Professional Role and Responsibilities
Chih-Po Wen currently holds the position of Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Wisq, a Redwood City, California–based company. In this role, he leads the technology strategy and engineering efforts behind Wisq’s AI-driven HR platform designed to enhance employee social connection and leadership development. Under his technical leadership, Wisq has developed sophisticated AI capabilities such as an always-on personalized coaching platform for managers, known as Harper, which integrates with enterprise communication tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack to deliver personalized, actionable coaching and organizational insights.
Company Overview: Wisq
Wisq is positioned as a pioneering platform focused on solving workplace social isolation and advancing leadership capability through AI. Founded in 2022 by Chih-Po Wen and Jim Barnett—both former Glint executives—the company has rapidly secured $40 million in funding and employs between 11-50 staff. Wisq’s product suite includes a unique Agentic AI HR platform featuring the world’s first AI HR Generalist, delivering continuous, personalized coaching designed to improve managerial effectiveness and employee engagement. Wisq addresses a critical market need substantiated by studies showing significant gaps in manager training impacting employee productivity and well-being.
Professional Background and Expertise
Chih-Po Wen’s expertise spans high-performance scalable platform architecture and AI application in employee experience software. Before co-founding Wisq, Chih-Po served as:
- Principal Staff Software Engineer at LinkedIn, where he contributed to large-scale system design and engineering.
- Chief Technology Officer at Glint, the employee engagement analytics platform acquired by LinkedIn.
- Architect and design lead on technology projects for companies including Tandem Capital, Healthiest You, and Turn.
His educational credentials include a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, reinforcing his deep technical foundation.
Location and Contact Context
Chih-Po Wen is based in San Mateo, California, situating him within the technology-rich San Francisco Bay Area, which facilitates access to a strong talent pool and innovation networks relevant to Wisq’s business.
Leadership and Industry Positioning
As CTO, Wen is driving continuous innovation in AI-based people management solutions. Wisq’s launch of the personalized AI coach in April 2024 exemplifies his focus on blending AI with human-centered leadership development, addressing significant pain points identified in large-scale workforce studies by organizations such as SHRM. The AI coach personalizes development by leveraging company-specific content, real-time data from workflows, and ongoing feedback, enabling adaptive and scalable leadership training.
Co-founding Wisq with Jim Barnett, also an industry veteran from Glint, affirms Wen’s capacity to build executive teams with domain-specific expertise in HR technology and employee engagement analytics.
Key actionable insights:
- Wisq is rapidly advancing as an AI-driven HR platform innovator, with a strong focus on leadership development and social connection in the workplace.
- Chih-Po Wen’s technical vision and prior executive experience at LinkedIn and Glint position him as a highly credible leader in the HR tech and AI domains.
- The recent funding milestone and product announcements signal robust organizational growth and prioritization of enterprise integration (Slack, Teams).
- Wen’s academic and technical background suggests strong capacity to engage in complex AI and software engineering conversations relevant to leadership and employee experience technologies.
This profile consolidates a comprehensive understanding of Chih-Po Wen’s role, expertise, and Wisq’s strategic direction within the evolving HR technology landscape.
