Orkideh Shahidi

As SVP of People Operations, Orkideh Shahidi leads the People Operations functions through leadership, differentiated talent models and building a culture of engagement, agility and innovation. Orkideh joined SADA in 2012 and has been instrumental in overseeing its growth. She believes that a company with strong values who gives employees autonomy is crucial in today's workforce. During her tenure she has transformed the function, culture and the impact of People Operations across the company to support its business goals and strategies as well as the needs and aspirations of its employees. She is directly responsible for all the People Operations programs that support SADA’s growth. Orkideh and her team established invaluable benefit programs that earned SADA the Best Places to Work honor.

Orkideh’s earlier experience spans management roles at enterprise technology companies as well as start-ups and non-profits. She comes to SADA with a wealth of knowledge in Employment Law, Strategic Management, Training and Development, Benefits, Risk Management Compensation Program Design and Recruitment. She is highly qualified with hands on experience in all facets of Human Resources from building a fully functional Human Resources team to dealing with acquisitions and mergers.

Orkideh holds a JD from Western State University College of Law and a BA in Urban Planning from California State University, Northridge.