People are the point.
Clearer jobs, fairer decisions and visible career paths should make working life better.
About HR Digital Playground
Better work starts
with room to grow.
We’re building a suite of employee-centered tools that helps companies make clearer decisions about jobs, pay, careers and the work ahead.
Meet the people behind itWhy we’re here
The work around the decision shouldn’t get in its way.
A promotion. A new role. A clearer career path. These decisions matter to a business, and to the person whose future they shape. Too often, the information needed to make them sits across spreadsheets, systems and old presentations.
We started the Playground to bring that information together and make it useful. Our tools prepare the structure, comparisons and evidence so people can spend their time on the judgment that matters.
Job architecture is our first foundation. Compensation comes next, with work design, organization design and workforce planning on the roadmap. Each tool builds on the same understanding of work and the people doing it.
What guides us
Serious about the work.
Thoughtful about the people.
Judgment stays human.
AI prepares the evidence and explains its reasoning. Your people make the consequential decisions.
Clarity should last.
A useful structure keeps helping as teams grow, roles change and new questions come up.
The founding team
The people building
the Playground.
Consulting experience, product curiosity and the discipline to turn an idea into something useful.
Founder & Principal
Hiral Merchant
Product, job architecture & compensation
Hiral brings experience in job architecture, global salary structures and executive rewards from Mercer, alongside compensation and data governance work at Bank of America. He created the Playground’s AI-enabled Job Architecture Builder to put the reasoning behind workforce decisions directly into the hands of HR teams and leaders.
At the Playground, Hiral leads product development, client relationships and the vision for the suite.
Founder & Principal
Sharbel Skaff
Business strategy & growth
Sharbel brings a background in compensation consulting, business strategy and leadership development. His experience spans advising organizations and building educational businesses, including his leadership of Silent Command.
At the Playground, Sharbel focuses on the business behind the product: finance, commercial strategy, branding and growth.
Professional backgroundFounder & Chief of Staff
Chloe Caputo
Operations, communications & community
Chloe brings experience in content and communications, including content analysis at Netcapital and work with Blue Devils Performing Arts. Her background connects clear storytelling with collaborative, people-centered work.
At the Playground, Chloe helps turn the team’s priorities into action, connecting founder operations, marketing, outreach and relationships.
Professional backgroundOur board
Experience that helps
us see further.
Perspectives from enterprise technology, automation and digital HR transformation.
Board Member
Mo Galal
Application development, automation & AI
Mo is Vice President of Application Development & Automation at Aprio, where his work spans software development, AI, machine learning and natural language processing. His experience brings a practical perspective on turning emerging technology into useful business systems.
Aprio
Professional backgroundBoard Member
Mike Brennan
Digital HR transformation & employee experience
Mike co-founded Leapgen and has served as an Enterprise Services Leader and Partner at Mercer. His background combines digital HR transformation, employee experience and enterprise consulting, with earlier experience at Appirio and IDC.
Leapgen & Mercer
Professional backgroundRoom to play, space to grow.
Bring your next question.
Let’s explore what a clearer picture of work could make possible for your team.
Meet the Playground