Listen On...

Episode 25

Culture, Coaching, and the People Lever: What Founders Get Wrong About HR with Miranda Pokoy

In this episode of the Unicorn Leaders podcast, Fahd Alhattab sits down with Miranda Pokoy, SVP of People Success at Partnerize, to explore how HR can be a powerful driver of business performance. Miranda shares her journey from administrative assistant to executive leadership, and the strategic mindset shift that took HR from policy enforcer to business partner.

They dive into what it really takes to lead through mergers and acquisitions, build culture across global teams, and develop managers into impactful leaders. Miranda breaks down how founders can leverage people strategy—even on lean teams—and why investing in trust, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration is the secret weapon of small, mighty teams.

Whether you’re a founder, HR leader, or people-obsessed operator, this episode is packed with practical insights on making the most of your people to scale impact—not just headcount.

Find Miranda here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwhynot/

Guest Bio

Miranda Pokoy

Miranda Pokoy is the Senior Vice President of People Success at Partnerize, where she leads global people strategy with a focus on creating exceptional employee experiences and fostering cross-cultural collaboration. With over 20 years of experience in HR and operations, she recently expanded her mandate to include building a global project management function—strengthening strategic alignment and enabling more data-driven decisions.

Miranda’s leadership was instrumental during a major acquisition that merged three distinct organizations during the height of the pandemic. Her work in integrating culture, people, and process through uncertainty reflects her belief that trust and vulnerability are the true cornerstones of leadership. She is passionate about helping leaders grow with intention, build connection, and lead through change with empathy and clarity.