Karalyn Smith

Karalyn has spent the last 22 years driving business transformations through talent. She is a strategic and creative problem solver with expertise in organizational design, talent acquisition, employment branding and engagement, inclusion and belonging culture shaping, total rewards compensation, and health & welfare benefits.

Karalyn was most recently at Sephora as their Chief People Officer overseeing all HR functions for Sephora Americas. She focused daily on creating a "best place to work" culture for more than 16,000 employees in the U.S. and 3,500 in Canada. Prior to Sephora, Karalyn held several HR leadership roles at Best Buy and worked at Accenture, specializing in human capital strategies within their retail practice. Karalyn is an inspiring Talent Human Resources leader, who loves retail and is passionate about the business. She considers herself the guardian of culture and associate experience.

Karalyn graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS Honors Degree in Sociology. Originally from the Midwest, she now lives in Marin with her husband Marc and four children.