Steven So

Director, People & Talent @Centml

Toronto, ON, CA

Scaled from Seed Round to acquisition by NVIDIA in June 2025. CentML focuses on optimizing machine learning (ML) models for cost, speed, and efficiency, particularly in the deployment and training stages. We help organizations reduce the compute costs of large ML models while maintaining high performance. The CentML Platform efficiently utilizes hardware, software and memory resources and supports a range of accelerators, from NVIDIA and AMD GPUs to Google TPUs and AWS Inferentia chips. Our researchers and engineers continually integrate cutting-edge techniques for inference optimization, giving our customers access to a highly performant, cost-optimized full stack solution for AI deployment on any cloud provider or virtual private cloud (VPC). Highlights: • Scaled the team by 2.5x while minimizing turnover, by leading end-to-end People & Talent strategy—including recruiting, onboarding, retention, and organizational development. • Built leadership and foundational teams by hiring key roles such as VP Sales, VP Marketing, Director of Compiler Engineering, and others—laying the groundwork for future growth across technical and non-technical functions. • Developed and launched company-wide Compensation Frameworks across Engineering, G&A, and GTM teams—balancing market competitiveness with internal equity to attract and retain top talent from FAANG and high-growth startups. • Designed and executed CentML’s Employer Branding Strategy and Hiring Playbooks, resulting in increased offer acceptance rates and a steady pipeline of highly qualified inbound candidates. • Forged partnerships with top engineering universities in Canada and the US, building scalable early talent programs and pipelines for internships and new grad hiring. • Partnered directly with the CEO and leadership team on org design, workforce planning, and performance management frameworks to align with rapid growth objectives.

Centennial College

Business Administration and Management