GitLab appoints new Chief People Officer

Software development platform GitLab announced earlier this week that it has appointed Wendy Nice Barnes as Chief People Officer. Barnes has over two decades of talent leadership experience, in both startups and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining GitLab, she was Chief Human Resources Officer at Palo Alto Networks, Director of Human Resources at Netflix, and Vice President of Human Resources at eHealth.

At GitLab, Barnes will lead the management of one of the world's largest remote teams. GitLab has been fully remote since it was founded in 2014, and its workforce of approximately 1,300 is spread over 65 countries.

Barnes said of her appointment: “GitLab is not only a shining example of how to run a successful all remote company, but they are consistently recognized as a top company to work for. I am looking forward to joining such a transparent group of people, leading with the members of the executive team and working closely with its DIB (Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) and remote leaders to further the great foundation set forth.”

On the same day, GitLab also announced that it has appointed Merline Saintil to its board of directors. Saintil currently serves on the boards of Lightspeed, Alkami Technology, Banner Corporation, and ShotSpotter and was recognized as one of the Most Influential Corporate Board Directors by Women Inc. She previously held leadership roles with iconic Fortune 500 and privately held companies including Intuit, Yahoo!, PayPal, Adobe, Joyent and Sun Microsystems.

Calling the two new appointments "tremendous additions to the company", Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder and CEO of GitLab, said of the appointments: “As GitLab continues to grow, it is vital to our success to bring onboard key individuals who will help us maintain high growth and market leadership. Wendy has an impressive history of mentoring colleagues and growing leaders from within organizations. While Merline’s global award-winning product creation has enabled Fortune 500 companies to manage cyber risk at scale.”