Textio names Colleen Gallagher CEO as the company prepares to launch Lavalier, its bold new Interview Intelligence platform
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Textio, a leader in building tools that help high-growth companies recruit and coach high-performing teams, today announced that its board has appointed Colleen Gallagher, currently Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s next Chief Executive Officer.
Jensen Harris, Textio’s founding CTO and CEO for the last two years, will return to the CTO role and continue to guide the company’s technical direction, in addition to remaining on the board.
Gallagher assumes the CEO role as Textio prepares to launch Lavalier, a new Interview Intelligence platform designed to help recruiters, hiring managers, and leaders make confident hiring decisions. The platform turns interviews into consistent, comparable candidate evaluations, making it easier for teams to understand who truly sets the bar and why.
“Lavalier is the most innovative and powerful software we’ve ever built at Textio, and I’m incredibly excited to see it launch with customers,” said Jensen Harris. “Colleen and I have worked closely together to shape this new platform from the beginning. In her role as COO, she led our entire go-to-market team, and I’m confident she’s the right leader to bring Lavalier—and Textio’s broader mission—to hiring teams around the world.”
Talent acquisition leaders face growing pressure to hire exceptional people faster, without compromising quality. As expectations for speed and rigor increase, confidence in interview systems has become critical to making sound hiring decisions.
Yet many organizations still rely on fragmented processes and gut instinct, leading teams to hire for likability rather than clear evidence from interviews. Inconsistent interview practices often result in poor hiring outcomes—slowing productivity and driving significant costs. Lavalier addresses this challenge by bringing clarity, structure, and insight to one of the most important decisions companies make.
“Textio has an incredible opportunity in front of us to bring Lavalier to market at a key moment in hiring,” said Colleen Gallagher, CEO of Textio. “Here’s an uncomfortable truth: most people get the job because they’re likable, not because they can actually do it. Likability may matter but, when you’ve got hundreds of candidates clamoring for every role and you’re trying to uncover top talent, hiring someone charming who can’t deliver isn’t just a miss—it’s expensive. In this market, that’s a problem leaders just can’t afford.”
“With a deep history of building and operating companies, Colleen is exactly the leader Textio needs for this next chapter,” said Stacey Bishop, partner at Scale Ventures and Textio board member. “Jensen has guided Textio through an important period of product development and momentum, and we’re deeply grateful he will continue on with the company in his original role. As Textio looks ahead to building Lavalier, Colleen brings the operational rigor and passion for customers that will accelerate the business.”
To get notified once Lavalier launches, visit: lavalier.ai/comingsoon.
About Textio
Textio is a leader in building tools that help high-growth companies recruit and coach high-performing teams. Their latest innovation is Lavalier, an Interview Intelligence platform that helps recruiters and managers make confident hiring decisions by turning interviews into consistent, comparable candidate evaluations. Founded in 2014, People leaders at companies like Bloomberg, Cisco, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, and Spotify choose Textio to help them attract and develop the top 1% of talent. Textio has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies list several times, in addition to the Fortune Impact 20, Forbes AI 50, and CNBC Disruptor 50.
Contacts
Media Contact
Rachel Fukaya
Senior Director of Communications and Content, Textio
[email protected]
(831) 229-5761
