Lisa Van Gelder in

Lisa Van Gelder

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VP, Engineering at Pleo
📍 London, England, United Kingdom

Lisa van Gelder is the VP of Engineering at Pleo, an experienced leader focused on scaling engineering organizations and aligning technical strategy with business objectives. An alumna of The University of Manchester, colleagues describe her as a strong, collaborative leader and an excellent coach.

Lisa is passionate about sharing her expertise through public speaking at conferences like Lead Dev and appearing on podcasts. She enjoys discussing how to debug teams and create environments where engineers can excel, focusing on mastery, autonomy, purpose, and safety.

She is a published author with three essays in the book "97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know".

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Experience
7 Years
Current Role
VP, Engineering
Job Level
Senior
Location
London, England, United Kingdom
Personality Overview

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Communication Style
Decision Approach
Work Preference

Behavioral traits and communication patterns that shape how this person evaluates opportunities, builds trust, and makes decisions in professional settings.

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Priorities

Topics Lisa cares about

Debugging Engineering Teams
A core passion of hers, she has appeared on podcasts to discuss her methods for debugging teams and removing obstacles to improve engineering execution.
Engineering Management
Authored three essays in "97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know, " covering topics like engineering ladders and psychological safety, showcasing her thought leadership.
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Career

Work history

7-2025
VP, Engineering
Pleo
3-2025 - 7-2025
Interim VP Engineering
Pleo
3-2021 - 12-2023
VP of Engineering
Avvir
1-2020 - 2-2021
SVP Engineering (CTO)
Spring Health
10-2017 - 9-2019
VP, Engineering
Meetup
In the press

Media appearances

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Education
1997 - 1998
MA
The University of Manchester
1994 - 1997
BA
The University of Manchester
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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