We welcome Kathryn Gunnarsson. Kathryn is a founder of Geko, an agency that specializes in talent - working in the Tech and innovation sector in Iceland. In 2016, Kathryn moved to Iceland from London, where she worked as a group head of HR. Kathryn has over 20 years of HR, people strategy, and recruitment experience. In February 2020, after spotting a niche in the market for a People Strategy agency to support the Tech and innovation sector, Kathryn founded Geko. The Geko team is passionate about people, human interaction, and supporting companies and groups to understand the benefit of building diverse and inclusive teams and 48% of the hires that they have made since launch have been women in tech-related roles. Hildur and Kathryn discuss among other things:   How the HR profession found her rather than she was seeking it out How she founded her first consulting agency in Manchester in her twenties What “Chartered FCIPD“ stands for and how the process is around that certification How she persuaded her Icelandic husband to move to Iceland How difficult it is to immigrate to Iceland and the blockers that she found when searching for a job How, after a major trauma she found the courage to found Geko The process that the Geko staff goes through with their customers, from getting to know their candidate to negotiating salary on their behalf How no AI solution is going to invite you for a coffee and the importance of the human aspect in the hiring process How she loves reading and playing Netball in her spare time In the interview, Kathryn mentions a few books: Women in Tech: A practical guide to increasing gender diversity and inclusion - By Gillan Arnold, Hannah Dee, Clem Herman, Sharon Moore, Andrea Palmer and Shilpa Shah Powered by People: How Talent-Centric Organizations Master Recruitment, Retention, and Revenue (and How to Build One) by Carol Schultz White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Dr. Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. The Right Amount of Panic - How Women Trade Freedom for Safety by F. Vera-Gray Why Women are Blamed for everything by Dr. Jessica Taylor Gabor Mate´s books The show is sponsored by Sýn and Geko 🙌 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you heard and want to hear more? Follow the show on your favorite podcast platform to make sure that you don't miss an episode. Follow Vertonet on social channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertonet/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vertonet.is Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vertonet.is/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hosted by Hildur Óskarsdóttir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilduro/