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From Personal Crisis to Breaking Barriers at Workday & Becoming a Startup Trailblazer: Jennifer Penn
Manage episode 477486720 series 3647639
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How do you turn a family emergency into a foundation for career resilience, find the perfect role fit at a global firm, break barriers as the lone woman on senior sales teams, and still leap into hypergrowth at startup? We weren't sure which is why we asked our latest guest.
In this episode of Beyond the Hire, we sit down with Jennifer Penn, VP of North American Sales at Talent Neuron, to unpack how she navigated her son’s life‑threatening stroke, chose an individual contributor role at Gartner for flexibility, stood out (and stood strong) as the only woman on Workday’s senior sales team, embraced the startup whirlwind at Eightfold, and ultimately found her career sweet spot at TalentNeuron.
In this episode, we cover:
- How Jen supported her son through a massive brain hemorrhage and stroke, then built a blow‑out year at Gartner while managing 10 weekly therapy appointments.
- Why she declined her first leadership offer at Gartner to balance family priorities—and how that patience paid off.
- Lessons learned as the only woman on senior sales teams at Gartner and Workday, and why culture carriers matter.
- The risks, rewards, and rapid learning curve of joining high‑growth Eightfold after a decade in enterprise services.
- What made TalentNeuron the ideal next step, and how to recognize the culture and values that align with your career.
Join hosts Sandra Polak & Ayse Yasas from Betts Recruiting as they explore the strategies, sacrifices, and serendipity that fuel a modern sales leader’s rise.
About Jennifer Penn:
Jennifer Penn is the Vice President of North American Sales for Talent Neuron based in Atlanta, Georgia. With over 25 years of experience driving innovative and complex sales strategies—and seeing them through execution—she has developed an expertise in building high‑performing senior sales teams. Her passion for talent emerged in her early days of leadership and continued to blossom as an Executive Recruiter for Russell Reynolds. She spent the last six years of her career at Workday, Eightfold, and now Talent Neuron.
Follow Jen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-penn-4310183/
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