Meet the New Leaders Driving Transformation at 6 NYC-based Companies

Jennifer Chittim had one major thing on her mind when she recently stepped into her new role as VP of customer success at Templafy: the teachings of American psychologist Carol Dweck. 

For Chittim, cultivating an impactful leadership vision is just as important as hitting goals and driving business growth. That’s where Dweck’s teachings come in, particularly her understanding of a “growth mindset” versus a “fixed mindset.” Chittim aims to encourage her team members to embrace a growth mindset by cultivating a culture that promotes continuous learning, particularly when it comes to giving and receiving feedback.

“It’s essential that I show my receptivity to constructive criticism as a growth opportunity and demonstrate that we’re building a culture of giving direct, honest and genuinely well-meaning feedback,” she said.

By instilling a focus on evolution, Chittim strives to empower her team members to tackle major initiatives, such as understanding customers’ business objectives more clearly. 

Given the steady growth of NYC’s tech scene, she’s far from the only new local leader who has their sights set on transformation. 

When Randy Yang recently joined Harry’s as chief growth officer, he found himself walking into his “dream job;” one where he would have the chance to harness his passion for brands to drive the company’s continued expansion. 

That’s why, rather than simply getting up to speed on business processes, he has spent his first months on the job solidifying plans to help the company dominate the consumer packaged goods space. 

“As a strategic acquirer, obtaining the most innovative brands is only half the battle,” Yang said. “Understanding and leaning into our core capabilities to help grow those brands is just as important, if not more so.” 

For Chittim, Yang and four other leaders across NYC, their new roles are an exciting opportunity to inspire others and drive change. Read on to learn more about the new leaders taking the Big Apple’s tech sector by storm.

 

iCapital’s software is designed to power the alternative investment marketplace, enabling its customers to explore, invest in and adopt alternative products. 

 

Tell us about your professional background, and what drew you to this role at iCapital. 

I’m thrilled to join iCapital as chief marketing officer and a member of the management committee. My duties are to oversee worldwide marketing and communications, including branding, advertising, content, digital strategy, events, market intelligence and marketing operations. Most recently, I served as the chief marketing officer at Microsoft Canada and helped propel the brand to the top commercial spot in the country through strategic modern marketing initiatives. 

My journey in marketing spans over two decades, during which I’ve had the privilege of leading global marketing initiatives for reputable brands like Dyson, TORLYS, Seavus and Ein-Sof.

What drew me to iCapital was its position at the forefront of the digital transformation in alternative investments. It’s particularly appealing to serve clients through a platform that functions as an end-to-end operating system, enabling private-market investing and meeting clients where and when they conduct their business.

 

“What drew me to iCapital was its position at the forefront of the digital transformation in alternative investments.”

 

How would you describe your leadership style?

I prioritize transparency, collaboration and empowerment. I believe in fostering an environment where team members feel valued, heard and inspired to contribute their best work. As I step into my new role, I aim to apply this leadership approach by actively engaging with my team, encouraging open communication and providing them with the support they need to thrive. By cultivating a culture of trust and innovation, I aspire to drive impactful marketing strategies and effective communication initiatives that align with iCapital’s vision.

 

 

Harry’s operates a portfolio of brands that sell products for personal wellness and pet care. 

 

Tell us about  your professional background. What led you to Harry’s? 

I couldn’t be more excited to join Harry’s Inc. as chief growth officer. Our vision at Harry’s is to reimagine the consumer packaged goods space and build a family of modern CPG brands. My goal is to grow that family by acquiring disruptive CPG brands and scaling them into category leaders, leveraging the omnichannel playbook and capabilities pioneered by Harry’s.

As someone who loves brands and has a deep conviction in business models rooted in portfolios of brands, this is pretty much my dream job. And while the role is certainly not a straightforward one — I’m still working on my five-second response to “What do you do for a living?” — my path to Harry’s hasn’t been either. 

My career has always been anchored in two things: working with smart, kind people and a love for brands. These guideposts have taken me from building business fundamentals in consulting and private equity to scaling brands across consumer segments, categories and price points at LVMH, Walmart and Ro.

 

“As someone who loves brands and has a deep conviction in business models rooted in portfolios of brands, this is pretty much my dream job.”

 

Beyond onboarding and getting up to speed on the internal workings of your new team, what’s your first order of business at Harry’s? 

My first order of business has been to build an understanding of where Harry’s excels when it comes to fulfilling our mission of “creating things people like more.” Many brands build products and experiences that positively impact the lives of their customers, but which of our capabilities are truly world-class?

