Chris Tobin

Enthusiast
DISC Type : i

Chief People Officer at Zūm

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

Chris Tobin is the Chief People Officer at Zūm, specializing in creating human-centered organizations that drive business outcomes. With a Ph. D. in Organizational Psychology, he has extensive experience leading People, Talent, and Workplace functions at high-growth startups like Intercom and Affirm, often as the first global head of people.

As a parent, Chris is motivated by Zūms mission to provide safe transportation for children and its positive environmental impact through bus electrification. He values resilience, hard work, and maintaining a learning mindset, traits he attributes to his career success in the chaotic and ambiguous startup world.

Unique fact: Chris was the first global head of people at four different startups, where he built the People function from the ground up during periods of aggressive growth.

Personality Overview

Amiable & Agreeable

Optimistic

Non-Confrontational

They tend to be agreeable by nature, so take their promises with a pinch of salt.
  They prefer to build relationships rather than staying totally transactional. Unlike D or C types, they are convinced more by stories and testimonials.

Topics They Care About

Scaling Startups
He has a specialized career in joining high-growth startups like Zūm, Intercom, and Affirm as the first head of people to build and scale the HR function.
People Technology
Serves as an HR Venture Advisor for SemperVirens Venture Capital and PeopleTech Partners, focusing on product feedback, positioning, and go-to-market strategy for HR tech startups.
Talent Acquisition
His recent public activity focuses on building out the People and Recruiting teams at Zūm, personally posting about hiring for senior leadership and technical recruiting roles.

Media Appearances

Chris has no verified media appearances

Work History

4-2024
Chief People Officer at Zūm
10-2022
CxO Advisory Board at Menlo Ventures
7-2022
HR Venture Advisor at SemperVirens Venture Capital
9-2018
Advisor at PeopleTech Partners
4-2018
Advising Entrepreneurs and People leaders in high growth start-ups at Chris Tobin Advisory

Education

B.A. from University of Colorado Boulder
Ph.D. from Alliant International University-San Francisco Bay

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 7 Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief People Officer at Zūm
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Insights For Selling To Chris

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Refer to interesting customer testimonials and stress on great customer experience
  • Invite them for a lunch or a drink/coffee
  • Compliment them about their personality if you get a chance

DONT's

  • Don’t ask too many questions in one go, weave them into the flow
  • Avoid overloading them with too much information
  • Don't be critical or challenge them openly, they can react defensively

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Chris is

  • Relationship and rapport are valuable for them, but so is proven product value.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Chris

  • They are unlikely to say no directly.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Chris move?

  • They are not very fast decision makers, even while they continue to stay engaged.
  • Can Chris take some risk or not?

  • They can take some low-probability risks if needed.

You And Chris

Personality Compatibility


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