WATTPAD ADDS FIRST CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER AND HEAD OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Shalini Duggal joins as Wattpad’s Chief People Officer and Krishna Mann joins as Wattpad’s Head of DEI
The hires come after an acquisition and explosive growth in 2021, when Wattpad added 100 staff to its teams around the world
Wattpad, the global entertainment company powered by storytelling technology, has added two significant hires as the company continues to grow its teams and business around the world. Shalini Duggal has joined as the company’s first Chief People Officer and Krishna Mann has joined as Wattpad’s first Head of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. The pair are the latest additions after a year of growth in 2021, when the company nearly 100 team members across all departments.
Shalini Duggal joins as Wattpad’s Chief People Officer, bringing more than 20 years of experience across HR, people management, learning and development, change management, and more. She has led large, diverse teams in human resources, internal communications, marketing, and sales, and has led complex acquisition integrations for more than 25 companies. While at SCM Insurance Services, she scaled the business from 600 people to 4,700 people in 10 years.
Krishna Mann joins as Wattpad’s first Head of DEI. Wattpad has long been seen as a leader in Diversity & Inclusion in tech, advocating for inclusive practices across the industry. The company is majority women and nearly half (49%) of our staff and half of the leadership team (48%) identify as BIPOC. As a leading storytelling technology platform and home to a community of more than 94 million people around the world, Krishna’s hire ensures Wattpad will continue to be conscious and intentional about how it approaches inclusion on its app and in the office.
Krishna brings social justice and DEI expertise that spans over 15 years. Highlights include advising on entertainment projects, including the Emmy award-nominated PBS animated series, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum with Brown Bag Films. Krishna has also worked on a range of DEI content and business related initiatives at TED, from inclusion coaching to content production and advising. Krishna will work closely on a variety of Wattpad platform and internal company DEI initiatives.
“After a year of incredible growth and an acquisition that brought us together with the WEBTOON family of brands, it’s important that we continue to hire the best people in the industry. Shalini’s experience scaling teams makes her the perfect fit to help lead Wattpad’s hiring efforts as we grow our team and evolve our company culture for remote teams. And as a leader in DEI, Krishna will ensure Wattpad remains one of the most diverse companies in tech and a safe space for users around the world. We look forward to having Krishna and Shalini on board for the next part of our journey” - Allen Lau, CEO and Co-Founder
These important hires come as the company continues to grow its global teams and users nearly one year after Naver acquired the company in a cash and stock transaction valued at more than an estimated USD $600 million.