With the 2024 UNLEASH Startup Program 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 12th year, this 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 Program 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.

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 the 2024 Startup Program Award close on 29 March at 11:49 PST.

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

Moderator: Rebecca Carr, Chief Product Officer, SmartRecruiters

With over 15 years of experience in the recruiting and HR technology space, including as the SVP Growth for SmartRecruiters, Rebecca recently rejoined SmartRecruiters from Checkr, where she was the General Manager for Checkr Pay, Checkr’s earned wage access product.

Alongside this experience, she has led global product teams at Jobvite, Branchout, and Playdom (acquired by Disney in 2010). Her deep understanding of the customer problem space, bringing innovative products to customers, expanding product portfolios, and deepening customer relationships gives her a unique perspective on this role and space.

Benjamin Visser, Founder & CEO, allygatr

Benjamin Visser has been shaping the future of work for more than 20 years.

He is founder and CEO of allygatr, which has invested in 24 digital startups (more to come). allygatr creates remarkable value for startups, investors, experts, and companies by building a pioneering hrtech ecosystem.

Chris Hoyt, President & Co-Owner, 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, a 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.

James Holzer, Managing Partner, Drake Star

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.

Kathi Enderes, SVP Research, The Josh Bersin Company

Senior Vice President and Global Industry Analyst at The Josh Bersin Company, Kathi supports 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.

Mike Bollinger, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Cornerstone OnDemand

Mike Bollinger is an accomplished executive with 20 years of industry experience. He has deep technology and HCM domain skills including strategic workforce planning, communications, change management, team building, business case development and leadership.

Mike has in-depth knowledge and experience in effective planning, budgeting, and management as well as a comprehensive mastery of HCM technologies.

In his current role as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Cornerstone, he is responsible for internal research as well as strategy development around outcome-based goals.

Sadie Bell, VP People Systems and Automation, HPE

Sadie is the Vice President of Innovation and Deployment of People Systems and Automation at Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) where she is responsible to deliver exceptional people experiences through our people systems, as well as enable intuitive digital services through process improvement, robotics and document automation.

Prior to joining HPE, she worked for Dow Inc for several years serving in Senior Leadership roles across HR, Digital Manufacturing, and Information Systems. Sadie also worked with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in Business Intelligence and Analytics and as a programmer for CSC.

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 Ecosystem Sales Lead – at Aniko@unleash.ai or on 00 36 20 255 87 41.