Phaneendra Kollipara

About Phaneendra Kollipara

I build cultures where ambitious people do their best work and then head for the mountains together.Today I lead People & Culture at a boot strapped SaaS startup that helps small retailers run their stores from a phone. My sweet spot is the messy 0→1 and 1→10 stages: hiring for grit over pedigree, wiring feedback loops, and turning “we should” into “we shipped.” Outside the office I’m one of only ~400 humans to finish North America’s *Triple Crown* of thru hiking (AT, PCT, CDT — 7,900 mi). Ultra running, mountaineering, and a few race director stints taught me more about logistics, resilience, and team morale than any MBA ever could.What I love to jam on- Crafting high performance, self aware teams - Embedding mental-health & EI routines into fast moving startups - First principles hiring and culture fit interviews - Outdoor leadership lessons for the boardroom - Story driven employer branding that doesn’t feel like HRLet’s connect if- You’re scaling a scrappy product team and want a culture that lasts - You enjoy swapping trail stories over coffee (or a dawn run)- You’re an early-career talent looking for guidance or a referral - You teach or research org-behaviour and need a guest speaker who’s walked the talk—literallyDrop a note; I usually reply faster than I run downhill.

Experience

1. People and Culture Leader

   Zobaze

   Mar 2025 — Present · Hyderabad, IN

Education

• PRASAD V POTLURI SIDDHARTHA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

  Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Mechanical Engineering

• Wayne State University

  Master's degree, Mechanical Engineering

• Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada (JNTUK)

  Bachelor's degree, Mechanical Engineering

• Wayne State University

  Master of Engineering - MEng, Mechanical Engineering

• Nehru Institute of Mountaineering

  Mountaineering