James Banares

James Banares has extensive experience in human resources and people operations, spanning over a decade. James has held leadership positions in various organizations, where they have successfully scaled teams and implemented progressive programs.

James's most recent role was as the VP People at Resilience Lab from February 2023 onwards. Prior to this, they were an Official Member of the Forbes Human Resources Council starting in April 2018.

Before joining Resilience Lab, James held the position of Head of People at StreamNative, where they oversaw global HR, talent acquisition, business technology, and employee experience. James successfully scaled the company from 35 employees to 150 employees and developed strategies for hiring a global and fully-distributed team. During their tenure at StreamNative, James managed a team of 9 within People Operations, including 5 managers.

Prior to StreamNative, James served as the Head of People at Finix from February 2020 to June 2021. James was responsible for overseeing HR, recruiting, IT, and office/workplace strategies. James played a crucial role in scaling the company from 30 employees to 100 employees and transitioning it from an office-first culture to a fully-distributed team culture.

James's previous experience includes serving as the VP People Operations at Valimail, where they scaled the company from 12 to 100 employees and guided the company's culture and learning initiatives. James also worked at FiveStars as the Head of Talent, driving recruiting strategies and leading a team of 10 recruiters. Prior to that, James held the managerial role of Technical Recruiting Manager at Nitro, Inc. and the Head of Global Recruiting at Pivotal Labs.

Earlier in their career, James gained experience as the Head of Recruiting and Client Services at Saygent, where they implemented recruitment strategies and managed corporate domestic recruiting for various industries. James also worked as a Regional Recruiter for Retail Talent Acquisition at Safeway Corporate, overseeing retail store management recruiting for multiple locations.

Overall, James Banares has a proven track record of scaling organizations, developing HR strategies, building teams, and fostering company culture.

From 1997 to 1999, James Banares attended Ohlone College, where they studied sociology without completing a degree.