Kelli and Nolan recap their experience at the recent Sapphire People Leader Retreat focused on the evolving role of CPOs in 2025, covering executive alignment, moral boundaries, burnout prevention, and peer networks. They also share a case of corporate identity theft targeting job candidates, highlighting emerging recruitment security challenges.

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.co

For coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/

HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.

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KEEP UP WITH NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(02:10) The Role of CPO in 2025

(02:20) Corporate Deep Fake Fraud Story

(03:30) How the Deep Fake Was Discovered

(04:00) FBI Involvement & Next Wave of Fraud

(05:10) Pelion VC Domain Fraud Case

(05:50) Value of Raw Conversations at Retreat

(06:10) No One-Size-Fits-All CPO Role

(07:00) Executive Alignment Importance

(08:30) Sussing Out Cultural Fit

(10:10) Moral Boundaries vs. Running Experiments

(12:00) Learning from Radical Ideas at Carta

(12:30) "Care a Little Less" Philosophy

(14:14) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview

(17:14) Avoiding People Leader Burnout

(19:20) Building Your Peer Network

(21:10) Tactical Work vs. Strategic Leadership

(22:20) Wrap

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Sapphire VC’s People Leaders” Retreat & Deep Fakes

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Sapphire VC’s People Leaders” Retreat & Deep Fakes