About Karian
Karian joined Automata in its pre-product phase, having previously navigated the Series A to B journey at ROLI [LUMI]. Since day one at Automata, she has shepherded the people strategy from early robotics days through the pivot into life sciences automation, to establishing the US footprint.
As Head of People at Automata, Karian brings a decade of hardware/software startup experience to the leadership team. Her approach combines data-driven decision-making with a deeply human touch. She’s built the talent and HR ecosystems from the ground up, designing an innovative talent acquisition strategy that’s helped the company compete for specialized talent in a challenging market, while introducing formal leadership coaching for senior managers and leaders. By implementing and scaling stage-appropriate toolkits—from equity-centered performance reviews to mental wellbeing initiatives—she’s enabled people to do their best work and be rewarded for it. Through the inevitable highs and lows of scaling, Karian has maintained a commitment to transparency and firmly believes that empowered people deliver exceptional results.
When not thinking about organisational dynamics, Karian can be found teaching Pilates (yes, qualified!), creating jewellery as a hobbyist silversmith, or training her gundog (still very much in the “aspiring” phase on that last one).
One minute with Karian
