Natalie Breece
Chief People + Diversity Officer
thredUP
Episode 257
AI's Challenge: Elevating HR to a Strategic Business Driver
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMarch 26, 2025 · 11:02
Thesis
“HR is a strategic driver of business success, not an administrative function, and effective leadership requires deep investment in people, fostering trust and transparency, and adapting culture through continuous feedback and enablement, especially in a rapidly evolving, AI-driven landscape.”
Show notes
ThredUP has been running a four-day workweek since 2021. Four years in, Natalie Breece's verdict: still worth it — and still evolving.
As Chief People + Diversity Officer at the resale giant, Natalie has guided the company through its IPO, a global pandemic, and a fundamental rethinking of how work gets done. Her philosophy on performance management cuts against the grain: it's less about evaluation, more about enablement. The goal isn't to assess what someone did last year — it's to help them do the best work of their career, right now, through consistent feedback and genuine development investment. Annual reviews aren't the vehicle for that. Continuous conversations are. Her approach to the IPO transition holds a similar logic: the cultures that get companies to the point of going public are the same cultures that need to survive it. Strip out the "magic" in the name of public-company compliance, and you've destroyed the very thing investors were buying.
Natalie is also direct about AI: it's going to change how everyone works, and the organizations that put their people at the center of that change — equipping them, enabling them, bringing them along — will outperform the ones that use AI as a substitute for investment. Her advice is clear: invest in your people first. Technology multiplies whatever's already there.
What you'll learn:
- How thredUP's four-day workweek has performed over four years — the real productivity and culture data
- What it takes to maintain company culture through an IPO without losing the DNA that got you there
- The shift from performance evaluation to performance enablement — and how to operationalize it
- How Natalie built C-suite credibility and influence as the only woman on the executive team
- Communication strategies for leading through high-stakes organizational transitions
- Why AI investment without people investment is a losing strategy
This episode is in partnership with Transform. Check out their community here.
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What you'll take away
- 1Position HR as a key driver of business success, not an administrative function, by focusing on data-driven insights and advocating for both business and people.
- 2Build strong executive relationships, especially with the CEO, through trust, transparency, deep listening, and not shying away from challenging perspectives with data.
- 3Be willing to experiment with new work models like the 4-day workweek to support employee well-being, boost productivity, and attract/retain top talent, continuously evaluating its effectiveness.
- 4During significant organizational transitions (e.g., IPO), double down on and relentlessly maintain the unique culture that brought the company success, rather than stripping it away.
- 5Shift performance management from rigid annual evaluations to continuous feedback and enablement, ensuring teams are equipped for evolving roles and leveraging new technologies like AI.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Natalie, as the only woman on her executive team, states: "I would like to think it's not much different for me as a female. I would say I've never felt disadvantaged at all as a member of our C-suite." This counters the common narrative of women facing inherent disadvantages or requiring unique strategies solely due to their gender in top leadership.
In Natalie's words
“I think gone are the days where HR is kind of this back office function pushing paper, and we really have been front and center in the conversation on how you build a lasting, sustainable company at scale.”
Highlights the strategic evolution of HR from an administrative role to a core business driver.
“The last thing you wanna do is take all the magic that helps you get to the place where you now are a public company and stripping that out because we're public now and we have to do things differently.”
Emphasizes the importance of preserving core culture during significant organizational changes like going public.
“it's actually more in my mind about, it's actually less about evaluation, more about enablement for the team and helping employees do the best work of their lives by telling them what they're doing well and telling them where they have opportunity to grow and doing that consistently.”
Articulates a modern, supportive approach to performance management focused on continuous growth and development.
“You've gotta put your people at the center of those conversations, and that shows through how you treat them, how you develop them, and how you empower them to learn new technologies and be part of that journey as we all embrace a new world way of working.”
Stresses the critical role of human investment and empowerment in a future shaped by AI and new technologies.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees' primary concern in 2024 is covering monthly expenses, highlighting a need for financial well-being support.
- •Organizations grappling with how to return to work post-pandemic and create environments that support employee well-being and productivity.
- •The complexity and challenges of transitioning a company from private to public, especially amidst global disruptions, while maintaining culture and addressing employee concerns.
- •The risk of losing a company's unique culture when scaling rapidly or undergoing significant structural changes like an IPO.
- •Outdated, rigid annual performance reviews that fail to provide continuous growth-oriented feedback.
- •The urgent need to upskill and reskill employees to leverage AI technologies and adapt to changing job roles.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
ThredUp is focused on sustainability and building equity in the workplace
How Did You Get to Work at ThredUp?
As the only woman on your executive team, how do you build credibility
Natalie, as the only woman on your executive team
Madely and his Chief Strategy Officer nominated for Transform Power Pair Award
ThredUp's Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Officer Were Nom
ThredUp implemented a 4-day workweek in 2021
ThredUp: The 4-Day Workweek
ThredUp transitioned from a private startup to a public company in 2021
ThredUp's Transition From Private to Public Company
How are you approaching performance management to support business growth in the coming years
How Performance Management Design will support business growth
Natalie: You gotta invest in your people. I think AI is gonna do so much
At Build by People 2018
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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