Mike Podobnik

SVP, People at Webflow

Greater Seattle Area

About

People leader who builds, operationalizes, and scales the function at inflection-point companies. Experience in growth-stage through public markets across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC, including public readiness that drove two IPOs (MDLA, CFLT). Currently SVP, People at Webflow, where our team built the performance infrastructure that drove a 30-point lift in accountability, led AI enablement that achieved +90% adoption, and scaled headcount from 450 to 1,000 across 25+ countries. Before Webflow, I was the first People leader at Cribl and, prior, helped scale Confluent and Medallia through hypergrowth. I build with founders and CEOs who want an operating partner, approach talent like customers, and believe the hardest problems are solved by the best teams.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Experience

  • Senior Vice President, People at Webflow
    Jun 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 2 mos

    Scaling Webflow's remote-first, global team to build a high-performance organization. Reporting to the CEO and a member of the executive team, I built and lead Webflow's full People function across Talent, Business Partners, Learning and Development, People Operations, Total Rewards, and Workplace. Absorbed the Talent function within 90 days of joining; promoted to SVP as the company scaled. Partner to the Compensation Committee on executive compensation, equity governance, and public company readiness. Here's some of what our team has been up to: • Built a high-performance culture with a 30+ pt lift in Accountability across seven consecutive periods; improvement across 17 of 19 engagement dimensions, including 81% Engagement and 88% Likelihood to Recommend. • Led company-wide AI enablement, scaffolded Webflow's transition from legacy to AI-native operations, embedding fluency into hiring, onboarding, performance, and recognition. Adoption campaign achieved 15k hours in projected annual time savings (and growing!), 250+ employee-built AI projects, and +90% of employees reporting confidence using AI for work. • Scaled from 450 to 1,000 employees across 25+ countries; established entities in UK, Ireland, and Australia; launched Argentina talent hub. Personally led Talent over two quarters, achieving the largest hiring period in company history. • Rearchitected Total Rewards for competitiveness and sustainability, designing performance bonus and equity programs and expanding global benefits to increase utilization while lowering cost. Improved comp satisfaction +10 pts YoY and drove offer acceptance above benchmark, peaking +90%. • Elevated Webflow's employment brand, securing Fortune Best Medium Workplace, Best Tech, Best Workplaces for Women and Parents, Best in Argentina, Great Place to Work certification, and six Forbes Cloud 100 placements. Progression • Vice President, People + Talent (Sep 2022 – Oct 2024) • Vice President, People (Jun 2022 – Sep 2022)

  • Advisor / Advisory Board at Various
    Oct 2016 - Present · 9 yrs 10 mos

    Advising on people strategy, product adoption, and go-to-market engagement. Part of a community of People leaders driving what's next in work, shaping the future of total rewards, and building the next generation of People technology. Eightfold.ai, GlacierGrid, GoodTime.io, Kindred Advisory Board, Lever (acquired by Employ Inc.), Newfront (acquired by WTW), PeopleTech Partners, Teamable (acquired by Humanly), and more.

  • Vice President, People at Cribl
    Jun 2021 - Apr 2022 · 11 mos

    Recruited as the first People leader following Cribl’s Series B, reporting to the CEO and serving on the executive leadership team. Built and led the full People function from scratch across Talent, People Operations, Total Rewards, and Employee Experience. • Tripled company headcount to 300+ employees across eight countries, building scalable hiring infrastructure that enabled rapid global expansion. • Transitioned from PEO (TriNet) to full internal operations: built compliant HR, payroll, and benefits infrastructure and established the company’s first job architecture and compensation framework. • Introduced structured interviewing, onboarding, and performance programs that strengthened hiring quality and performance-driven culture during high-velocity growth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

  • Vice President, Talent at Confluent
    Sep 2019 - Feb 2021 · 1 yr 6 mos

    Led Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and DEI during a period of hypergrowth, building the infrastructure that supported the company's path to IPO (NASDAQ: CFLT). Built and led a globally distributed team of 50+, scaling to over 1,500 employees across 20+ countries. • Doubled headcount while delivering 100% attainment of workforce plans and enabling public company readiness. • Increased recruiter productivity by 60% and reduced cost-per-hire by 40% annually, sustaining quality and velocity at scale. • Established scalable talent infrastructure, workforce planning, and leadership development programs. Hired first global DEI leader and introduced pay parity audits.

  • Vice President, Talent & Employee Experience at Medallia
    Aug 2014 - Sep 2019 · 5 yrs 2 mos

    Joined as Director, Technical Talent Acquisition and progressed through four roles to VP, Talent & Employee Experience, scaling scope from engineering recruiting to leading Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, Learning & Development, and Employee Experience through IPO (NYSE: MDLA). Helped scale the company from 400 to 1,500 employees, expanding the global footprint across LATAM, EMEA, and APAC during the growth from Series C to public markets. • Grew Engineering 200% YoY, delivering 98%+ headcount plan attainment with 90%+ offer acceptance and 95%+ retention of hires. • Increased recruiter productivity by 50%+ while reducing cost-per-hire by 50%+ YoY. Introduced workforce planning and helped design company's first job architecture and leveling frameworks. • Partnered as HRBP to five C-suite executives and 500+ global employees across Customer Success, Professional Services, Finance, Legal, and People departments through IPO readiness. Progression • Senior Director, Global Talent & D&I (Dec 2015 – Dec 2017) • Director, Technical Talent Acquisition (Aug 2014 – Dec 2015)