Katherine Laggos

Raise is the leading digital prepaid and retail payments platform for consumers to save money and earn rewards on every purchase. It has saved millions of consumers more than $150 million and has received over $150 million in funding from leading global investors, including Bessemer, NEA, Accel, and the Web3 Foundation. It is a remote-first company with a highly distributed workforce. As VP, PeopleOps reporting to the CEO, had full responsibility for all things People. Partnered with CEO and Senior Leadership team to provide thoughtful and strategic counsel on managing organizational changes and people needs to drive results and help shape corporate strategy. Built trusted and competent People|HR department, implementing performance management tools (Lattice), pay grades to ensure pay equity, leadership development trainings, and DEI program initiatives.

Legacy.com is the global leader in online obituaries, a top-50 website in the United States, and a destination for over 40 million monthly unique visitors world-wide. It is private equity-backed and headquartered in Chicago with a distributed workforce across the US and UK. As VP, HR and reporting to the CFO and then CEO, built and grew the entire People|HR function, with headcount growth of over 100 employees during tenure. Areas of responsibility included talent acquisition, on-boarding, compensation and benefits, compliance, payroll, employee relations, and facilities, while establishing positive, trusted relationships with employees at all levels of the organization. Oversaw the buildout and relocation our corporate offices to Chicago, while implementing change management policies to promote buy-in and ease transition. Managed and developed a team of up to four HR professionals, encouraging increased autonomy and self-direction as growth dictated.

Freeman Seating is the leading manufacturer of transportation seating solutions. Family owned and operated for over 125 years, Freedman Seating supplies the major OEMs, over 250 bus distributors, the federal government, and many states and municipalities. Headquartered in Chicago, Freedman Seating has over 500 employees. Managed the full life cycle recruiting process for all open positions, from first contact to new hire onboarding, including development of new hire orientation program. Responsible for creation and revision of company policies in compliance with employment law; benefits administration; and creation of employee training programs. Counseled management on employment law and employee relations matters and worked with external partner to develop company-wide compensation standardization program to ensure equitable, market-driven pay bands.

Human Resource Responsibilities • Conducted reoccurring recruitment and hiring for numerous positions throughout the store. • Directed the continuous training of approximately 115 Associates. • Managed payroll and controllable expense budgets of approximately $20,000 per week. • Supervised benefits implementation for all Associates. • Managed and developed 50+ Associates. Store Operations • Provided general oversight of building and equipment maintenance. • Ensured store was operationally sound and met company audit requirements. • Responsible for opening and closing procedures, including arming/disarming store alarm, managing Associates and store appearance, and resolving customer inquiries. Accomplishments • Opened 125,000 sq. ft. store, which included recruiting, hiring, and merchandising. • Assisted with the selection and hiring of 250+ Associates for new store. • Responsible for helping train 250+ Associates, including specialized training for 50+.