Throughout her career, Kelly has been energized by opportunities to learn, build, and solve new challenges with one consistent theme: embracing opportunities to learn, build, and create meaningful impact. 

Each role expanded her perspective and strengthened her ability to connect different areas of HR, from recruiting and compensation to workforce planning, HRIS, people analytics, talent, employee listening, and organizational transformation. Her career wasn't a series of disconnected jobs. It was a deliberate progression toward becoming a more well-rounded HR leader who could help organizations build stronger, more data-driven people strategies while gaining clarity about the values she wanted her work to reflect.

What drove her pivot?

Her latest pivot, however, is different. It isn't simply a move from corporate HR to an HR technology company. It is the result of becoming far more intentional about where she wants to invest her talents.

Kelly began her career in recruiting before discovering the analytical side of HR through a compensation role at Lockheed Martin. A role in strategic workforce planning followed, then broader leadership opportunities at Vail Resorts, Tempur Sealy, Pilot Company, and EnerSys, where she led an expanding portfolio that eventually included talent acquisition, talent development, employee listening, DEI, charitable giving, and standing up a talent insights function.

Along the way, she realized she enjoyed building things that didn't yet exist. Whether establishing a people analytics capability, modernizing HR processes, or helping HR become more data-driven, she found satisfaction in moving organizations forward.

She also found herself asking for new challenges every few years. Rather than becoming comfortable, she preferred learning something new.

What she didn't anticipate was how much repeated leadership transitions would shape her thinking. Across three different CEO changes, she experienced the ripple effects that often follow new leadership. The executives she had aligned herself with, leaders whose values, vision, and approach to HR resonated with her, eventually moved on, whether by choice or as part of broader organizational changes. Each transition prompted the same question: Is this still the right place for me to grow and make the impact I want to have?

By the third CEO transition, Kelly realized she was looking for more than an interesting role. She wanted to work with leaders whose vision for HR aligned with her own and in an environment where she could continue advancing the kind of strategic, data-driven work she was most passionate about. When a subsequent workforce reduction eliminated her position, she chose to see the transition as an opportunity to intentionally evaluate what she wanted next.

Transition process

Although unsettling, the layoff gave Kelly something she hadn't had in years: time to think deliberately about what she wanted next. Instead of rushing into another executive role, she used the transition to test possibilities. Consulting kept her connected to the work she loved. A career coach helped her reconnect with her long-term goals and values. Rather than applying indiscriminately, she became increasingly intentional about where she invested her energy.

She wanted meaningful work. She wanted to continue advancing HR transformation through data and technology. She wanted leadership whose values aligned with her own. And she wanted an executive-level role with long-term opportunity.

As she reflected, another possibility kept resurfacing. Throughout her career, Kelly had partnered extensively with HR technology vendors, leading software selections and implementations across nearly every major HR function. She had often wondered what it would be like to work on the vendor side, helping multiple organizations instead of just one.

Awardco represented exactly that opportunity. She already knew the company well, having implemented its recognition platform in a previous organization. The implementation had been one of the smoothest she'd experienced, reinforcing her trust in both the product and the people behind it. Kelly has always believed that organizations achieve better business results when employees feel recognized, engaged, and connected to a larger purpose. Helping leaders build cultures where people do their best work was a natural extension of the work she had spent her career advancing.

Today, Kelly serves on Awardco's Center of Excellence, where no two weeks look quite the same. She partners with customers, supports sales conversations with a practitioner's perspective, speaks at industry conferences, develops thought leadership, advises clients after implementation, and contributes to product and research initiatives.

The variety suits her perfectly. Instead of focusing on the challenges of a single organization, she now partners with leaders across industries, helping them create cultures where employees feel recognized, engaged, and empowered to do their best work. In doing so, she has the opportunity to influence better employee experiences at scale while continuing to learn from the diverse organizations and leaders she supports.

Looking back, Kelly doesn't believe success came from sending hundreds of online applications. It came from staying intentional, maintaining momentum, and building confidence throughout the process.

Advice for Others

• Network far more than you apply online.

• Make every conversation mutually beneficial rather than focused only on your own job search.

• Create a short list of organizations where you genuinely want to work.

• Follow their leaders, engage thoughtfully with their ideas, and build familiarity before positions open.

• Stay active through consulting, learning, hobbies, or volunteer work to maintain both momentum and confidence.

• Work with a coach or trusted advisor to reconnect with your values and long-term goals.

• Before an important interview, spend time with someone who reminds you of your strengths and helps you enter the conversation relaxed and confident.

Kelly's story demonstrates that successful pivots rarely happen by accident. They emerge from becoming increasingly intentional about the work you want to do, the leaders you want to follow, and the values you want your career to reflect.