Tobias Walter

I spent almost 11 years at Kialo Inc., long enough to watch a product get rebuilt around a changing market and see it adapt successfully. I saw it firsthand when Kialo pivoted from civictech into edtech as AI reshaped how people used online reference and knowledge platforms. I stayed because I kept growing into new roles and I believed in what we were building.

Through all of it, one thing didn't change: I look past the assumed problem to find the real one, and build something to prevent it from happening again.

I led People Operations for five years, reporting to the CEO — hiring, onboarding, payroll, performance, and employee relations for up to 30 people across ~10 countries, plus the contracts and policy work behind all of it.

Redesigned onboarding based on new hire feedback, cutting ramp-up time by about 25%. Traced a turnover spike to its root cause through exit interviews and feedback, and brought it back down. Negotiated Deel as our EOR for a 30% discount. Turned a CEO's security concern into a policy and process that needed heavy oversight at first, then became self-sustaining. Planned a company retreat in Austria for a team spread across 10 countries, which received top scores in the post-event survey.

I didn't move directly into HR. I came up through content and community, then Support — and continued leading Support even after HR became the main job. Alongside HR, I also co-led German localisation for Kialo Edu and ran outreach across the DACH region, including getting Kialo Edu into the Swiss EdTech Collider's testbed program.

I left Kialo in July 2026 and have since completed AIHR's AI for HR Specialist certificate, putting it straight into practice, building an AI onboarding assistant in Botpress for new hire Q&A and a People Ops dashboard that turns headcount, turnover, and cost data into something a CEO can understand in 90 seconds.

I'm now open to People Ops, HR, Employee Experience, or other operational and people-focused roles, either full-time, fractional, or consulting.