Barb Bidan

Worth knowing

She has built and run people functions at companies scaling fast and changing shape, from Indeed's global talent acquisition to Boom Supersonic, InVision and Yahoo, which means she has hired at volume across borders and rebuilt teams when the model changed underneath them. She invests in and advises HR tech founders. Worth writing to if you are scaling a people function internationally or building in HR tech.

Story

Barb started as a GM and operator and spent nearly a decade in the fitness industry before moving into HR. She has a BA from the University of Waterloo, a post-graduate certificate in HR management from Conestoga College, and an MBA from The University of Texas (at Dallas). Barb’s tech career began at BlackBerry before relocating to Texas. Eighteen years later she has worked across direct-to-consumer, retail services, HR tech and media and entertainment, joining Crunchyroll as Chief People Experience Officer in 2022 and Ryan in September 2025. Through it all she kept a line back to Canadian tech, spending three years on the board of Communitech Outposts, which helped Canadian companies expand globally.

In Barb's words

University of Waterloo and Conestoga grad; began in HR at BlackBerry, now based in Dallas.

Highlights

• Interim Chief People Officer, Ryan (2025)
• VP, Global Talent Acquisition, Indeed.com (2015-2018)
• Independent Director, Communitech Outposts (2022-2025)
• HR Venture Advisor, SemperVirens Venture Capital
• Ragan's Top Women in HR, Class of 2025; MBA, UT Dallas