WHY People

Hosted by Boston HR Council

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Episodes

Latest episode

Dec 2025

Language

EN-US

About the show

A quick, easy, and fun conversation with the top HR & People Executives from around the planet. Follow along on each journey, and learn WHY these leaders got into the profession, and what they see for the future. A Boston HR Council production, hosted by BHRC Co-Founder Sean Glavin.

Listen to episodes

41 recent

December 19, 2025Episode 4251 min

Episode #42 - Adam Thomas (Chief Administrative Officer at MOMA Therapeutics)

On Episode 42 of WHY People: Adam Thomas (Chief Administrative Officer at MOMA Therapeutics) chats with Sean about how growing up in Scotland, Rugby (team sports), and being curious & reliable led him to different HR/People roles at some of the largest biotech companies in the world; eventually jumping into the top role at some of the most exciting early stage companies in Greater Boston.

October 1, 2025Episode 4046 min

Episode #40 - Lori Barone (CHRO at Moore)

On Episode 40 of WHY People: Lori Barone (CHRO at Moore) chats with Sean about her professional journey; how someone who didn't actually know they wanted the top People Job (but also didn't know they didn't) ended up leading it at one of the top philanthropic marketing & strategy consultants in the world.

September 9, 202542 min

Episode 39 - Andrew Dawson (Chief People Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs at BVI Medical)

On Episode 39 of WHY People: Andrew Dawson (Chief People Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs at BVI Medical) chats with Sean about his professional journey; how he learned about HR, and how the People & HR function and leadership has changed over four decades. Perhaps most importantly; how it's stayed the same.

August 26, 2025Episode 3839 min

Episode 38 - Amanda Bailey (CHRO & VP of HR)

On Episode 38 of WHY People: Amanda Bailey (CHRO & VP of HR) chats with Sean about her professional journey; how she "found" People & HR, her ascension to one of the most distinguished Higher Education People & HR Executives in the world and most importantly - what's next?

July 18, 2025Episode 3744 min

Episode #37 - Sandhiya Vignesh (SHRBP at Apexon & GenAI in HR Expert)

On Episode 37 of WHY People: Sandhiya Vignesh (Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Apexon) chats with Sean about her amazing journey - from India to the U.S. and from Physics to Human Resources. Along the amazing journey, Sandhiya continued to adopt early stage technology to help in her career - putting her expert in the technology everyone is talking about; GenAI.

May 2, 2025Episode 3650 min

Episode #36 - Marianne Monte (Chief People & Administration Officer at Shawmut Design and Construction)

On Episode 36 of WHY People: Marianne Monte (Chief People & Administration Officer at Shawmut Design & Construction) chats with Sean about the power of relating to all people & that empowering our differences is the secret sauce to creating an amazing place to work. Marianne opens up about her amazingly varied background and how it's helped her become one of the most recognized and commended HR & people leaders in New England.

April 4, 2025Episode 3543 min

Episode #35 - Josh Varone (EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Centreville Bank)

Josh Varone (EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer, Centreville Bank) chats with Sean about how a History major & fanatic worked his way into the good graces of a mentor, through many different industries, to eventually lead the function at one of the most recognizable regional banks in New England.

March 3, 2025Episode 3442 min

Episode #34 - Brad Batchelder (Chief People Officer at Applause)

Brad Batchelder (Chief People Officer, Applause) chats with Sean about how growing up playing team sports in a competitive family ultimately shaped his approach towards building great teams and scaling what is now a world leading technology testing company.

December 16, 2024Episode 3341 min

Episode #33 - Erica Bell (SVP, Chief People Officer at Quanterix)

Erica Bell (Chief People Officer, Quanterix) chats with Sean & Paul about how one of the most recognizable faces and leaders in the Boston Life Sciences scene originated from a sociology & communication major who always raised her hand for the most challenging and dynamic opportunities.

December 3, 2024Episode 3238 min

Episode #32 - Carrie Walecka (Chief People Officer at Covera Health)

Carrie Walecka (Chief People Officer, Covera Health) chats with Sean & Paul about how a career of high impact Talent Acquisition strategy at some of the top companies in the world propelled her into the Chief People Officer role - a role in which she uses fun & humanizing problem solving abilities to solve some of the toughest business challenges.