Velo3D: Their First Chief People Officer

Benny Buller, Founder and CEO of Velo3D, a fully integrated Metal AM manufacturing solution that gives designers and engineers the ability to create what was previously considered “impossible”, retained John K. Anderson and Allegis Partners for a second time to help them find their first Chief People Officer.

After taking the company public in fall 2021, the Velo3D executive leadership team wanted an experienced people leader who could oversee people, talent, and human capital compliance operations in a fast-moving, team-and action-oriented environment; build a highly motivational and inclusive culture; and ensure organizational outcomes were met. The desired profile was for a learning and organizational development leader with at least 10 years of progressive executive experience and a proven track record of building and developing a high-performance culture.

Allegis Partners reviewed the role requirements and then began vetting qualified HR leaders whose experience aligned with the desired profile. “John took an agile, iterative approach, which was important to me because we were learning about the candidates in the market as we went along, and Allegis Partners found a candidate who overwhelmingly met our search criteria, ,” explained Benny. 

The candidate selected, Jessie Lockhart, had the background and experience that all the executive leadership team members at Velo3D agreed upon, and is a perfect fit with the current team and culture. They were compelled by Jessie’s learning and organizational design skills, her ability to influence and implement change, and her strength operating strategically and tactically as well. Leadership believed that Jessie’s skillsets and her demonstrated ability to develop employees globally to accelerate their careers and meaningfully contribute to a company’s performance would allow Velo3D to continue to achieve its goals.