Justin Boots

Ten years operating inside high-growth technology companies has taught me that the difference between a people function that enables growth and one that just administers it comes down to one thing: whether it's built for the business you're becoming, not the one you are.

As CPO at UpGuard, I own the full people agenda for a high-growth B2B cybersecurity company — talent strategy, org design, leadership development, compensation, culture, and the executive hiring that determines whether a company survives its next growth phase.

I'm genuinely interested in what AI changes about this work — and I'm not talking about chatbots for HR queries. I'm actively building AI-native workflows into how we hire, develop, and retain: using AI to run proactive executive talent pipelines, reduce time-to-fill in hiring, and give leaders better signal on their teams. It works, and I write about what I'm learning.

My strongest ground is scaling people functions through inflection points — the $20M–$200M ARR window where most tech companies get the people stuff wrong. I've done it, I know what breaks and why.

What I'm known for: Executive hiring & talent pipeline strategy · Organisation design · HR strategy in high-growth SaaS · AI implementation in People functions · Leadership development · Culture & engagement · Change management · Compensation & benefits · Workforce planning