Meet Kristin Vines, Hayden AI’s Chief People Officer

Kristin Vines joined Hayden AI as Chief People Officer five months ago, bringing decades of experience scaling high-growth technology companies and building People functions from the ground up. Since joining, she has focused on laying the foundation for sustainable growth, strengthening Hayden AI’s culture, and ensuring the People strategy is tightly aligned with the company’s mission to improve public transit and bike lane safety.

In the Q&A below, Kristin shares her perspective on how People leadership has evolved, what makes Hayden AI different from other technology companies, and how the company’s culture and mission shape the way she leads. Learn more about Kristin’s background and her approach to building teams in conversation with Hayden AI’s Marketing Director, Jenna Fortunati.

Jenna: Tell us about your background!

Kristin: I’m a long-time San Francisco resident with three decades of experience in the tech world. My career has focused on scaling high-growth organizations and building People functions from zero to scale, partnering closely with founders and executive teams through periods of rapid growth and change. Along the way, I’ve helped lead multiple successful outcomes, including two startup acquisitions and several acqui-hires and M&A transactions, with a strong emphasis on building durable cultures and teams that can scale.

Jenna: How has the role of HR changed during your time in San Francisco?

Kristin: HR was once viewed as a back-office function focused on tactical programs such as payroll, benefits administration, and compliance. While those responsibilities remain essential, they no longer define the role. The evolution from “Human Resources” to “People” reflects a much broader and more strategic mandate.

What many people do not realize, often because their organizations never invested meaningfully in the function or never had the right leadership in place, is how deeply the people function and the work we do influences business outcomes. As a result, People leaders are frequently in the position of educating stakeholders on what the function can and should deliver.

Today, People teams play a critical role in driving business growth. Our work is directly tied to business strategy, from designing organizational structures that support scale to enabling leaders and teams to execute effectively. We help create clarity around where the business is going and how people contribute, aligning talent, culture, and execution so companies can grow with intention rather than inertia.

Jenna: What makes Hayden AI different from other technology companies you have worked at?

Kristin: At Hayden AI, we build and sell technology for cities and transit agencies rather than individual consumers or businesses, which fundamentally shapes how we operate. Our customers often move at a different pace than the markets we compete in, yet we still have to innovate quickly to stay ahead. That tension requires a deep, nuanced understanding of our customers’ needs, which can vary significantly from city to city, particularly as we partner with our customers around the world. Hayden AI has been successful in navigating this complexity by remaining highly adaptable, pairing innovative technology with exceptional customer service to meet customers where they are without slowing our own momentum.

From a People team perspective, operating in govtech has real implications for retention and engagement. The impact of our work is immediately felt by a bus rider in New York City whose commute is faster and more reliable, but it is less visible to an engineer in the Bay Area who does not experience that outcome firsthand. To keep teams engaged and motivated, we have to intentionally connect employees to the real-world impact of their work, consistently highlighting wins and customer outcomes so people understand not just what they are building, but why it matters.

Jenna: How does our product – vision AI systems that help improve public transit and bike lane safety – affect how you lead the People team?

Kristin: Our product directly shapes how I lead the People team because the work we do has a real, tangible impact on public safety and daily life in cities. We install vision AI systems on public transit buses, which are among a transit agency’s most valuable and mission-critical assets. That level of responsibility requires trust, and from the moment I walked in the door, it was clear that Hayden AI’s culture is built around honoring that trust. We hire and retain smart, hardworking, deeply committed people who believe in the importance of improving public transit and bike lane safety, and who take ownership of the impact their work has on communities.

Because our technology affects cities block by block, leading the People team means holding ourselves to a high bar internally. My role is to ensure our culture of accountability, customer focus, and service excellence shows up in how we hire, develop, engage, and retain our teams. When employees understand the real-world impact of their work, it strengthens engagement and retention, and it reinforces the pride people take in going above and beyond for our customers. That connection between product, purpose, and people is what differentiates Hayden AI and guides how I lead.

Jenna: Did anything surprise you about Hayden AI after you joined?

Kristin: Very little surprised me in terms of the challenges. I have spent much of my career in high-growth tech startups, and navigating complexity and change is part of the work. What truly stood out to me, from the moment I joined, is how much people here genuinely care about Hayden AI. This team is full of smart, hardworking, deeply dedicated people who believe in the mission, care about one another, and take real pride in what we are building together.

I said it at our last all-hands of the year, and I will say it again: Hayden is a special place. There are many companies out there, and it is easy to assume the grass is always greener somewhere else. But what we are building here is rare. We have already accomplished so much, and there is still so much opportunity ahead of us. For many of us, this is more than just a job. We care deeply about the impact we are having, the relationships we are building, and the communities we serve. My role as a People leader is to make sure our people feel supported, valued, and equipped to continue doing meaningful work together.

Jenna: What will the Hayden AI People team focus on in 2026?

Kristin: The next stage in our growth is formalizing the People programs and systems that will empower us to scale more rapidly while maintaining the culture and spirit of innovation that got us here. Our focus has been on building a strong foundation that supports growth, rather than layering on process for process’ sake. We want to be intentional about how we scale so we are setting the company up for long-term success.

Looking ahead to 2026, our focus is on continuing to strengthen that foundation while ensuring our People strategy is tightly aligned with where the business is going. That means putting the right systems, programs, and structures in place so teams can grow, leaders can lead effectively, and employees can stay focused on delivering great outcomes. Our goal is to create an environment where people can do their best work as we continue to scale.

Jenna: What is your best advice for employees seeking to build strong relationships with their coworkers?

Kristin: Start by recognizing that people work and communicate differently, and none of those styles are inherently better than the others. Strong relationships are built through clear, honest communication and a willingness to understand how the people around you operate. Problems tend to arise when leaders or individual contributors assume their way of working is the right way and stop being curious about others.

This matters even more in a company like ours, where we bring together people from many disciplines, including engineering, sales, operations, and finance. Each function approaches problems differently. The people who build the strongest relationships are the ones who can flex their style, respect those differences, and stay focused on the shared goal. At the end of the day, relationships are not about being right, they are about being effective together.