About

Karina Bensko founded CultureKrew in 2025 to provide the strategic leadership startups need long before they are ready for a full-time Head of People. Karina believes that while people are the heart of every business, ineffective growth creates "organizational debt" that can derail a company years later. As Growth Engineers, CultureKrew bridges the gap between high-level business strategy and the human infrastructure required to execute it.

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Before launching CultureKrew to support early-stage founders, Karina built her reputation in the trenches of hypergrowth and global transformation:

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• Built HR operations across three continents at CloudHealth Technologies, leading to its successful acquisition by VMware.

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• Drove ~$1M in organizational design efficiencies at Brightcove through a sophisticated international talent strategy.

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• Delivered $5M in cost savings and a 70% reduction in attrition at Boston Medical Center.

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As a fractional HR leader specializing in organizational design, Karina makes businesses functional today while building systems smart enough to scale tomorrow. Her work blends the "hard" and "soft" sides of scaling—designing the org charts, feedback loops, and people plans that keep teams aligned. Leaders trust CultureKrew because they get to the root of problems fast, bring a no-judgment approach to tough situations, and prioritize the strategies that drive the business forward right now.