will look like tomorrow.

Entries for UNLEASH America 2025 startups close on 28 March at 23:59 PST. Learn more about the application process and check out our handy guide on how to make the most of your entry.

Here’s the lowdown on this year’s judging panel:

Chair: Jess Von Bank, Global Leader, HR Transformation & Technology Advisory, Analyst and Now of Work Community Leader, Mercer

Jess Von Bank is an 18-year industry veteran and impassioned evangelist of the modern candidate and employee experience. As both a former recruiting practitioner and an expert in bringing TA Tech and HCM vendor solutions to market, Jess looks to broaden executive mindsets to better design and deliver a workforce experience that exceeds the expectations of talent and the needs of the business.

Jess offers specialized expertise in talent acquisition, recruitment marketing, employer branding, DEI&B, brand-building, and storytelling.

Jess is the Head of Marketing for Leapgen, a digital transformation company shaping the world of work. She also runs ‘Now of Work’, Leapgen’s global community for HR, Talent, and workforce experience professionals.

Jess is an active community emcee, ambassador for women’s and girls’ organizations, and President of Diverse Daisies, a nonprofit for girls’ enrichment and empowerment. She lives in Minneapolis, where she races for free swag and raises her 3 daughters.

Chris Hoyt, President, CareerXroads

A 25+ year veteran of recruiting and HR, Chris Hoyt is a sought-after speaker with presentations including North American conferences such as SHRM and LinkedIn, as well as iRecruit, Australasian Talent Conference, UNLEASH, and more around the world.

His expertise and experience within the recruiting industry and his passion for building strong communities go hand-in-hand with the work he performs as the president of CareerXroads.

For nearly 30 years, the CXR Community has brought together practitioners and leaders with a passion for recruiting, a willingness to share and a compulsion to improve talent acquisition.

Kathi Enderes, Senior Vice President Research and Global Industry Analyst, The Josh Bersin Company

Kathi is a Senior Vice President and Global Industry Analyst at The Josh Bersin Company, supporting clients and the market with evidence-based insights on all areas of HR, Learning, Talent, and HR Technology.

Kathi has more than 20 years global experience from management consulting with IBM, PwC, and EY, and as a talent leader at McKesson and Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, Kathi led talent and workforce research at Deloitte. She is a frequent keynote speaker, author, and thought leader.

Originally from Austria, Kathi has worked in Vienna, London, San Francisco, and Spain and now lives in Palo Alto, California. Her passion is to make work better and more meaningful. Kathi holds a doctoral degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Vienna, Austria.

Benjamin Visser, CEO & Founder, allygatr

Benjamin Visser has been shaping the recruiting world for more than 20 years.

He is founder and CEO of allygatr, the #1 operative Venture Capitalist for HR Tech in Germany, which has invested in 17 digital startups (more to come).

The unique concept of operational support and access to its “allyance”, its investor’s network of knowledge and contacts, has been attracting founders, talents and investors.

Kelly Cartwright, Vice President of People Acquisition, Technology and Operations, Splunk

Kelly Cartwright is the VP of Global People Acquisition, Technology and Operations at Splunk. In this position she leads the design and execution of Splunk’s global workforce and talent acquisition strategy inclusive of executive, experienced, emerging talent and contingent hiring. She also leads the organization’s global people process and technology transformation, analytics, compliance and operations.

Prior to her current role she was the Head of Talent Acquisition Tech and Enablement Strategy at AWS where she led the design and implementation of programmatic and technology enabled solutions that enhanced candidate experience and drove efficiency and scale for the global recruiting organization.

Kelly has more than 30 years of experience in the Human Capital Management Industry with deep expertise in rapid development and delivery of professional and technology solutions at scale.

She also serves on the advisory board of Acadian Ventures, an early state venture fund dedicated to supporting the next generation of companies who are redefining the future of work.

Jim Holzer, Managing Partner, Drake Star Partners

Jim has over twenty-five years of experience completing M&A and financing transactions for leading software and technology-enabled services companies.

Since joining Drake Star in 2012, he has been active in advising clients on M&A and growth equity transactions involving strategic buyers and financial investors. In addition to helping companies plan for and complete successful transactions, Jim frequently publishes market reports and participates in podcasts relating to trends in HRTech.

Prior to joining Drake Star, Jim held senior technology M&A roles at CIBC World Markets and Prudential Securities (now part of Wells Fargo) as well as at middle-market investment banks.

Judy Park, Investor, FoW Partners

Judy has spent more than a decade investing in and developing expertise in mission-oriented sectors. She was a Principal at Owl Ventures, the largest venture fund focused on education and workforce training with more than $2B of AUM.

Prior to Owl, Judy was a founding investment team member at Bain Capital’s $390M debut Double Impact fund and worked on the first investments in education/workforce and healthcare/wellness. She is a Strategic Advisor to Fiore Ventures and an Investment Committee member of the Stanford GSB Impact Fund.

Judy earned her M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she was a recipient of the Miller Social Change Leadership Award. She earned her Summa Cum Laude B.A. at Harvard College, where she majored in Social Studies with a focus on ‘Inequality in the U.S.’

Want more information?

For more tips and insights, join the UNLEASH Startup community here.

And for more information on our Startup packages, which provide marketing opportunities to showcase your achievements, please contact:

Kennedy Cook, Startup & Investor Program Lead – at Kennedy@unleash.ai

Aniko Illes, Startup Business Development Manager – at Aniko@unleash.ai or on 00 36 20 255 87 41.