The People Factor Podcast with Thomas Kohler

Barbara Imm leads the People & Culture department of roadsurfer and has +10 years of experience in scaling and leading a people function that operates globally. In this episode she discusses the strategic role of company culture in roadsurfer’s success, detailing how a well-defined cultural framework can offer a competitive edge. She shares insights into the company’s approach to scaling up blue-collar hiring — achieving a remarkable feat of 500 hires in a season — and the implementation of Ashby ATS to enhance recruitment processes. Barbara also reveals how roadsurfer maintains its growth trajectory and cultural integrity through data-driven hiring assessments and robust employee feedback mechanisms. Join us as Barbara unpacks the complexities and triumphs of managing people and culture amidst rapid corporate expansion and operational challenges.

Steve is the Founder & CEO of Gem. Gem is the leading all-in-one recruiting platform powered by AI: ATS + CRM + Sourcing + Analytics + Scheduling + Talent Marketing & Events + Career Site. talent marketing, and career site management. Before Gem, he was an early engineer at Dropbox, where he quickly rose to lead several engineering teams, focusing heavily on recruiting and scaling the company’s talent acquisition strategy.

As Dropbox grew from 25 to 1,500 employees, Steve observed a paradigm shift in recruiting: companies started proactively seeking top talent, similar to how sales and marketing teams don’t just wait for customers to come to them. This approach required a unified system to track and manage pre-application recruiting efforts, which didn’t exist at the time, so he built Gem.

Dr. Yasmin Kurzhals verfügt über mehr als 20 Jahre Expertise und sie war in unterschiedlichsten People & Culture Funktionen tätig, davon 15 Jahre in Führungspositionen. Die promovierte Diplom-Psychologin ist ausgebildete systemische Business Coach und systemische Organisationsberaterin. Ihre Leidenschaft gilt den Themen Leadership, Mental Health sowie Kultur- und Organisationsentwicklung, insbesondere im Kontext von New work.

Dr. Lynn Schäfer, Head of People & Culture at homee & stromee (Berlin based smart home and renewable energy provider), TM enthusiast – more than 20 years working experience in the HR/TM area at McKinsey & company, Bertelsmann, start-up and also led a European Institute on TM at ESCP Business School.

Romy is a seasoned HR professional with over a decade of experience in both corporate and startup environments. She believes that the key to success lies in the perfect balance between structure and agility. Romy’s passion is to help people and organizations grow both strategically and operationally. With a strong focus on HR development, she has expanded her expertise to include all aspects of HR management and is a skilled networker who loves to connect with people.

Yasmin is on a mission to change the perception of HR and inspire HR professionals and business leaders alike to be and empower the HR team that employees and businesses really need. With a unique blend of business acumen and empathetic leadership, she strives to create an inclusive and supportive work environment that fosters growth and development for everyone involved. Yasmina believes that HR has the power to be a true driver of business success and employee well-being, and is passionate about leading the change in that direction.

With 20 years of experience in human resources, Björn is currently the Chief People Officer at Mytheresa, a global luxury e-commerce platform. In this role, he leads the HR strategy and operations for over 2,000 employees across numerous countries, supporting the company’s rapid growth and expansion. He is responsible for developing and implementing HR programs that foster a diverse, inclusive, and high-performance culture, as well as attracting, retaining, and developing top talent.