Talent executive Annmarie Neal has retired as a partner at Hellman & Friedman to become chief people officer at software company Zendesk, acquired in 2022 by Hellman & Friedman and London buyout firm Permira.
Neal spent just over 10 years with the buyout firm. Her time there coincided with a surge of interest by PE executives in working more closely with their management teams on hiring and executive coaching. The ultimate aim: to increase the valuations of their companies at exit time.
In her Linkedin profile, Neal notes her expertise in such areas as CEO succession, talent assessment, executive coaching and improving the effectiveness of both private board members and management teams. In 2023, according to her profile, she spent some eight months working as interim chief people officer at Zendesk.
Hellman & Friedman has no plans to replace Neal, given a “deep bench of talent on their operating team,” according to a spokesman. Neal’s Linkedin profile gives her final month at the firm as March.
Deep Bench: Befitting a 41-year-old firm that has raised more than $70 billion and backed more than 100 companies, the firm maintains a team of professionals devoted to recruiting and talent. They include Chief People Officer Julia Kaufman, Director of Talent Siru Niemi and Director of People Operations Betty Szeto. Altogether the firm employs more than 100 people at its San Francisco headquarters and at its satellite offices in New York City and London.
Bona Fides: Before joining Hellman & Friedman in 2015 Neal had served as chief talent officer at San Jose, California-based networking company Cisco Systems, where she worked from 2006 to 2011. In 2000 she founded the Center for Leadership Innovation, which advises companies on talent management in the C-suite and executive ranks. She is the co-author of the 2013 book, Leading From the Edge: Global Executives Share Strategies for Success.
Update: The original post and headline have been updated with additional information about Annmarie Neal’s plans post-retirement from Hellman & Friedman, and with more detail on her background.