Megan Johnson Started Her Career Doing Layoffs, Now She Runs a Culture Built on Generosity

The Inspired Stories Podcast · Aug 21, 2026 · 57m

Megan Johnson, Director of People and Culture at Simple Modern, entered HR by conducting layoffs she never saw coming on fresh-out-of-college money, almost left the field entirely, rebuilt her conviction through a consulting firm that showed her what HR could actually look like, and spent five years in oil and gas learning to be disruptive from a mentor who told her to go figure it out and come back with the results. When a LinkedIn job posting caught her eye at a drinkware brand she’d never heard of, she took a leap from a stable insurance company to become Simple Modern’s first in-house HR…