Interview with Nirit Peled Muntz, Chief People Officer at Hibob

Introduction

Nirit Peled Muntz is the kind of HR leader who sees people as the real engine driving business success. With over 30 years in the field, she's built HR functions from the ground up, navigated global giants, and now serves as the CPO at Hibob - a leading HR tech company transforming how organizations manage their talent. In this interview, we explore her journey from a teenage dream to leading a 60-person HR team in a 1,400-employee company, her passion for navigating complexity and turning uncertainty into clarity in times like COVID and AI disruptions, and why organizational culture is the secret sauce for healthy growth. Nirit's no-nonsense, eye-level approach, professional, direct, and always people-centered, makes her a must-follow voice in HR, reminding us that great leadership means setting high bars while providing a safety net.

So, who are you, Nirit? Tell me a bit about your current role.

"I'm the CPO at Hibob. I've been in HR for more than 30 years, starting in organizational consulting, then moving into OD roles, and eventually leading full HR functions. At Hibob, I've been here almost six years, leading a team of 60 HR professionals in an organization that's grown to 1,400 employees - from just 150 when I joined. This is the first place where I can truly say I built the HR function from zero; before I arrived, there wasn't an HR department. It's a super unique role because I'm the internal HR for Hibob, which is my primary commitment, but we also work closely with our product, sales, marketing and customers. We feel a dual responsibility to both our employees and the ecosystem - after all, our customers are our colleagues."

What's the professional path that brought you here? Can you pick two or three key stops that shaped you the most.

"The most significant chapter was at a global company called Quintiles (now IQVIA), an American corporation with 100,000 employees. I started as the HR manager for the Israel site with 75 people and grew to oversee Europe with 10,000 employees. It was the epitome of American corporate best practices - in the best way. I'd go to conferences and think, 'Now I get why we do things this way.' It was a masterclass in strong HR practices, and there's no going back; I won't compromise on that level of rigor anymore.

The other pivotal moment? I always wanted to be in HR - even as a teenager, with my dad as a CEO, I dreamed of it, though I didn't fully understand what it meant. After university, I couldn't land an HR coordinator role, so I started at a consulting position. It was a great way to start - seeing many different organizations and ways of working for nearly four years, but I realized I wasn't cut out for advising - I love making decisions. That's what pushed me into internal HR. I thrive on the mix: working with people, building structures, and making impactful calls every day."

If you had to define your professional approach in one sentence, what would it be?

"I look at things eye-to-eye, always seeking win-win solutions, and I believe people are inherently good, smart, and eager to learn and grow - but organizations must give them the space and tools to do so."

Is there a core principle that guides you, especially in managing people?

"Yes, I always tell my team and employees: Set very high bar and put a safety net underneath. It's my guiding management philosophy. My kids have taught me this, too - high aspirations and standards, but I'm incredibly supportive, always there for them, challenging them, asking difficult questions, and removing obstacles. That's my role: to clear the path so they can soar."

What excites you most about your day-to-day work as CPO at Hibob?

"What excites me most is navigating complexity while keeping people at the center. I'm drawn to moments of disruption, when the world shifts and organizations need to rethink how they operate, without losing trust, clarity, or performance. These days, with the world going crazy over the last five years - COVID, the war, now AI - HR faces constant disruptions, good and bad. We address them while keeping employees front and center.

For example, at the conference we discussed, how do we build an AI-native or AI-agentic organization? But more importantly, how do we guide people through that journey? It was the same with COVID: Taking a 150-person team used to daily office routines and shifting to full remote work was huge. We crafted communication strategies, supported managers, ran monthly surveys - tons of touchpoints to ensure people felt safe and equipped. During the war, we didn't need words; we took action to keep everyone secure, connected, supported, and productive. We're a working organization that must keep delivering."

What's one initiative from recent years you're most proud of leading?

"It's not a single initiative - it's the coherence of the whole organization. What I'm most proud of is how HiBob feels when you experience it as a whole. At our 10-year anniversary, people told me they were proud to bring their partners and say, 'This is where I work.' That moment stayed with me because it means the culture is visible, not just internally, but outwardly.

You feel it when you walk into our offices, which reflect who we are. You see it in how our managers lead, how we invest in development, how we communicate, and how we show up globally. None of these things stands alone. It's the intentionality across leadership, space, rituals, and day-to-day behavior that creates a culture people recognize and feel part of."

In HR, impact isn't always easy to measure - So how do you measure success?

"We measure constantly with tools like organizational surveys and specific questions. For instance, we just ran an amazing leadership code program. We measured employee ratings of their managers before and after - clear improvements across the board. Beyond feedback like 'It was beneficial and meaningful,' I want to see real organizational impact.

We track eNPS and satisfaction trends against our activities. Three years ago, we launched our company values process. Usage spiked quickly - in every conversation or communication as our people felt it was very natural and authentic for them It's hard to quantify fully, but success shows when our CTO said mid-project, 'Now I see why we need a values feature in the product' - it's now an official tool. We measure how often people use them organically, and it's embedded in our language. And as we use our own platform, people tag the values, and we can see how much it has been used. That proves the impact."

