Alignment Healthcare, Inc. announced the appointment of Melinda Kimbro as its new chief people officer. Kimbro joined on June 30 to lead the company’s human resources (HR) function and will oversee all aspects of the Alignment employee experience, including talent acquisition, culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, total rewards, and facilities. She will also spearhead the strategic development of internal talent to help further drive innovation and provide rich, ongoing career growth opportunities for employees.

Kimbro brings more than 25 years of HR experience and a deep understanding of people management. She spent over two decades at Viasat, Inc., where she helped grow the company from 500 to 7,000 employees across 20 countries. At Viasat, Kimbro served in various HR, employee relations and developmental roles, including head of HR, senior vice president of people and culture and chief people officer.

She previously held positions in corporate learning and organizational development for Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management, Qualcomm Personal Electronics and Sony Electronics. She also brings academic experience, having kick-started her career as a communications instructor and speech and debate coach at San Diego State University (SDSU). Kimbro holds a master’s degree in communication from SDSU, several workplace coaching certifications and an executive leadership certificate from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

An active community member, she recently served as a board member for the San Diego Museum of Art and The Purple Campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sexual harassment in the workplace.