Advisor Spotlight: Horst Gallo, Former Chief People Officer & HR exec, Orion & IBM

Jenna Vassallo

Sep 23, 2026

We’re thrilled to welcome Horst Gallo to Parentaly’s CHRO Advisory Board.

Horst most recently served as Chief People Officer at Orion Innovation, where he led global people strategy and operations during a period of significant growth and transformation.

Previously, Horst spent more than 20 years at IBM, holding senior HR leadership roles across talent management, global mobility and people strategy, including serving as CHRO for IBM’s Greater China Group and Central & Eastern Europe.

For Horst, Parentaly stands out because it solves the experience problem, not just the policy problem. He believes bringing structure to coverage, re-onboarding and manager support can turn parental leave from a productivity and retention risk into a managed transition that protects business continuity.

“Most companies have a parental leave policy, but not a parental leave experience. Parentaly closes that gap by bringing structure to coverage, re-onboarding and manager support, turning leave into a managed transition rather than a productivity and retention risk. I’m excited to help more companies see this type of support as core to business continuity and how they retain and develop talent.”

Below, Horst shares why parental leave has become a critical retention issue, where companies still fall short and why the right support can strengthen both the employee experience and the business.

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Fortune 500 CHROs Join Parentaly’s Advisory Board

What inspired you to join Parentaly’s CHRO Advisory Board?

"With more than 25 years in HR and people operations, I've watched parental leave go from an afterthought to a genuine retention lever. Yet most companies still treat it as a compliance checkbox rather than a talent strategy. Parentaly is one of the few organizations actually solving the experience problem - not just the policy problem - and that's what made this an easy yes.”

Why is parental leave such an important issue in today’s workplace?

“It's one of the few moments in an employee's career where a company's stated values get tested in real time. Handle it well, and you build loyalty that lasts years. Handle it poorly, and you lose people right when they're deciding whether this is a company worth staying at. In a tight talent market, it becomes a retention and employer-brand issue.”

What’s broken about how companies handle parental leave today?

“Most companies have a leave policy, but not a leave experience. There's often no clear plan for how work gets covered, no structured way to stay connected during leave and no real support for the return. This means employees are left to figure out re-entry on their own - right when they're most vulnerable to feeling replaceable or overlooked. Managers are also rarely trained for parental leave, so a lot comes down to luck: did you happen to have a manager who handled it well? Parentaly turns parental leave from a productivity risk into a managed transition, with structured handover and coverage plans that keep work moving and nothing falling through the cracks.”

What excites you most about Parentaly’s mission and this moment in time?

“We're at a point where employers are competing hard for talent and increasingly aware that benefits like paid parental leave directly affect who stays and who leaves. Parentaly has the data and the expert infrastructure to actually move the needle, not just publish another policy PDF. Being part of that at this stage - where the mission is proven and the growth is accelerating - is exciting.”

‍What impact do you hope to make as part of this board?

“I'd like to help bring a practical and investment focused lens to how Parentaly's programs get positioned and adopted inside large organizations - helping more companies see this not as a nice-to-have benefit, but as core to protecting business continuity and retaining and developing talent.”

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To celebrate all we’ve accomplished, our team shared what they’re most proud of since joining the team:

I'm most proud of how much we have done to improve the single hardest moment for women's careers (going on parental leave) ... one that is often shrouded in insecurity and fear. We've been able to help advocate for so many women (and men!) in a way that is empowering and truly life-changing.

Allison Whalen, CEO & Founder

What am I most proud of? Growth! Growing a category of support that didn't exist before Parentaly. Growing from a one-woman bootstrapped operation to a global team of 25+ employees and coaches. Growing our overall impact for working parents, with companies investing in our parental leave programming to support employees all over the world. And growing as humans: new babies, new friends, new life experiences... all while tackling new and exciting work challenges together.

Rich Burke, Head of Growth

When I reflect on what I am personally most proud of during my time here, it's working alongside a team where we constantly evolve and optimize everything that we do in order to deliver the best possible experience for the folks going through our programs. It sounds cheesy, but there are processes that my team and I used to do 100% manually that are now completely automated and systems in place that have become second nature to how we operate. Working with such thoughtful, smart, and creative people is incredible.

Sara Ophoff, Senior Program Manager

I’m most proud about doing work that makes parents feel confident and empowered about their careers during a time that can be overwhelming and challenging – not only for our clients and users who go through Parentaly’s programs, but also with our advocacy work on LinkedIn, through our podcast and other big campaigns that make a difference. It’s been pretty rewarding to build a brand people know and love because what we’re doing resonates with so many employees’ experiences in the workforce.

Jenna Vassallo, Head of Brand & Marketing

I am so proud of the way we've approached growth with such care and intentionality - with every adjustment we've made to our offerings, we've never lost sight of our goal to provide the most supportive and valuable experience for our users. I love looking back on the early stages of conversations and building that have led us to the experience we offer today. Personally, I am extremely proud of the work I've done to scale and automate our backend!

Rachel Andes, Program Associate

I am most proud of the work we do every single day to make a positive impact on working parents! Everyday I get to work with an amazing group of people…we work hard but we also have fun.

‍Sarah Gruber, Client Partner

I'm proud of scaling an employee experience that consistently delivers positive outcomes for new parents and their organizations. Our north star has always been the user, and we never sacrifice our high quality bar!

Mansi Kothari, VP of Product & Experience

I feel a sense of pride that I get to work behind the scenes supporting everyone. I’m proud to see all of the collaboration between the team and how Parentaly positively impacts employees.

Leo Manalo, Executive Assistant

I'm most proud of going through the Parentaly program myself! I'm so proud to work for and promote this company in a time where parental leave and supportive policies are at the forefront of a national conversation. But beyond this, I'm most proud to call myself a participant.

Emmy Carragher, Enterprise Partnerships

I’m really proud of the work I did to expand our coaching bench globally at Parentaly. It was so rewarding, not to mention insightful, to connect with talented coaches from around the globe. This expansion not only enriched our coaching offerings but also strengthened our commitment to making a meaningful impact on families all over the world.

‍Nicole Hagemann-Bex, Senior Coaching Operations Manager

I have tremendous pride in the knowledge that what I am doing will change the career landscape for new parents, particularly mothers. This will make it more likely that my daughter can have a career AND a family without worrying about the unintentional negative impact of taking parental leave. Nothing makes me prouder than that.

Mindy Himmel-Brown, Strategic Partnerships

In my short time at Parentaly, I'm proudest of the work we're doing with our clients' ERG groups to elevate the stories and advice of actual working parents. It's such an impactful way to spread the word about Parentaly as an essential resource for all people growing their families, and the managers who support them!

Alex Diskin, Enterprise Account Manager

I'm most proud about using LinkedIn to connect with others. I was recently able to share a helpful return to work doc with 50+ new people looking to make a difference at their company. Was pretty cool that people from Chewy, McDonald's, Honda, Cisco, AWS, Walmart and more want to integrate just a piece of what we have to offer. Also...I'm so proud of the way I feel as an employee at Parentaly. For the first time in my career my personal interests align with my professional interests and I've never felt more motivated.

Jenny Hurwitz, Strategic Partnerships

I'm really proud of being able to help the Experience team by handling the supportive functions so they can focus on the bigger picture. It feels great to know that I’m making things easier for them and contributing to the team’s success.

James Mango, Executive Assistant

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