Cathy Hawley, former Chief People Officer of Return Path and Co-Founder of Bolster, sits down with Michael to discuss the importance of intentionality and an agile mindset in building a remote company culture, how people operations grew out of traditional human resources, and why employers should focus on a co-creating mentality when approaching its workforce.

Cathy is a strategic people leader, with an exceptional track record of laying the foundation for strong company cultures. After several years in the UK as a social services counselor, Cathy returned to the US as a human resources director. With her experience in the UK informing her people-centric approach to human resources, Cathy served as the Sr. Director of Human Resources at Epsilon for several years before joining Return Path as its Sr. People Director in 2008.

Rising through the ranks to become the company’s Chief People Officer, Cathy fostered a strong partnership with Matt Blumberg, Return Path’s CEO, which was instrumental in helping the company build a development-focused culture. After departing Return Path in June 2019, Cathy teamed back up with Matt in 2020 to found Bolster, an executive talent marketplace, and to co-author Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company's Critical Functions and Teams.

In addition to her role at Bolster, Cathy serves as a Founding Board Member of Path Forward, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people to return to the workforce after taking time off to care for a loved one.

Where to find Cathy:

Mentioned on the episode:

Matt Blumberg, former CEO of Return Path, co-founder of Bolster, & author of Startup CxO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business
Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Hawkins

Return Path Chief People Officer, Co-Author of Startup CxO, & Bolster Co-Founder, Cathy Hawley shares the secret ingredients to build a fantastic company culture