Top 10: HR Leaders for Psychological Safety

When working in unstable or unpredictable industries, developing a psychologically safe environment for employees is crucial. 

Employees who feel safe and supported in the workplace are more likely to stay in their current roles, according to BCG – with 12% of employees with low psychological safety reporting that they would leave a role within the year, compared to 3% of employees with high psychological safety.

Building an environment where employees feel unafraid to experiment and fail can also have a positive impact on wider business performance, with employees more likely to push themselves and take risks when there is no fear of consequence. 

In this list, we look at the HR leaders building up a culture of psychological safety in their workplace – through the development of wellbeing strategies, upskilling and encouraging experimentation in the workplace. 

10. Pat Wadors

Company: Intuitive

Revenue: US$10.06bn

Location: California, US

Pat Wadors is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Intuitive, and has been leading the company’s people strategy since 2024.

In an interview with David Reimer, Pat shared that her goal when leading a team is to leave a company better than she found it, and leave the people she speaks with “stronger because I was engaged with them”. 

To achieve this, she says she focuses on staying agile and curious, while encouraging a culture of experimentation with employees to encourage the desire to learn and grow while reducing fear of failure – helping employees take more risks. 

9. Stacy Dillow

Company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Revenue: US$34.3bn

Location: California, US

As Chief People Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Stacy Dillow is focused on empowering the company’s 60,000+ worldwide team members to thrive.

To foster a culture of high-performance and innovation, the company has built up opportunities for employees to grow and develop – including a dynamic approach to career conversations, rather than static review systems. 

By matching employees to work that excites and fulfills them, the company can help employees stay engaged and proactively take on new learning and development opportunities, driving growth with a people-first mindset.

8. Nathalie Scardino

Company: Salesforce

Revenue: US$41.525bn

Location: California, US

Salesforce has previously said that building a culture where employees feel empowered can help companies remain competitive and continuously innovate. 

One such way it recommends building a high-trust environment is by practicing continuous learning – which Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer of Salesforce, has championed internally. 

In 2025, the company set the goal to help 80% of its employees develop fundamental AI skills, which it has developed by embedding quarterly learning days – where employees can build AI agents – and encouraged staff to pursue learning opportunities both within and outside the company.

By leading reskilling programmes to help employees learn critical skills, she has helped to make Salesforce a great place to work for employees who are looking to grow their careers.

7. Beth Whittaker

Company: Veolia

Revenue: US$51.17bn

Location: Aubervilliers, France

Veolia’s wellbeing strategy – led by Beth Whittaker, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer – has been designed to create a positive work environment that supports the physical, mental and emotional health of the company’s workforce. 

This includes its Wellbeing Series, which offers employee learning sessions and discussions on topics such as managing loneliness and preventing burnout, as well as a StreetKind campaign, which included training to give staff the skills to defuse situations effectively. 

6. Nikki Krishnamurthy

Company: Uber

Revenue: US$52.02bn

Location: California, US

When Nikki Krishnamurthy was first appointed Chief People Officer of Uber, the company was tackling a culture problem. 

Following the departure of its former CEO in 2017, Uber looked to place further focus on transparency and corporate responsibility across the company. This included widening the responsibilities of its HR team, taking the HR function from a recruiting tool to a key driver of growth for the company.

Nikki joined the company in 2018, and in the time since has helped rework the company’s culture in order to help improve employee experience.

5. Rob Kowalski

Company: Novartis

Revenue: US$54.5bn

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Since taking on the role of Chief People and Organisation Officer at Novartis in 2021, Rob Kowalski has been focused on implementing a new structure and operating model within the company to support its next phase of innovation and growth. 

The company’s Inspired, Curious and Unbossed Culture is designed to make sure employees understand how their work contributes to the company’s purpose and feel encouraged to ask questions and experiment, whole leaders act as coaches so employees can take ownership of their work and challenge exciting assumptions.

4. Francine Katsoudas

Company: Cisco

Revenue: US$56.65bn

Location: California, US

Francine Katsoudas, Chief People Policy and Purpose Officer at Cisco, has built a “Conscious Culture” – designed to make sure employees feel safe, respected and empowered. 

This culture is upheld by initiatives such as “A Day for Me”, a company-wide day off given four times a year for employees to disconnect from work and recharge, and wellbeing and mental health support. 

Having first served as the company’s Chief People Officer before her role was expanded to include Policy and Purpose, Francine’s leadership focuses on social impact and inclusion, people and communities and sustainability across the organisation. 

3. Nickle LaMoreaux

Company: IBM

Revenue: US$67.535bn

Location: New York, US

With widespread AI integration in the workplace leading to fears around job displacement, IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux is building a psychologically safe environment for employees. The company’s THNK40 initiative, for instance, asks employees to complete 40 hours of professional development per year, and hiring increases allow the company to make long-term investments in its people. 

By focusing on career durability, Nickle has built a workplace where employees have the tools to develop and innovate alongside automation at their disposal.

2. Kate Clifford

Company: Accenture

Revenue: US$69.7bn

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Accenture has been helping its employees prepare for the workplace’s AI-enabled future by investing significantly into its LearnVantage platform. This provides employees with the space to experiment with new technologies – with staff offered access to AI sandboxes to test out solutions in a safe environment. 

In recent years, the company has adopted a culture of ‘Reinvention,' where employees are encouraged to develop new skills and experiment with new technologies, with a focus on “progress over perfection” in order to encourage employees to take risks and experiment without fear of failure. 

1. Bala Purushothaman

Company: Procter & Gamble 

Revenue: US$84.04bn

Location: Ohio, US

Psychological safety is embedded in Procter and Gamble’s core values. Its people strategy, led by Bala Purushothaman, prioritises mental wellbeing. The company offers a series of targeted training programmes, such as stress management workshops which provide practical strategies for resilience, as well as psychological safety training, which is designed to foster an inclusive environment where employees can share openly. 

P&G has also created leadership training focused on caring leadership, along with sessions on wellbeing conversations, in order to help enhance individual and collective wellbeing throughout the company.