Most companies scale the business. They forget to scale the people systems holding it together, then ask why people disappear or burnout Sonita Uijt de Haag has spent 15+ years building people functions in environments where there was no playbook, no runway for mistakes, and definitely no time. She's onboarded 75+ people a month, helped 300+ employees exit with dignity in 7 working days when on spin-off shut its doors, and currently leads the full People & Talent function at a fast-scaling cybersecurity company, where she doubled headcount year-over-year and built the infrastructure from scratch. She started her career in aerospace project management, detoured to 6 years in venture development where HR because a core theme and eventually a career. In this session, Sonita presents a five-pillar framework for building people operating models that don't collapse under pressure: Plan for Moonshots, Hire Together, Grow, Reflect, and Go (preferably with grace). Each pillar targets a specific and very predictable failure mode, some things in life are cliche becuase they are predictable, startups and growing businesses are no different. She'll also cover where AI actually fits (hint: it's infrastructure, not a trend), and why some old theories, like the Peter Principle, a 1969 concept most leaders know and almost none have fixed, are still the silent killer in every scaling company in this room. Bring questions, battle stories, and popcorn.