Tailored for Higharc · People operations, culture, and scalable ways of working
Christine Kern
Director of People Operations | Culture & Systems Builder

Culture & People Pioneer

I build things that last after I leave.

Not programs. Not initiatives.
Cultures. Systems. Teams that know how to keep getting better without me in the room.

I've been remote since 2008 — long before the world caught up. I know what it takes to make distributed work a genuine competitive edge, not a liability you manage around.

I listen before I build. I say what needs to be said.
I cut the noise that keeps people from doing their best work.

  • 01 People Ops Roadmaps Turns business priorities into practical people systems that scale without unnecessary drag
  • 02 Remote-First Culture Remote leader since 2008; builds trust, clarity, and autonomy into distributed operating rhythms
  • 03 Manager Enablement Equips people leaders to coach, set clear expectations, and hold high standards with care
  • 04 Performance & Engagement Designs listening, feedback, and development loops that create ownership, not performative process
  • 05 Change Communication Calm, clear voice during transition; translates complexity into context people can act on
  • 06 Culture Architecture Builds the conditions for high trust, high accountability, and meaningful business results
  • 07 AI-Forward Practice Uses generative AI to improve learning, coaching, feedback, and operational leverage
  • 08 Executive Partnership Trusted advisor to senior leaders; brings operational rigor and culture depth in the same room
25+ years in tech & global business
15+ years leading global teams
BS Business, Indiana University
Kelley School of Business
Certified Leadership Coach & Facilitator
Certified in Experience Design
Conscious Leadership Practitioner
The Inside Job on Substack
Experience
Christine Kern Consulting, Ltd.
Head of Talent Development, Mission Cloud May 2025 – Apr 2026
Embedded people, culture, and leadership-development lead for a 300-person cloud-native tech company
  • Led the people-development operating system: high-potential programs, manager enablement, engagement listening, performance support, and succession planning connected to business outcomes
  • Designed practical manager training for coaching, feedback, performance, and development conversations during organizational change — giving leaders clearer tools without adding bureaucracy
  • Partnered with GenAI team to build a custom AI coaching tool that analyzed transcripts and delivered personalized feedback at scale, increasing leadership support without adding headcount
  • Created AWS certification incentive strategy that exceeded Strategic Collaboration Agreement targets and helped turn capability-building into measurable business progress
Leadership & Performance Coach Aug 2023 – Present
Executive coaching and culture consulting practice
  • Facilitated executive offsites, team alignment sessions, and leadership workshops for founders and senior leaders navigating growth, change, and culture inflection points
  • Designed cohort-based leadership journeys that earned 100% participant recommendation rate and helped leaders shift from reactive management to clearer, more conscious leadership
Jones Lang LaSalle Technologies (JLLT)
Global VP, Sales Enablement & Culture Apr 2022 – Oct 2023
Led a global team of 30 across culture, people development, and go-to-market capability
  • Rebuilt the sales enablement and culture function for a distributed global organization: clarified team structure, redesigned accountability, and aligned every initiative to measurable outcomes; lifted engagement across 80% of teams
  • Served as the internal voice of change during a major methodology transformation, designing communication strategy, leader toolkits, and adoption tracking for a remote-first global workforce
  • Led a 30-person global team across enablement and culture workstreams; launched global LMS achieving 95–100% CSAT and managed $1.5M people investment budget
SAP  2009 – 2022
Head of People & Culture, SAP SuccessFactors Aug 2020 – Apr 2022
Led people strategy and culture for 5,000+ global employees
  • Designed and facilitated an 8-month leadership journey for high-performers and high-potentials: +94 NPS, 98% growth readiness
  • Created company-wide manager program equipping leaders with practical coaching tools for real-time development, feedback, and performance conversations
  • Advanced employee well-being, early talent, mentoring, and leadership initiatives
Chief Performance Officer, SAP Ariba Feb 2016 – Jul 2020
Built a first-of-its-kind people performance function from scratch
  • Built The People First Team from zero: mission, operating model, roles, and programs that shifted culture company-wide across 1,000 employees in 26 countries
  • Designed and led a 6-month conscious leadership program for 1,800+ top talent across 26 countries: +14% Employee Engagement, +9% Trust in Executive Board
  • Used engagement data, 9-box calibration, and manager input to identify development priorities and translate insight into individualized growth plans
  • Outcomes: +42% Leadership Trust, +8% Business Health & Culture Index, +7% Employee Engagement — other teams asked to replicate the model
Director, Network Enablement EMEA & MEE 2010 – Feb 2016
Prague & Paris
  • Built and led full professional services operations for EMEA from scratch: org structure, team culture, operating cadence, and performance infrastructure
  • Scaled team from 5 to 125 people across 33 countries and 16 languages; oversaw budget, forecasting, workforce planning, and performance management
  • Delivered 160% of FY2014 revenue target in the fastest-growing EMEA region, proving that clear systems and strong culture can scale together