Kenny Mendes

Trailblazer
DISC Type : ID

Chief People Officer at Superhuman

Mountain View, California, United States

Overview

Kenny Mendes is the Chief People Officer at Superhuman, having previously held COO and other leadership roles at Coda where he managed Finance, HR, Operations, and Legal. He began his career in recruiting, notably scaling Box from 40 to over 1, 200 employees. Colleagues describe him as analytical, a "rockstar, " and compassionate.

Outside of his executive roles, Kenny is deeply involved in the startup ecosystem as an angel investor and the founder of "Startup Hiring, " a course designed to help founders build exceptional teams. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his wife and two kids and is an avid golfer.

He is a self-described "reference snob, " refusing to make any hire without thoroughly checking references first.

Personality Overview

Values Relationships

Assertive

Achievement-Oriented

They are more likely to be open to unproven but exciting technologies.  They do not mind taking risks and can make hard decisions, if necessary. They will bat for you if they come to believe in you.

Topics They Care About

Startup Hiring
He founded a cohort-based course called "Startup Hiring" to help founders and company-builders become great at hiring.
Building Startups
He was an early employee at both Coda and Box, playing an integral role in scaling both companies from early stages to multi-billion dollar valuations.
AI Productivity
His current company, Superhuman, is described as the AI productivity platform, unifying Grammarly, Coda, and Mail to redefine productivity.

Media Appearances

Kenny has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2025
Chief People Officer at Superhuman
2-2025
Chief People Officer at Grammarly
2-2015
COO at Coda
2-2021
Founder at Startup Hiring
5-2019
Angel Investor at First Round Capital

Education

2005 - 2008
Bachelors from University of California, Berkeley

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 10 Location : Mountain View, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief People Officer at Superhuman
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Insights For Selling To Kenny

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use phrases like ‘your decision will’, ‘you will impact’ etc.
  • Build a trustworthy relationship while keeping the product center-stage
  • Give them control of the sales process

DONT's

  • Don’t hesitate from asking questions or pushing them, but take a friendly approach
  • Don’t hesitate from asking them how they truly feel about your product
  • Don’t force involvement of other stakeholders unless it is critical

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Kenny is

  • Relationship and product conviction matter equally, followed by a sense of achievement.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Kenny

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no albeit in a friendly manner.


Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Kenny move?

  • They can make decisions quickly if they develop trust in you and conviction in the product.
  • Can Kenny take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks if necessary.

You And Kenny

Personality Compatibility


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