238 - The Art of Business Partnering: Lenke Taylor (Chief People Officer, Personio)

Lenke Taylor joined us on The Modern People Leader to talk about her path from engineering to HR, and what it means to be a true business partner. We discussed how HR can lead alongside CEOs and CFOs, building high-impact teams, and how working in Europe has shaped her leadership approach.---- Sponsor Links:🔗 Get in contact with the Career Sandwich team.🔗 Request a demo of ChartHop.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live New York.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (04:37) Lenke’s career journey: From chemical engineer to people leader(10:42) What is Personio and how Lenke ended up there(12:17) What business partnering really means in HR(14:37) How AI is changing the way we work(19:05) HR’s evolving role in an AI-transformed workplace(22:46) The CEO–CFO–CPO trio: Strategic collaboration in practice(27:45) Stage-specific HR: Lessons from Google, BuzzFeed, and Personio(30:46) Hiring for growth-stage companies vs. enterprise environments(33:29) Which HR practices are universal, and which should be tailored(36:17) The perks of being in HR at an HR tech company(38:24) Working in Europe vs. the US: Major leadership and HR differences(44:20) Cultural contrasts between US and European leadership styles(47:33) What’s top of mind for HR leaders in Europe today(48:54) Rapid-fire questions: Advice, superpower nickname, strategy to steal(52:06) Guest recommendation: Katarina Berg (CHRO at On, formerly Spotify)(53:04) One-word close: Business is people strategy---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn