Employee Spotlight: Holly Bail, VP of Human Resources

This edition features Holly Bail, our Vice President of Human Resources. With a background in sales, HR leadership, and culture transformation, Holly brings a people-first mindset to everything she does. She’s passionate about building engaged teams, fostering transparent communication, and ensuring employees feel valued and empowered.

In our latest Q&A, Holly shares her career journey, what drew her to Corellium, and how she’s helping shape the future of our cybersecurity workforce.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in HR, and how has your journey evolved over the years?

My mother was an HR practitioner, so it was always part of my world. But interestingly, my career didn’t start there. I started in sales, following in my father’s footsteps. He was a sales executive, and I naturally gravitated toward that path, working as both an individual contributor and eventually a sales leader in a large global organization.

Because I was in staffing sales, I spent a lot of time working with HR leaders. That exposure allowed me to understand both sides—sales and HR—and I became deeply involved in HR organizations as a volunteer. Over time, it felt like a natural transition.

I’ve always been someone who asks, “Why?” Even as a kid, I was curious about how companies operated, why they made certain decisions, and how HR shaped the cybersecurity workforce. That curiosity, combined with my experience in sales, led me to HR operations and, eventually, become an HR practitioner.

At the heart of it, I love people, and I love business. HR is where those two passions intersect. If you can get the people component right—hiring well, fostering a strong culture, empowering employees—then everything else in an organization becomes much easier.

Q: What excites you most about leading HR at Corellium, and what drew you to the company?

Corellium is a seven-year-young organization at an exciting inflection point. They’re ready to grow and take that next leap. That’s what drew me in. Amanda Gorton, our CEO, was very clear about her vision: she wanted to build a leadership team with the experience to help scale the company while keeping its core values intact.

The foundation is already strong. You have a leader who truly values people and culture, cutting-edge technology, and a team of technologists who are constantly pushing boundaries. They’re not afraid to break things to make them better, and that level of innovation creates an incredible environment to work in.

For me, the most exciting part is stepping into a company that’s done so many things right and asking: What’s next? How do we elevate this even further? And the best part is, the team embraces that challenge. They’re not resistant to change—they welcome it. When leadership has that kind of mindset, it creates a ripple effect. Building a thriving cybersecurity workforce and a strong, people-first culture is so much easier.

Q: You've built award-winning workplace cultures—what are the key ingredients to fostering an engaged and motivated team?

The foundation of any great workplace culture starts with listening. You have to seek to understand before making changes. One of the simplest but most effective ways to do this is through surveys—if you ask, people will tell you what’s on their minds and what they need to be successful.

But listening alone isn’t enough. You have to take that feedback and put it into action. Employees feel most engaged when they see that their input leads to real improvements.

Over the years, I’ve also learned that thoughtful and frequent communication is critical. When you focus on the right things and keep people informed, it creates an environment where employees feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. And when people feel that way, they’re far more motivated to do their best work.

Q: Employee experience starts with onboarding. How are you enhancing Corellium’s onboarding process to set new hires up for success?

I’ve made significant changes to Corellium’s onboarding process because I believe everything starts with a new hire’s experience from the moment they join. I call it the first 90 days, and it’s designed to help new employees transition from learning to contributing and, ultimately, to feeling fully empowered in their roles.

We start by making them feel welcome—we send out swag, ensure their laptops arrive on time, and introduce them with a fun ‘Five Facts’ post on Slack, where the hiring manager shares personal tidbits about them on their first day.

Beyond that, I meet with every new hire at the end of their first week for a one-on-one check-in, then again at the 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day milestones. The journey starts with learning, and in those first 30 days, it can feel overwhelming. Ironically, if I’ve hired the right person, they’ll often tell me they’re unsure if they’re making an impact yet—that’s actually a good sign because it means they care about contributing.

At 60 days, they start to put that learning into practice. They gain confidence, lean into their role, and begin making meaningful contributions. By 90 days, they’re cooking. That’s when I know we’ve not only hired the right person, but also set them up for long-term success. This process is just as much about retention as it is about onboarding.

Q: Corellium is a fast-moving, innovative company. How do you balance supporting rapid growth while ensuring a strong, people-first culture?

As a servant leader, I begin with a people-first lens in everything I do. Creating an environment where people feel safe to be themselves and share their ideas is what motivates teams to produce their best work. When employees feel fulfilled, the organization as a whole benefits—higher productivity, stronger commitment, and a high-performance culture naturally follow.

I balance this approach with regular leadership meetings and course corrections based on the company’s evolving needs. It’s not about rigid policies—it’s about staying adaptable, listening, and making sure that as Corellium grows, our people remain at the center of everything we do.

Q: What is one HR trend or strategy that you believe is critical for companies to embrace in today’s cybersecurity workforce?

It’s hard to pick just one because there’s so much happening—economic uncertainties, new HR technologies, shifting business needs, and major talent challenges. But a few things stand out to me. First, leadership and manager development is huge. Strong leadership sets the tone for engagement and retention. Then there’s strategic workforce planning—HR has to be thinking ahead, making sure we’re aligning talent with long-term business goals. 

Change management is another big one. Companies are moving fast, and how we navigate those transformations makes all the difference. And of course, HR technology strategies—are we actually using the right tools in the right way to drive value and productivity? If companies get these things right, they create an environment where employees feel engaged, empowered, and ready to do their best work.

Q: What’s something surprising about your leadership style or philosophy that people may not know?

At my core, I’m a servant leader. Everything I do is rooted in empathy, trust, and genuinely caring for others. I believe in encouraging and empowering people by listening—really listening—and making their needs a priority. When people feel valued and supported, they’re able to bring their best selves to work, and that’s when the magic happens.

Q: When you’re not championing people and culture at Corellium, how do you like to spend your time outside of work?

I love SEC football—especially the Georgia Bulldogs. Game days are a big deal for me. Outside of that, I spend a lot of time in my garden, learning to be at peace with all the living creatures that insist on eating everything I grow.

Volunteering is another passion of mine. I serve on the board of Battle the Odds Foundation, which empowers young athletes through sports, mentorship, and financial literacy programs. We run 7vs7 tournaments, mentorship programs, and community outreach initiatives to help 6th–11th grade athletes develop the skills they need—on and off the field.

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