At Notion, we believe the potential of our company starts with the potential of our people. Today, I’m delighted to welcome Katy Shields as our new Chief People Officer.
Few leaders can claim the trifecta of scaling a hypergrowth company known for execution through IPO (DoorDash, twenty thousand employees), nurturing a culture of craft & humanity (VSCO), and pushing boundaries and thinking big (Google X/Waymo). Over her 15+ year career, Katy has mastered this rare combination—perfect for what’s next at Notion.
But what I like about Katy the most is that she’s a builder at heart. Our company mission is to help people build beautiful tools for their life’s work—and that is Katy. One reference remark: “Many leaders lead with process as the company scales—Katy can definitely do that, but she’s also a builder who leads with her actions and her heart.”
I am excited to work with Katy to build a product that helps our customers create their life’s work, and, at the same time, to build a company that’s our life’s work.
To help you understand Katy directly, I sat down with her and asked her some questions.
IZ: What drew you to Notion?
KS: It wasn’t just Notion’s magnetic talent brand that drew me in—it was the transformative vision that emerged during our conversations, Ivan. I kept asking my family to pinch me because this role transcends traditional Chief People Officer boundaries—at Notion, we’re pioneering the future of work through AI adoption, starting with our own company as a living laboratory.
Through our technology, we’re not just streamlining workflows; we’re automating the mundane, repetitive tasks that weigh us down and creating space for innovation, creativity, and strategic thinking that can revolutionize how work itself is done.
Every day, I’m humbled and energized by this once-in-a-career opportunity. I’ve also been blown away by the deep level of care that was woven into my recruiting experience. Everything from first impressions to personal touches, the feeling I had throughout, reaffirmed that Notion was the right place to pull me out of my aspiring retiree–Board of Directors status and back into an operating role.
Can you tell everyone a bit about your background?
I’m a deeply curious person, and when I see an opportunity to make something better, I run at it. I remember from a young age thinking “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” I love solving hard problems alongside people who bring out the best in you. At this stage in my career, I’m focused on multiplying that impact through others.
But here’s a walk through how I got here. Picture this: I got my start at Qualcomm, which is where I learned some invaluable skills about traditional business and HR. Then, it’s 2011, and I’m sitting in a meeting at Google X, watching engineers discuss how to install Lidar sensors to make self-driving cars a reality.
Google operated differently—no stuffy suits or corporate speak—and everyone had a seat at the table. I found myself deeply immersed in conversations about moonshots that seemed nearly impossible at the time. It was a ton of fun to be a part of those moonshots from the ground up, rather than “just being the HR person.”
Fast forward to my time at VSCO, where we built the company from Series A to a successful growth startup, leading a movement that transformed how creatives (and mostly teenagers) expressed themselves creatively.
Life has a way of bringing things full circle. My journey to DoorDash started with a deeply personal moment: my four-year-old daughter in the ICU after a horrible accident. Those delivered meals to the hospital weren’t just food, they were lifelines during our darkest hours as a family.
That experience moved me so much that I reached out to the company, and, before I knew it, I was helping lead it through rapid transformation, including their IPO and explosive growth as a public company—growing from three countries to more than thirty, and two thousand employees to nearly twenty thousand.
Just recently, I had one of those surreal moments that make you appreciate how far technology has come. Standing beside Mayor Daniel Lurie in Notion’s new San Francisco office, watching a Waymo car smoothly navigate Market Street, I couldn’t help but smile. That same project I worked on was now a reality, right outside our window, on one of the busiest streets of SF.
I look forward to bringing Notion’s incredibly large mission to life as well.
Do you have first principles for people leadership?
Two questions guide my daily approach: “How can I add value to every interaction?” and “Do I give more energy than I take?” We all know those emotional vampires who suck the life out of a room. I’ve made it my personal mission to be the exact opposite, while helping others bring their best authentic selves to work.
I’m also all about creating environments where you can be one hundred percent yourself while pushing past what you thought was possible. And, let’s not forget about having fun along the way—I’m a big believer in the power of gratitude and in celebrating our wins. Getting 1% better every day has phenomenal compounding interest.
AI is transforming work. Will it also change HR?
AI will undoubtedly transform HR as well. I’m passionate about eliminating energy-draining, mundane tasks—both for myself and my team. If I wouldn’t do a task myself, I won’t ask my team to do it.
At Notion, I want to prioritize our own transformation—finding ways to let AI handle repetitive tasks that nobody enjoys, which will unlock space to provide high-judgment strategic impact, all while building the tools to help other companies do the same.
While AI will impact many industries, I believe in human adaptability. Throughout history, we’ve reinvented how we work countless times. The key isn’t replacing people—it’s helping companies redeploy talent to areas that matter most. Notion is incredibly well positioned to fulfill my personal mission of helping people grow more than they ever thought possible.
What should our team expect from your leadership style?
I believe in focusing on what I can control—I call it “the yolk” of the sunny-side-up egg. During my early Employee Relations days dealing with challenging situations, a mentor taught me this valuable lesson. The yolk represents what’s in my control—how I respond, adapt, and show up. The egg white? That’s everything else. A high sense of agency helps me to stay focused on how I show up for others, and I encourage folks to do the same.
Two additional things you should know about me: First, I’m all about direct, courageous feedback—both giving and receiving. I genuinely want to know what’s working and where I can grow. I consider company-building similar to developing a product. We should listen to those for whom we’re building—in this case, our Notinos. And equally important: I believe in bringing joy and laughter to work. Some of the strongest working relationships I’ve built started with a good laugh, and I’m always happy to be the brunt of the joke.
Plenty of jokes to go around here, you’ll feel right at home. 😀
