The story behind Giant Steps.

Peter Geiregat loves to scale culture and build engaged and fearless teams in data-driven and high-performing organisations. He has also built an extensive network in Europe and the US across all aspects of scaling, from leadership development over talent acquisition to equity strategy and legal support. He wants to use his international perspective on people and organizations to think through and execute on the people aspects of the strategy, structure, and processes.

From 2017 to 2021 Peter was the first Chief People Officer of Showpad. Showpad, a SAAS sales enablement platform, tripled from 150 to 450 people in 7 locations, quadrupled revenue and raised more than $100 million during this period. Starting from a purpose to enable others to be at their best and a People vision that the best employee experience wins, Showpad built a highly engaged team where even at the end of a COVID-year, 88% of Showpadders recommended it as a great place to work (only 1% would not).   Along the way Showpad won the Best Employer Brand LinkedIn Talent Award and the Deloitte Fast 50 Award.

From 2015 to 2017 he acted as the Chief People Officer of Real Impact Analytics (now Riaktr), active in big data analytics. Riaktr raised €12 million during this period.  

Since he started Giant Steps in 2013 he has advised many organisations on various People topics. This included for example the management team of Doctors Without Borders on their HR vision and performance management in the field. He also worked on the global Transition Program of Amnesty International. 

Peter started his career working on emergency food aid programs in former Yugoslavia. He moved to a UK executive search firm as a consultant, working in the Technology space, first in Belgium and later in Russia. He built the HR-function in Loyens & Loeff, a large continental European law firm. In 2005 he started working for AMI Semiconductor as a European HR Business Partner. He then moved to the global HQ of the NASDAQ-quoted company in the US in a HR leadership role.  From the US he relocated to London in 2008 where he became the Director Human Capital Europe/ India for Russell Reynolds Associates. In this role he built the HR function for 16 offices in 12 countries. 

Peter received his Master in Law magna cum laude from the University of Ghent and Tübingen, his Master in General Management from the Vlerick Management School (PUB’98) and his Master in Slavonic and East European Affairs from University College London.  

The name of the firm refers to the 1959 jazz record ‘Giant Steps’ of John Coltrane. After having worked with Miles Davis and other jazz giants, it was his first iconic album as a leader, defining new standards still inspiring harmonic thinking today.