As a top HR leader at an HR tech company, you see both sides - internal and external. What key trends or changes are shaping the field?

"One thing I've learned is that trends in HR don't move in a straight line—they often overlap and even pull in different directions. The most immediate one is well-being. Since COVID, and even more so in the past year, the world feels more threatening and unstable. Organizations are responding with deeper investment in mental health, flexibility, and psychological safety. In Israel, the war has amplified this need-but interestingly, our engagement, satisfaction, and well-being scores there are higher than our global averages. That says a lot about the role of trust, leadership, and community during difficult times.

Alongside that, we're seeing a fundamental shift in how work itself is defined, driven by AI and the move toward skills-based organizations. The big questions are still open: how tasks evolve, which skills really matter, and how humans and AI work together. There's ambiguity, but also real momentum—and we're actively shaping this future rather than waiting for it to settle.

Beneath these changes are more structural challenges that are becoming impossible to ignore: workforce planning, tighter integration between HR and Finance, and using data in smarter, more connected ways to support decisions. This isn't the most visible work, but it's essential for turning strategy into reality.

Through all of this, two things remain constant for me: leadership and personal development. Trends will come and go, but investing in leaders and in people's growth is foundational—and always will be."

How do you think HR will look in three years? What will be different?

"I tend to look at change through a long-term lens. I recently heard a podcast with Meir Brand from Google, and something he said really resonated with me. AI is a significant leap—it will change a lot—but like previous technological shifts, some roles will disappear, new ones will emerge, and people will still work hard. The nature of work will change, not the fact that work exists.

In HR, many administrative and transactional tasks will increasingly be automated. Roles focused on coordination or manual processes—like parts of HR operations or even sourcing in recruitment—can already be almost fully automated. But the human part of the role is irreplaceable. Understanding who people are and what the organization truly needs isn't something AI can replicate. What will change is the balance within roles.

Today, HR business partners still spend a lot of time on administration. My hope is that this disappears. I want to be able to tell an AI system like Bob, 'Move Judith from Finance to HR,' answer a few smart questions, and move on—so HR can focus on what really matters: talking to people, coaching managers, and doing the high-value human work."

What skills are essential for people who wish to develop in HR?

"First, EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is becoming crucial everywhere, especially for younger generations struggling with it - we need to mentor and coach them on entry. Tech-savvy is non-negotiable; tech is only growing. When my son asked me what to study, I told him programmers will still exist, just differently, but tech roles will expand. So, strong EQ, tech comfort, communication skills - including writing, speaking and presenting, empowered by AI but still needing to distill messages and connect. Ultimately, classic management: motivating, aligning, creating vision."

One last question: What's something small we don't know about you that you'd like to share?

"I'm an open book - nothing too secretive. Interestingly, I've always worked in international companies, but diverse ones: started in consulting, moved to hi-tech, then Arcaffe (where I didn't even like coffee at first - big problem for a coffee company! I fixed that and now I drink it). I'm deeply connected to the products I work with.

As for culture, it's my true passion - I believe it's the most impactful thing. I once interviewed a manager who said he didn't understand culture until switching from IBM to Citybank; the difference hit him despite both being giants. In HR, we own this - it's a powerful tool."

A quick tip for HR pros reading this on building organizational culture.

"When I joined HiBob, the CEO asked me about my HR philosophy. I told him my role was simple: to enable the company's strategy and success. That starts with deeply understanding the CEO's vision and the product itself. Culture can't exist in isolation—it has to serve the business. If HR is saying one thing and the CEO is saying another, it simply won't work. At the same time, people always stay at the center. When people feel supported, trusted, and engaged, they perform better—and that shows up very clearly at the business level."

How do you get a CEO on board with organizational culture when they're focused on numbers, growth, and revenue?

"Most CEOs today already understand that culture matters. The real question isn't whether—it's how. Getting a CEO on board is less about convincing them that culture is important, and more about speaking their language while keeping a clear professional agenda in the room. CEOs are people—often very thoughtful ones—who care deeply about success and results.

The key is to meet them where they are, without losing your own point of view. If someone is driven by numbers, bring data and research that show how culture impacts performance and growth. If they respond more to stories, use concrete examples and analogies that make it real. At the same time, HR has a responsibility to hold the professional line—to consistently connect culture to business outcomes, leadership quality, and long-term sustainability. That balance requires EQ: understanding what resonates, knowing how to influence, and being able to stay grounded and credible in the conversation."

Conclusion

Nirit Peled Muntz represents a form of HR leadership that is grounded, empathetic, and deeply strategic. Her work consistently bridges business priorities and human realities, turning periods of disruption into moments of alignment rather than fragmentation. Her approach reflects a clear belief: excellence in HR is not about chasing tools or trends, but about building cultures where strategy and people reinforce one another, where impact is measured thoughtfully, and where change - whether driven by AI or global uncertainty - is managed without compromising well-being. As the profession moves toward more automation and skills-based models, Nirit's perspective stands out as a steady reminder that HR's real strength lies in enabling growth, removing friction, and creating environments where both organizations and people can thrive.