Faces of HR: How Omnissa’s Chief People Officer Bridges the Gap Between Tech and Talent

From navigating the streets of eight different countries to steering the ship at AI-native tech giants, Suni Lobo’s career is anything but conventional. Now serving as the Chief People Officer at Omnissa, she’s using her unique global lens to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and human-centric leadership.

The Power of the “Sponsor”

Every great leader has a starting point, and for Suni Lobo, it wasn’t just about hard work—it was about advocacy. While many talk about the importance of mentors, Lobo credits her rise to “sponsors”: leaders who didn’t just give advice but actively advocated for her and opened doors to unseen opportunities. “Every new challenge I’ve taken on… was possible because someone took a bet on me,” she shares. It’s a philosophy that continues to drive her mission to develop strong talent pipelines and fuel growth today.

A Masterclass in Resilience

Imagine landing in a country where you don’t know the language or a single soul. Lobo has done that eight times over, living and working in hubs like Australia, China, and Singapore. These international stints were more than just stamps in a passport; they were a crash course in resilience and resourcefulness. For Lobo, building a personal brand from scratch in a foreign environment became the foundation for her ability to lead global teams and build relationships from the ground up.

Where AI Meets Human Strategy

With more than 20 years of experience at heavy hitters like Cisco, SVB Financial Group, and Marqeta, Lobo has seen the evolution of HR firsthand. However, it’s her recent deep dive into the world of AI—leading transformation at platforms like Gong and Trustme.ai—that sets her apart. She brings a rare “unique lens” to the C-suite, one that allows her to advance business strategy through the power of AI while simultaneously enriching the organizational culture.

As a purpose-driven leader, Lobo continues to prove that whether you’re in a boardroom in Silicon Valley or a new office in Asia, the secret to business transformation is simple: authentic leadership and a global perspective.

In our latest Faces, meet Suni Lobo.

Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?

I’ve always admired Indra Nooyi, CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo, for her values-based leadership style and her humility in a role spanning more than a decade.

What’s your best mistake and what did you learn from it?

Earlier in my career, I accepted a role too quickly without doing my due diligence on the company, CEO, and culture. The misalignment between the company’s core values and my own took its toll on me mentally and physically, and I ended up having to make the tough choice to leave. But it taught me a good lesson – values alignment and the right culture are not things I can compromise on.

What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?

My favorite part is being at the forefront of the tech industry, where the pace of innovation can fundamentally improve people’s lives. It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of an industry that is shaping the future in such a profound way.

The most challenging part is the industry’s tendency toward a “feast or famine” approach to business cycles. In moments of uncertainty, it’s easy to make short-term decisions without fully considering the long-term trade-offs for our people and culture. The change I advocate for is a shift toward more sustainable thinking that prioritizes people-centric strategies to build resilient organizations that can thrive through any cycle.

It sounds like through your experience you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.

I believe our role as people leaders is evolving, and for me, it centers on three key principles:

Development: From a Chief People Officer perspective, our role over the next three to five years is to partner with our executive teams to create safe spaces to learn, experiment, and build new skills.  Development doesn’t happen on the side or in a vacuum. Development happens while you’re doing the work.

That means hiring people who are curious, resilient, and eager to learn, and then building organizational structures that support learning and growth in real time.

Human-centric: At the same time, I believe we need to put the “H” back into HR. At its core, our function is about people, purpose, and potential, in addition to outcomes and productivity metrics. When people feel safe, engaged, and able to bring their whole selves to work, high performance naturally follows.

Alignment: Finally, cross-functional collaboration matters more than ever. We must work alongside product, IT, and strategy teams to ensure our people practices evolve alongside technology, not behind it.

How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?

HR demonstrates its value by proving that purpose-driven work is a primary driver of business performance.  I know the word “purpose” can sound cliche, but research shows it’s one of the strongest predictors of long-term performance. When people feel heard, supported, and able to grow, they engage more deeply and produce better outcomes.

As people leaders, our role is to help employees find meaning in what they do, whether through learning new skills, working on meaningful projects, or contributing to something bigger than themselves.

Peter Drucker famously said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Today, I believe culture is strategy. When people feel they can be themselves, be able to do their best work, and grow without fear, innovation and productivity happen naturally. You don’t need gimmicks.  People deliver exceptional outcomes because they want to, not because they have to.

Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Or are you seeing any current trends?

In the midst of AI, I believe we’re heading toward a more human-centric era of HR. The major trends I see are:

• AI-driven hyper-personalization: Employees will expect experiences tailored to their goals, skills, and context.
• A reshaped global talent landscape: Distributed work, new economies, and cross-border collaboration will redefine team structures.
• A new era of insights-driven HR: Technology will evolve from recordkeeping to predictive guidance and decision support.
• Purpose-led culture building: Organizations will focus less on flashy perks and more on creating environments rooted in inspiration, innovation, and growth.
• Skill intelligence as a competitive advantage: Understanding workforce capabilities and future skill gaps will become critical to growth.

What are you most proud of?

Without a doubt, the most gratifying part of my career is watching talent I’ve worked with go on to lead in their own journeys. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching and sponsoring individuals who have become CHROs, CMOs, and CEOs. Witnessing others flourish in their own careers, across industries and geographies, is what makes this work so meaningful to me.

Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?

Resist the urge to specialize too quickly. Early in your career, go broad, not deep. Take all the opportunities available to you and constantly strive to learn. I found moving around (countries, locations, various functional groups – HR, Business roles), gave me so much exposure and set me up for success.

The post <strong>Faces of HR: How Omnissa’s Chief People Officer Bridges the Gap Between Tech and Talent</strong> appeared first on HR Daily Advisor.