The Window Is Open: Now Is the Right Time for Next-Generation HCM

Genuine inflection points in enterprise technology are rare. 

The last time HR leaders had a compelling reason to rethink their core systems was during the shift from on-premise to cloud, an advancement significant enough to overcome the hooks that kept organizations locked into an HCM (Human Capital Management) they had chosen many years before. Integrations, customizations, compliance, consulting costs, and organizational fatigue make Core HCM one of the stickiest tech decisions a company can make. Most organizations only change it every 15+ years.

Today, we are at another one of those moments. And this time, the push for change is coming from many directions.

The Way We Work Has Changed

First, the nature of work has fundamentally changed. Even small companies are now global. Geopolitical instability - including tariffs, trade tensions, and regional conflicts, have made workforce resilience a necessity driving nearshoring and reshoring at a pace few anticipated. Employment itself has diversified. Contingents, part-timers, fractionals, gig-workers, and employees holding multiple roles, all now sit inside the same teams. Layoffs have eroded employee trust in ways that change how people feel about work and approach their careers. The workforce of 2026 is more fluid, more complex, and more global than legacy HCMs were built for.

At the same time, AI has fundamentally changed what’s possible. Not as just a bolt-on feature, but as a new foundation. This disruption kicks down the door to let in a whole new HR Operating System.

How We Are Using AI to Solve a Decades-Old Problem

We are building Novaworks at exactly the right moment. It's the first AI-native HCM, that dynamically adapts data requirements and workflows for every worker type, in any locale, without manual configuration. It is fluid by design, personal to every user, and built on ServiceNow's trusted security foundation. 

It doesn't try to retrofit intelligence onto a legacy architecture. It starts from scratch, for the world as it is today, and with the fluidity to adapt for the future.

My Why

I joined Novaworks as Chief Product Officer because I know this space and recognize this rare opportunity to make a lasting impact. It was the right challenge at the right time.

I started my product management career as the Product Manager for PeopleSoft Core HR, and led the initial requirements for Oracle Fusion Core HCM as a Product Director. I was later VP of HR Technology Research for Gartner, running the HCM Suites Magic Quadrant, and went on to lead Product Strategy and Future HR Products at ServiceNow.  I've watched this industry from nearly every vantage point. 

True change doesn’t come often. But with the technology shift and workforce shifts converging, the opportunity to build something game-changing is open. I'm so grateful  to be a part of this journey with incredible colleagues  including our founders; Kelley Steven-Waiss and Eswar Vandanapu, in addition to the rest of this creative and passionate team here at Novaworks. It’s also a unique honor to be funded by true business partners including Servicenow Ventures and Bell Ventures as well as our lead investor, Stallwart Ventures.

Join us for the journey, stay for the impact.