Steve Cadigan

Talent Hacker & Advisor @ Cadigan Talent Ventures

About

I’m a talent advisor, leadership strategist, and the author of Workquake. I was also LinkedIn’s first CHRO, where I helped scale the company from 400 to 4,000 employees across 17 countries during one of the most dynamic growth periods in tech. The cultures and teams I’ve helped build have been recognized as “world-class” by organizations like The Wall Street Journal and Fortune — which is gratifying, though culture awards don’t guarantee you know what you’re doing tomorrow. (If only.) Today, I advise organizations such as Google, Salesforce, the BBC, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and the City of Lisbon, along with leading venture capital and consulting firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, KKR, and McKinsey. I’ve been honored to be recognized among the Top 200 Global Thought Leaders in People & Talent (2021–2023). But my focus now is less about past growth stories and more about what leaders must build next. We are entering an era where AI is accelerating capability faster than organizations can adapt, and the real differentiator is no longer access to technology — it’s trust. Trust in leadership. Trust in how AI is used. Trust that growth matters more than stability. Trust that organizations are investing in people, not just productivity. In the AI era, trust is becoming a core operating system for human performance. The companies that learn how to combine technological acceleration with human confidence will build the next generation of enduring cultures. My work today helps leaders: • Build trust-centric organizations that can move fast without breaking people • Design jobs that develop skills as work happens • Create career security through growth, not tenure • Use AI to elevate human potential — not simply reduce headcount Because the future of work won’t be built by AI alone. It will be built by leaders who know how to create trust in a world that keeps changing.

Country

United States

City

San Diego

Industry

Human Resources

Skill

Acquisition Integration, Management Development, Employee Relations, Executive Coaching, Human Resources, Humor, Change Management, Performance Management, Succession Planning, Global Leadership, Leadership Development, Organizational Development, Coaching, Talent Management, Employee Engagement, HR Strategy, Organizational Effectiveness, Talent Acquisition, Organizational Change, Culture Change

Experience

Talent Hacker & Advisor

Cadigan Talent Ventures

2012-12 - Present · 13 yrs 10 mos

SF Bay Area

At Cadigan Talent Ventures, I work with leaders and organizations who aren’t satisfied with the status quo — who know that talent is their edge but need fresh, bold thinking to unlock it. I help them design talent strategies that are as agile and forward-looking as the world they’re trying to lead in. Often called a “talent hacker,” I bring unconventional approaches to solving today’s most urgent people challenges — from attracting top talent and scaling culture, to integrating AI in ways that elevate rather than replace human potential. My focus? Making work work better — for everyone. I’m obsessed with the future of work — not as a buzzword, but as a lived, evolving reality. That means rethinking leadership for a more distributed, digital, and dynamic world. It means treating culture not as a poster on a wall, but as a core lever of performance. And it means helping organizations get braver — and smarter — about how they grow, change, and lead. As a global keynote speaker, techer and advisor, I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with a wildly diverse mix of organizations — from icons like Manchester United, Airbnb, Salesforce, and Cisco, to powerhouses like Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and McKinsey & Co, and institutions like Stanford GSB, Georgetown, and the University of San Francisco. From scrappy startups to Fortune 100 giants, I’ve seen what great looks like — and how fast it’s changing. I play best at the intersection of disruption and reinvention — helping leaders, teams, and organizations build the talent edge they’ll need not just to survive, but to lead in an uncertain, fast-evolving world of work.

Advisory Board Member

Ovia Systems

2025-7 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

Lisbon, Portugal

Professor of Culture & Leadership in Hyper-growth

Unicorn Factory Lisboa

2023-1 - Present · 3 yrs 9 mos

Lisbon, Portugal

Non Executive Director

TheBoardroom Africa

2024-7 - Present · 2 yrs 3 mos

Ghana

Professor of Practice

Nova School of Business and Economics

2023-10 - Present · 3 yrs

Portugal

Board of Directors

Certn

2019-2 - Present · 7 yrs 8 mos

British Columbia, Canada

Advisory Board

Boardroom Banter Podcast

2023-2 - Present · 3 yrs 8 mos

Kenya

Author

Workquake

2021-8 - Present · 5 yrs 2 mos

San Francisco Bay Area

In August 2021 I published my first book: Workquake: Embracing the Aftershocks of COVID-19 to Create a Better Model of Working. The aim of this book is to help build a better model for the future of work that inspires both employers and employees. Workquake is a counter-narrative to the "run for the hills the robots are coming, and your job is toast!" It's a book about how being more human has never been more critical and about how companies can create a more honest and realistic contract with employees.