Nic Hopkins

Founder & Former VP of People at Up & to the Right

Nic Hopkins is the Founder of Up & to the Right and a former VP of People who’s helped startups scale from Series A to post-acquisition. She’s known for helping founders and People leaders see around corners—spotting and solving the kinds of People debt that quietly derail scaling companies. With 17+ years’ experience across SaaS, fintech, and D2C, Nic now advises fast-growth teams on building sustainable People functions that truly partner with leadership.

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What your Founder or CEO won’t tell you…and how to use that to your advantage

People leaders don’t always hear the full story from their CEO—but it’s still their job to act on it. In this session, Nic Hopkins shares what founders *really* want from their People team and how to spot the subtext. Drawing on experience as a VP of People turned advisor, Nic shares practical ways to decode unspoken expectations, influence from the inside, and get to yes faster. This is about levelling up your strategic impact—even when no one explicitly asks you to.

The value of outside perspectives for today’s People leaders

What happens when People leaders stop going it alone? In this panel, Ashleigh Loughnan, David Ky, KP Ponti, and Nic Hopkins share how external perspectives — fractional execs, coaches, operator-advisors, and agency partners — sharpen strategy, challenge assumptions, and unlock clarity. Ashleigh draws from her COO role at Hutly; David brings a systems lens from Airwallex; Nic shares lessons from scaling as a VP of People; and KP adds experience leading Humankind, advising organisations on how to scale humanity and performance side-by-side. Together, they explore how outside expertise helps founders and People leaders cut through complexity, avoid blind spots, and move with more confidence. This is a conversation for anyone feeling stuck in the weeds — and ready to see further.