#12 How HR Leaders Scale Companies Without Losing Humanity with Oksana Lukash, fractional CPO

In this episode of the Build by People Leaders podcast, host Daria Rudnik speaks with Oksana Lukash, People & Culture executive and fractional Chief People Officer with over 25 years of experience helping high-growth companies scale sustainably. Oksana shares practical insights on what it really means for HR to understand the business, why culture must be treated as organizational infrastructure, and how leaders can adopt AI and growth strategies without turning their companies into copies of others. The conversation explores how people leaders can balance rapid growth, limited resources, and human-centered leadership in today’s evolving workplace.   Key Takeaways Understanding the business means understanding how value is created end-to-end. HR earns credibility when it speaks the operational language of the company—not external frameworks or trends. Culture cannot be owned by HR alone. Sustainable culture exists only when every employee takes responsibility for how work gets done. AI should create capacity, not just efficiency. The real opportunity of AI is freeing people to focus on collaboration, learning, and human connection. The biggest leadership mistake is copying successful companies. Organizations perform better when they design culture, benefits, and ways of working around their own reality—not someone else’s playbook.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Oksana Lukash 00:58 Oksana's Journey into HR 03:58 Challenges in Fast-Growing Companies 05:59 Understanding Business as an HR Leader 10:23 The Role of HR in Company Culture 12:51 The CEO's Role in Culture 16:20 AI's Impact on Workplace Dynamics 24:55 Rapid Fire Questions 28:37 Lessons on Authenticity and Individuality