SVP, People & Culture

Smartsheet is an AI-enhanced enterprise work management platform trusted by millions of users worldwide, including more than 85% of Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, Smartsheet brings people, technology, and workflows together on a powerful platform — enabling organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale. From project management and process automation to real-time collaboration and advanced reporting, Smartsheet’s platform helps teams move from idea to impact with speed and precision.

In January 2025, Smartsheet entered an exciting new chapter when it was acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners in an $8.4 billion transaction. Now operating as a private company, Smartsheet is positioned to invest with a long-term horizon — accelerating product innovation, expanding its global footprint, and driving the next wave of AI-powered work management. With approximately 3,000+ employees across the US, India, Costa Rica, Australia, the UK, and Japan, Smartsheet is a global organization at the intersection of rapid transformation and enduring market leadership.

Smartsheet is seeking a high-caliber SVP, People & Culture to lead and elevate its global People function during a pivotal period of transformation. This is a hands-on, operationally rigorous leadership role — not a figurehead position. The SVP, People & Culture will be the day-to-day leader of the People organization, responsible for running the function with discipline, strategic clarity, and a bias for action.

Reporting to the Chief Business Officer, this role is based in Bellevue, WA, within a newly integrated organization that brings together Business Operations and People & Culture under one roof. The SVP, People & Culture will partner closely with the CBO, CEO, Senior Leadership Team, Vista's Value Creation Team, and Blackstone to drive workforce transformation, build a unified people strategy across every business unit, and stabilize and strengthen the culture during a period of significant change.

The ideal candidate is a corporate athlete: someone who can operate at the strategic level while running the day-to-day with intensity, accountability, and polish — bringing enough institutional credibility and functional depth to earn the confidence of a high-performing organization navigating a new ownership model.

What You Will Own

People Strategy Develop and execute a comprehensive people strategy across every business unit and function. Partner cross-functionally to drive company-wide AI adoption — equipping employees with the skills and mindsets to work alongside AI effectively, while evolving people strategy and headcount models to reflect a workforce that is increasingly AI-augmented. Drive culture transformation — stabilize the organization post-take-private, win hearts and minds, and build a compelling narrative for the future of Smartsheet.

People & Culture AI Transformation Reimagine how the People function operates in an AI-driven world — investing in tools, technology, and capability building that enable the team to move faster, operate more efficiently, and deliver at scale. Champion AI adoption within the People organization as a model for the broader company.

People Operations & Infrastructure Lead and evolve the core HR operational engine — ensuring that systems, processes, and policies are scalable, compliant, and built to support a growing global workforce. Standardize HR processes across the company, establish consistent practices, and align everything to a PE-paced operating rhythm.

Compensation & Benefits Oversee the design and administration of competitive, equitable total rewards programs. Partner with Finance to ensure compensation strategy supports business objectives and reflects market benchmarks, with particular focus on global expansion (including India) and alignment of merit cycles with annual performance reviews.

Talent Acquisition Partner with a strong Talent Acquisition team to ensure recruiting strategies support the company's evolving needs. Build approaches that reflect Smartsheet's employer brand and support hiring goals across all levels and functions.

Talent Management & Talent Development Drive the frameworks and programs that enable employees to grow, perform, and advance. Own performance management, succession planning, and leadership development initiatives.

HR Business Partners Lead a team of HRBPs who serve as trusted advisors to functional leaders. Ensure HRBPs are operating as strategic partners across the organization — establishing consistent processes, unifying best practices, and deepening partnerships with the Senior Leadership Team. 

Workplace Services Oversee the employee workplace experience across Smartsheet's global office footprint, ensuring environments that are productive, inclusive, and reflective of our culture.

People Analytics & Data-Driven Outcomes Champion the use of people data and analytics to drive informed decision-making across the organization. Establish dashboards, metrics, and reporting cadences that connect people programs to business outcomes — enabling leadership to make confident, data-backed decisions on talent, retention, and organizational health.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Impact & Inclusion Lead Smartsheet's CSR and I&I strategies in an integrated way; fostering a workplace where all employees feel a sense of belonging, equity, and opportunity, while ensuring meaningful engagement with the communities in which we operate.

Stakeholder Partnership Serve as a trusted advisor to the Senior Leadership Team on all organizational and talent matters. Partner with Vista's Value Creation Team and Blackstone on people-related value creation initiatives, bringing a data-driven perspective and operational rigor to PE-facing conversations. Engage with the Board on people strategy — representing the function with the executive presence and credibility the moment requires.

How You Will Drive Business Value

The SVP, People & Culture is not a support function leader — this is a business leader who happens to own people. The expectation is measurable outcomes that directly affect Smartsheet's growth, efficiency, and organizational health:

• Retention and engagement: Build programs that reduce regrettable attrition and sustain a high-performance culture through significant organizational change — with measurable improvement in attrition and engagement scores within the first 12 months
• Workforce planning: Partner with Finance and the Senior Leadership Team to ensure headcount investment is continuously optimized, geographically balanced, and aligned to business priorities
• Talent velocity: Monitor time-to-fill and quality-of-hire across critical roles, enabling the business to move faster and compete for top talent
• Organizational readiness: Ensure people infrastructure — systems, programs, and practices — are built to scale with Smartsheet's AI ambitions and growth trajectory
• Leadership pipeline: Develop the next generation of Smartsheet leaders through deliberate succession planning and talent development investment

What You Will Bring

Required

• 15+ years of progressive HR leadership experience, with at least 5 years in a Senior People/HR executive role (SVP, VP of People, or CHRO)
• Experience leading a global People function at companies with significant global scale, ideally 2,000+ employees across multiple geographies
• Demonstrated success navigating complex organizational transformations — culture change, workforce restructuring, post-acquisition integration, or operating model shifts
• Deep functional expertise across the full HR spectrum: HRBPs, compensation & benefits, talent acquisition, talent management, performance management, and people operations
• Strong global experience, particularly managing international complexity (India operations experience highly valued)
• Track record of building unified, scalable people processes in organizations that lacked consistency
• Exceptional EQ, executive presence, and credibility — able to earn trust quickly with a tenured Senior Leadership Team and existing VP team
• Results-oriented operator who brings structure, rigor, and accountability to everything they touch
• A genuine commitment to inclusion, belonging, and equitable people practices

Preferred

• Experience in a private equity or sponsor-backed environment — comfortable with PE pace, data-driven decision making, and value creation planning
• Background in B2B SaaS or enterprise software
• Strong financial and operational acumen; experience partnering with Finance on workforce planning and headcount strategy
• MBA, advanced degree, or SHRM/HRCI certification

Why This Role

This is a rare opportunity to lead the People function at a category-defining enterprise software company during its most transformative chapter. Reporting directly to the Chief Business Officer with a seat at the senior leadership table, you will have full ownership of a broad, high-impact function — and the mandate, team, and backing of two world-class investment partners to build something meaningful at scale.

If you thrive in high-velocity environments, love building at scale, and want to shape the culture of a 3,000+ person global organization at a defining moment in its evolution, this is the role.