Our Story
Born from Recruiting. Built for What’s Next.

We’re proud of what we’ve built, grateful for the customers and team who have trusted us, and inspired by what comes next.

Diane Smith & Jayne Kettles · GR8 People Co-Founders
Two Founders. One Vision.

GR8 People was founded by Diane Smith and Jayne Kettles, two technology pioneers with a deep understanding of talent acquisition and a passion for transforming how organizations attract, engage, and hire talent.

Their shared belief was simple: recruiting technology should empower people, simplify complexity, and create better experiences for everyone involved in hiring.

The VirtualEdge Foundation

Before GR8 People, Diane and Jayne co-founded VirtualEdge Corporation, pioneering Talent Lifecycle Software designed to help organizations solve complex recruiting challenges.

As CEO, Diane drove the company’s vision, growth, and commitment to customer success. As CTO, Jayne led the development of innovative, scalable technology solutions that transformed enterprise recruiting.

Together, they built VirtualEdge into a recognized talent technology leader before its successful acquisition by ADP (NYSE: ADP).

A Better Way to Recruit

After years of innovating in talent acquisition, Diane and Jayne saw a new opportunity. They recognized that recruiting teams were being held back by fragmented systems, disconnected processes, and technology that created complexity instead of connection.

They envisioned a better way—a platform built around how recruiting teams actually work, bringing people, processes, data, and technology together in one intelligent experience. That vision became GR8 People.

Built for Hiring Orchestration

The GR8 People team brought that vision to life by creating a unified Talent Acquisition platform that connects the entire hiring journey.

From recruitment marketing and candidate engagement to hiring workflows, analytics, automation, and AI, GR8 People helps organizations orchestrate talent acquisition with greater speed, intelligence, and impact.

Quiet Confidence

Results speak louder than promises. For 25+ years, while others chase shiny trends, we’ve stayed focused on substance and performance. As architects of human experiences and a team second to none, we craft quiet innovation that delivers concrete outcomes and unlocks the full potential of talent.

We don’t believe the future of hiring is about adding more technology. It’s about Hiring Orchestration—bringing everything together so organizations can hire better, faster, and smarter.

Across VirtualEdge and GR8 People, Diane, Jayne, and their teams have partnered with hundreds of organizations globally—helping companies transform the way they attract, engage, and hire talent.

2Founders, one vision
500+Organizations supported
80Countries
The Strength Behind the Software

We’re financially healthy we’ve been doing this for decades our technology is differentiated customers get measurable outcomes and workflow is the underlying reason why.

Profitable Capital efficient & positive unit economics
One platform ATS + CRM + Career Site + AI + Workflow
20 yrs TA expertise encoded into the platform
30% Better tech + lower costs = more value
Our vision

Transform how the world hires.

GR8 People’s vision is to create a future where people, technology and intelligence work together to deliver exceptional talent experiences for everyone.

Leadership
The team behind the platform

Recruiting technology built by people who have spent their careers inside talent acquisition.

Diane Smith
Diane Smith
CEO and Co-founder
LinkedIn
Jayne Kettles
Jayne Kettles
Chief Product Officer and Co-founder
LinkedIn
Patrick Amaral
Patrick Amaral
Chief Customer Officer
LinkedIn
Mike Cataldo
Mike Cataldo
Chief Technology Officer
LinkedIn
Stacey Jones
Stacey Jones
Vice President Product Marketing & Enablement
LinkedIn
Alex Ockford
Alex Ockford
VP Implementation
LinkedIn
Megan DeSomery
Megan DeSomery
Director, Product Strategy & Solutions
LinkedIn
Benjamin DeCarlo
Benjamin DeCarlo
Director of Solutioning
LinkedIn
From our customers

In Their Words.