- Asymmetric Investing
- Posts
- The Talent Magnet
Where is the talent going?
Answering that one question can make a lot of money for investors. But it’s not always clear the talent we should follow or how we judge the talent flow.
In very simple terms, I look at announced hirings, and if the person being hired is impressive, it’s worth wondering why they’re interested in this opportunity.
Another simple question is: Would I want to work there?
When people leave, it’s equally important to ask questions. For example, Tesla fired its head of operations for North America and Europe today after the head of Optimus left earlier in the month.
As a follow-up to Monday’s drama with Hims & Hers $HIMS ( ▲ 2.71% ) , which you can read about here and will in part replace the normal Thursday content, I wanted to give a short look at some recent hires at the company, one that was just announced TODAY, and ask a simple question:
Is Hims & Hers a Talent Magnet?
Chief Medical Officer - Jessica Shepherd
Shepherd is an MD, MBA, and entrepreneur. Tough to find a resume that fits Hims & Hers this well.
Dr. Shepherd brings nearly twenty years of clinical experience in obstetrics, gynecology, and surgery to Hims & Hers. A board-certified OB/GYN, Dr. Shepherd has spent her career focused on areas of women’s health including endometriosis, fibroids, sexual health, menopausal health, and healthcare disparities for women. She is a leading voice in raising awareness of the importance of women's access to care that addresses their individual experiences at every life stage. She received her MD from Ross University School of Medicine and her MBA from University of Louisville. She was also previously the Director of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
You can already see her imprint on the company, with menopause taking center stage in the product pipeline, and the Hers app is growing in popularity.
Chief Operations Officer - Nader Kabbani
Kabbani is not only experienced with a company scaling quickly, but he also has insights into the company many investors think is Hims & Hers’ biggest competitor: Amazon.
In his nearly 20 years at Amazon, he led the acquisition of PillPack and the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, and built the operational backbone for flagship offerings, including Amazon Logistics, Amazon Flex, Amazon Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon Music, and Prime Video services. He also led Amazon’s global COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force responsible for vaccinating over one million employees, contractors, drivers, and their families. Additionally, Nader held executive leadership roles at Flexport and Symbotic, bringing innovative transportation and logistics expertise and large-scale AI robotics to global retail companies.
When a company grows as quickly as Hims & Hers has, it’s natural to have growing pains and eventually have the need to “professionalize” operations. CEO Andrew Dudum seems to be addressing that early with this hire.
Chief Technology Officer - Mo Elshenawy
AI is a talking point for many companies, but it’s potentially the future for Hims & Hers, answering medical questions 24/7 and providing solutions given a patient’s background. Who do you hire to build AI systems for a greenfield like that? How about someone who came from autonomous driving?
Elshenawy brings over two decades of experience in the technology sector to Hims & Hers, leading large scale AI, product, and engineering teams across mobility, e-commerce, and cloud. Most recently as the President and CTO at Cruise, a self-driving vehicle company owned by General Motors, Mo led the organization through critical phases across regulatory, operations and technical development to launch and scale the first commercial driverless rideshare service in San Francisco. He has also held senior leadership roles at Amazon, where he led global engineering for the company’s ReCommerce business and led the creation of retail data analytics platforms that powered over hundreds of millions in revenue. He holds more than 10 patents across AI, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.
Dudum explained the thinking by saying AI safety is paramount in driving, and it will be in healthcare as well. What better place to look for talent?
Chief Product Officer - Dheerja Kaur
It’s rare to see a hire so roundly praised, but it makes sense in this case.
With nearly two decades of experience building category-defining products and services, Dheerja joins us from Robinhood, where she served as VP of Product. There, she played a pivotal role in scaling their business and led Robinhood Gold, a premium membership offering that has reached over 3 million subscribers and fundamentally reshaped how consumers access financial tools. More than just a product, Gold became a cornerstone of Robinhood’s business model, driving meaningful revenue growth, expanding the company’s addressable market, and demonstrating that consumers are willing to engage with thoughtfully designed, high-value experiences. Prior to that, she was Chief Product Officer at The Skimm, where she redefined how millennial women access, understand, and share news across mobile, audio, and video.
I think Robinhood has executed tech products and built a great business model more effectively than almost any tech company on the market. If she brings some of that magic to Hims & Hers, the sky is the limit.
People Make a Business
It sounds simple, but people make a business. When talent is leaving, the business will decline. And when a company (or founder) is a talent magnet, it can lead to great things.
By the look of it, talent is heading toward Hims & Hers, and that’s a great sign for the business.
Disclaimer: Asymmetric Investing provides analysis and research but DOES NOT provide individual financial advice. Travis Hoium may have a position in some of the stocks mentioned. All content is for informational purposes only. Asymmetric Investing is not a registered investment, legal, or tax advisor, or a broker/dealer. Trading any asset involves risk and could result in significant capital losses. Please, do your own research before acquiring stocks.
Reply