Meet Kristy McCann: Kicking Off the 2026 Career Accelerator With Systems, Clarity, and Career Ownership
At AdaMarie, we believe that ascent happens faster when you understand not just what you do, but how people, systems, and decisions work together. Kristy McCann has built her career at exactly that intersection.
Kristy will be hosting Week 1 of the AdaMarie Career Accelerator, where she’ll kick off the program by helping participants think more clearly about career ownership, systems, and the skills that compound over time. With more than two decades of experience building and scaling people, learning, and performance systems inside fast-growing organizations and her own ventures, Kristy brings a rare blend of operational rigor and deeply human leadership.
If you’re joining the Career Accelerator, you’ll have the opportunity to learn directly from Kristy in her live session. And if you’re curious about how someone builds a career at the intersection of people, technology, and systems design, keep reading to learn more about her journey.
Meet Kristy McCann!
Getting to Know You:
Major & Minor – If you went to college!: Organizational Development & MBA
Field of Work: Executive - CEO & CHRO along with Chief Learning Officer
Expertise In: Founder and creator in the executive capacity as CEO and CHRO
Current Company: 127 Ventures
Job Title: Founder + CEO
One-liner About What You’re Working On: My mission and vision to ensure all people have the skills they need to do own their career
Currently geeking out over: AI and agentic workflows I am building for student learning
STEM Hero: Dr. Fei‑Fei Li
Tell us about your professional journey – how did you get where you are now?
I built my career inside fast‑growing, VC‑backed companies where I led large-scale people, learning, and workforce development functions before founding and scaling my own ventures. Over more than twenty years, I developed deep expertise in organizational design, performance systems, leadership development, and the full HR lifecycle across diverse industries and labor markets. That experience shaped my belief that people systems should be both operationally rigorous and deeply human. When I founded my companies, I applied that philosophy to build modern, scalable workforce development and performance infrastructure that supported thousands of employees and helped organizations grow with clarity, accountability, and trust.
My work in STEM emerged naturally from this foundation. At SkillCycle, I led the creation of Aida, our AI designed to support managers and employees with real-time coaching, performance insights, and learning pathways. Building Aida required translating decades of HR, learning, and behavioral science expertise into a technical product that could scale across industries and contexts. It deepened my understanding of how technology can expand access to development, reduce bias in decision-making, and strengthen organizational systems. Today, I bring together my background in HR, learning and development, and AI product leadership to help organizations build people systems that are data-informed, equitable, and capable of supporting teams through rapid change.
We’re also curious to know your personal story and upbringing. What has made you “you”?
I grew up in a family that valued hard work, curiosity, and contribution, and those early experiences shaped how I see people and systems today. I was the kid who asked endless questions, tried to understand how things worked, and paid close attention to how people treated one another. My upbringing taught me to be resourceful, to take responsibility early, and to believe that everyone deserves the chance to grow. Those values carried me into the world of work, where I gravitated toward roles that blended structure, learning, and human development. I learned quickly that when people have clarity, support, and access to opportunity, they can transform not only their own lives but the organizations around them.
That foundation is what ultimately led me to build and lead VC-backed companies focused on workforce development, learning, and performance. I have always been driven by the idea that systems can either unlock potential or limit it, and I wanted to build the kind that expands it. My background in HR and learning and development gave me a deep understanding of how people grow, while my curiosity about technology pushed me to explore how tools like AI could scale that growth. Creating Aida, our AI at SkillCycle, was a natural extension of that journey. It allowed me to translate decades of human-centered expertise into a technical product designed to support managers and employees in real time. My personal story is ultimately about building things that help people thrive, and that thread has guided every chapter of my career.
We know that real life isn’t a smooth and linear journey. What was your initiating moment that led you to your calling - can you tell us about that moment, what helped you move forward, what you learned/discovered?
My initiating moment came when I realized that the traditional corporate structures I was working within were never going to solve the problems I cared most about. I had spent years inside large organizations watching talented people struggle not because they lacked ability, but because the systems around them were outdated, inconsistent, or inaccessible. I kept seeing the same pattern: companies said people were their greatest asset, but the tools, development pathways, and performance systems did not reflect that belief. At a certain point, it became clear that I could either keep trying to fix these issues from the inside or step out and build something better from the ground up. That clarity pushed me to leave corporate America and create GoCoach, and later SkillCycle, so I could design the kind of learning and development ecosystem I wished had existed for every employee and every manager I had ever supported.
