NEW YORK – September 24, 2019 – Toptal, the elite network of on-demand talent, today announced the addition of three seasoned leaders to strengthen key corporate functions as the company continues on its hyper-growth trajectory; Christy Schumann, Vice President of Talent Operations, Mike Dowhan, Vice President of SMB, and Jodi Brooks, Vice President of Communications.
“Toptal is experiencing more than 40% growth this year. Sustaining our innovative edge and strong growth with the scale Toptal is operating at requires world-class executives. We’ve been fortunate to be able to hire a number of world-class executives in the last 12 months.” said Taso Du Val, CEO, Toptal. “These new leaders bring best practices, operational rigor, creativity, and a focus on excellence. I’m proud and humbled to be able to work alongside some of the most talented leaders in their respective fields.”
These new hires come on the heels of Toptal’s focused efforts over the past 12 months toward bolstering the breadth and depth of its executive team reflected in the earlier additions of Michelle Labbe, Vice President of People, Corinne Lowry, Vice President of Brand Marketing, and Brenda Kurz, Chief Administration Officer.
Christy Schumann, VP of Talent Operations, brings more than a decade of management, leadership and consulting experience from both Rackspace and Bain & Company. Hyper-focused on Toptal’s leadership positioning, staying ahead of the growing demand of skilled talent, Christy ensures successful client outcomes by delivering the optimal talent based on the client’s needs and timeframe.
VP of SMB Sales, Mike Dowhan comes to Toptal with transformational leadership roles at Morningstar, Inc., The Boston Consulting Group and Goldman Sachs. At Toptal, Mike is responsible for developing winning go-to-market strategies, coaching excellence, and for driving growth within the small and mid-sized clients.
Jodi Brooks, VP of Communications, brings more than 20 years of communications and leadership experience from industry-leading public relations firms including Burson Marsteller, Finn Partners, Weber Shandwick, and Ketchum while also working on many leading and disruptive global brands including Oracle, HP, DXC Technologies, Zebra Technologies, Huawei, Honeywell, and Fitbit. At Toptal, Jodi is responsible for all internal and external communications efforts across the company, ensuring Toptal secures the visibility the company earned as the leader in the Talent Economy.
VP of People, Michelle Labbe joined Toptal after HR leadership roles at leading companies including ICR, Rent the Runway, Razorfish, and Deloitte. Her engineer recruiting experience is critical to her appreciation of the talent gaps and the need for innovative solutions to solve for this problem. At Toptal, Michelle drives engagement for the 500+ remote core team members through best practices and tools to ensure productivity, while also instilling creative methods to foster an inclusive, cohesive, and collaborative culture.
Corinne Lowry, Toptal’s VP of Brand Marketing, brings significant experience working with large corporate brands including Coca-Cola, IBM, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, BlackRock, and others. She spent more than 14 years at global marketing giant Ogilvy & Mather, most recently as a senior partner and managing director overseeing account management in New York. At Toptal, Corinne is responsible for elevating Toptal’s brand awareness and thought leadership positioning as a key driver in the Future of Work.
Chief Administrative Officer, Brenda Kurz previously held senior strategic and operational leadership roles at Charles Schwab, Microsoft, Express Credit Union, and US Bank. Brenda is introducing best practices at Toptal to further strengthen infrastructure and ensure strategic alignment across the organization.
About Toptal
Toptal is an elite network of the world’s top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on demand. Toptal serves thousands of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, delivering expertise and world-class solutions at an unparalleled success rate. For more information, please visit www.toptal.com.