How Clarity at the Top Makes Culture Actually Work with Melissa Moore

In this episode, Jason sits down with Melissa Moore, the first People and Culture Executive hired at Ampere Computing before their rapid growth.

Together, they unpack how intentional leadership, values operationalization, and a relentless focus on clarity helped build a high-performance culture as the company scaled from 275 employees to over 1,400 across six countries.

Key highlights from the conversation include:

👉 Clarity at the top is non-negotiable: How CEO Renee James established a clear vision and values before the people function even existed, and why that foundation made everything else possible.

👉 Values without behavior are just words: The process Ampere used to translate values into specific, agreed-upon behaviors, then embed them into hiring, performance, and recognition from day one.

👉 Leaders have to live it too: How Ampere kept its leadership team accountable to the same values they expected from everyone else, including tying culture fit to promotion and progression decisions.

👉 Culture belongs in the operating model, not just HR: How Ampere wired its values into the R&D methodology, engineering cadence, and annual roadmap, not just people programs.

👉 Belonging isn't enough, people need to matter: Why feeling included falls short, and what it actually takes for employees to feel valued, see their impact, and stay connected to the work.

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Connect with Melissa

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissammoore1/

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