What helped me move forward was a combination of conviction, curiosity, and a willingness to build the infrastructure myself.
I learned quickly that creating a company is not just about vision, but about operational discipline, systems design, and the ability to translate human needs into scalable solutions. That is what led me to develop Aida, our AI at SkillCycle, which brought together my decades of HR and learning expertise with emerging technology to support people in real time. Through this journey, I discovered that my calling sits at the intersection of people, systems, and innovation. I am driven by the belief that when you build tools that truly support human growth, you can change not only individual careers but entire organizational cultures.
You work in a performance-driven industry. Where do you find balance?
I find balance by grounding myself in purpose and structure rather than trying to chase some perfect version of work-life equilibrium. I have spent most of my career in fast-moving, performance driven environments, and I learned early that balance is not something you stumble into. It is something you design. For me, that means being intentional about how I spend my time, building routines that support my energy, and staying connected to the work that actually matters. When I am focused on creating systems that help people grow, building products that expand access to opportunity, or supporting leaders who want to do better, I feel aligned. That alignment creates its own form of balance.
I also find balance by stepping entirely out of work and reconnecting with the parts of my life that remind me who I am beyond my title. I spend time with animals, I invest in my own learning, and I make space for the kind of quiet that lets me think clearly. Those moments help me reset so I can show up with clarity and intention when the pace accelerates again. Balance, for me, is not about slowing down. It is about staying grounded in what gives my work meaning and making sure I am building a life that supports the impact I want to have.
You choose one: if you were a part of the human body, outer space, or a scientific process, what would you be and why?
I would be neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, form new pathways, and adapt based on experience.
Neuroplasticity reflects how I move through the world. My entire career has been about learning, evolving, and building systems that help people grow. I left corporate America to create companies that reimagine how people develop skills, navigate change, and unlock their potential. I built products like Aida by taking what I learned over decades in HR and learning and development and translating it into something new, scalable, and transformative. Neuroplasticity captures that same idea: the capacity to take in new information, rewire, and emerge stronger and more capable.
It also mirrors how I lead. I believe people thrive when they have the tools, clarity, and support to adapt. Neuroplasticity is the scientific proof that growth is always possible. It is the phenomenon that best represents how I build, how I think, and how I help others evolve.
We would love to feature your work. How can we spread the word about what you’re doing?
I would love for you to help spread the word about the work I am doing to strengthen leadership, learning, and organizational systems across the companies and communities I support. After building and scaling VC backed companies like GoCoach and SkillCycle, I now focus on helping mission driven organizations build the infrastructure, tools, and leadership capabilities they need to grow in healthy, sustainable ways.
I currently support several organizations that are shaping the future of work. At Granted, I advise on workforce development strategy and help build the systems that connect people to meaningful opportunities. With Elite, I support leadership development and operational clarity for founders and executives navigating rapid growth. At RallyBright, I help strengthen team performance frameworks and bring a people centered, data informed lens to how teams collaborate and lead. I also continue to share insights through speaking, writing, and advisory work focused on leadership, learning, and the intersection of people systems and technology. If you want to feature my work, you can highlight the companies I have founded, the organizations I support, and the broader mission I am committed to: building systems that help people grow, lead, and thrive.
Do you have a favorite motivational quote or song?
One that has stayed with me throughout my entire career is a simple idea from Maya Angelou:
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
It captures how I lead, how I build companies, and how I approach growth. It is practical, human, and grounded in the belief that progress comes from learning, not perfection. It is also the mindset that guided me through building GoCoach, SkillCycle, and Aida, and it continues to shape how I support organizations today.
Any final advice for early-career STEM professionals?
Early‑career STEM professionals often focus on mastering the technical side of their field, but the real differentiator over time is how well you understand people, systems, and the broader context your work lives in. My advice is to stay curious about more than just the science. Learn how organizations function, how teams collaborate, how products get built, and how decisions get made.
The most impactful STEM leaders are the ones who can translate complex ideas into something others can understand and use. Technical depth matters, but your ability to communicate, adapt, and work across disciplines will accelerate your career faster than any single skill.
Join a 2026 Accelerator Cohort to learn from Kristy!
Kristy will be leading Week 1 of the AdaMarie Career Accelerator, where she’ll help participants build the clarity and systems thinking needed to take ownership of their career trajectory from the start.
If you want to join her live session and learn alongside a small cohort of peers, registration for the Career Accelerator is now open. Participants receive access to expert-led sessions, guided discussion, and the broader AdaMarie community throughout the program.