Understanding our competitive advantages is critical when deciding where to double down and differentially address unmet consumer needs in our day-to-day business. It’s also critical during acquisition discussions with emerging brands when we’re trying to identify how we can differentially help them scale into omnichannel category leaders and disrupt big CPG. 

 

 

Forge provides marketplace infrastructure, data services and technology solutions for private market participants. 

 

Tell us about the position you’re stepping into, and how it connects to your career journey thus far. 

I joined Forge in May 2023. I’m currently the executive VP of trading technology in New York. As a marketplace for private market participants, the company was looking for a technologist with specific trading technology experience to move its trading stack to the next iteration.

My professional life is one littered with time spent in both the private markets — I recently worked at Carta — and in the public markets, which includes my work at Goldman Sachs. My background is in building trading systems, which began in the early 2000s. Spending time on building routing and matching engines in the public equities space for the last 23 years has prepared me for this exciting opportunity in the private secondary market. At Forge, we’re embarking on the next generation of software and processes in the private markets.

 

“We’re embarking on the next generation of software and processes in the private markets.”

 

What are you most excited to be tackling with your team since stepping into your role? 

At Forge, we’re excited to launch our newest product, Forge Pro. It brings advanced institutional trading capabilities to the private market by providing sophisticated investors with deep analytics to monitor live secondary market data and conduct transactions from one platform. We’re excited to develop tools for the private markets, and we’re targeting a more diverse client set to increase the liquidity of the private market.

 

 

Equativ’s adtech solutions that are designed to engage target audiences, drive more revenue and boost advertising campaign KPIs. 

 

 

How would you describe your leadership style?

I would say that I have a pragmatic leadership style, with a focus on clearly defining the objectives at hand and then allocating the requisite resources to attain them. Clarity and unity of purpose go a long way toward creating a positive team culture and a shared sense of belonging, especially in a global company with many local and regional nuances.

 

 

Templafy’s platform automates business document creation, enabling organizations to unify their document and content management infrastructure, deliver intuitive workflows and more.

 

Tell us about your new role and why were you brought on to lead this team. 

I’m thrilled to be joining Templafy to run customer success across North America as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I’ve led teams across multiple business-to-business SaaS companies, ranging between Series A to Series C startups, some of which generated $15-$100 million in annual recurring revenue. 

I particularly love the scale-up stage that Templafy is in right now. I’m excited to tackle some big updates to our processes that will better equip us in guiding customers through the value-realization lifecycle. We’re only getting stronger at understanding our customers’ businesses and the ways in which a Templafy partnership can drive positive outcomes for cost savings and revenue generation. I’m looking forward to leveraging my Master of Business Administration education and my past experience in consulting and the film industry to help team members become even better advisors and storytellers for our customers.
 

“I’m excited to tackle some big updates to our processes that will better equip us in guiding customers through the value-realization lifecycle.”

 

How would you describe your leadership style?

My team has already heard me talk about this quite a bit, but I’m pretty obsessed with Carol Dweck’s concept of a “fixed mindset” — the belief that skills and knowledge remain the same over time — versus a “growth mindset,” which is the idea that those same traits can be learned and are capable of improvement. I naturally lean more toward a fixed mindset, and I have to actively remind myself to keep a growth mindset, particularly at the start of a new role. 

I talk about this with my team often because I really want to cultivate a growth-mindset culture, especially as it relates to giving and receiving feedback. One of the ways I put this into practice from the get-go is by requiring every member on the team to give me a constructive piece of feedback after I present a new process, initiative or other work item. 

 

 

Augury provides manufacturers with AI-driven insights into their machines, processes and operations, enabling their teams to improve production capacity, predictability and sustainability.

 

Tell us about your new role, your professional background and what led you to this team. 

With excitement and over 25 years of HR experience, I recently joined Augury as the VP of global people operations. I feel fortunate that my career journey has been a “jungle gym” path; one that has been diverse and encompassing various roles, some of which have been international, which has allowed me to gain knowledge and expertise across multiple HR areas. I attribute my success to the trust and support of exceptional managers who provided unique opportunities. It wasn’t always easy to say “yes,” but when opportunity knocked, I answered.

Early in my career, I focused on university recruiting, which I consider one of my most impactful roles. It was a privilege to guide students in their career decisions and be the person who delivered the final calls that could shape their futures. This experience instilled in me the importance of maintaining a personal touch in HR throughout my journey. 

Over the years, as I moved through different HR functions, those earlier days always remind me of the importance of keeping the “human” in HR. As Augury enters its thirteenth year, I’m excited to contribute to its growth and evolution alongside our people team. Together, we’ll continue shaping Augury's success story.