Nextdoor’s top HR pro is looking to AI to help further grow his people teams into strategic advisors to the company

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Tony Castellanos leads the people teams at Nextdoor, the online platform and app built to connect neighbors at the local level. As head of comp and talent, his team works to serve the business beyond those simple HR-related transactions. Nextdoor’s HR strategy brings a strategic people context to the business and it advises the company to make the smartest talent decisions.

Castellanos is a former competitor and coach in sports, so bringing people together to accomplish shared goals is a role he’s found himself in throughout his life, even before his earlier recruiting work at tech companies like Google and Square. In HR, he’s found, there’s always another layer to peel back, but people are the “throughline” in his career.

“The thing that I found in people [teams] is you have this blend of complex problems that are analytically driven, but with the human, empathetic bend,” he told HR Brew. “So it’s very rare for me that you get to apply both of those lenses, and that's what's kept me going.”

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?

The changes I focus on are all about creating leverage across the business, making sure that the time and energy invested in people-related programs deliver the highest possible return. It’s about designing systems and approaches that scale impact, not process.

One example is how we’ve structured recruiting. We’ve made hiring managers the true drivers and owners of their teams’ growth, with the people team serving as strategic partners who provide direction, enablement, and insights. That shift not only accelerates hiring but also builds stronger leadership accountability and alignment with our talent strategy.

Right now, much of our focus on leverage is on technology and AI. We’re deploying AI agents across core areas—compensation, recruiting, benefits, and more—to provide on-demand service and guidance with little-to-no manual effort from the people team. It’s a win-win: faster, more consistent support for employees, and more capacity for our team to focus on strategic work.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

The biggest misconception is that my role is purely administrative or transactional. In reality, the work is deeply strategic and multi-layered, it requires understanding the business to design people systems that actually enable it. People strategy isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s as unique and dynamic as a company’s product or business strategy.

These challenges are complex. For example, everyone was forced to reimagine how we work during Covid, but there are many other areas we address, from restructuring equity practices when becoming a public company, to building the infrastructure and culture that attract and sustain world-class talent. Each requires systems thinking, empathy, and precision.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?

The most fulfilling aspect is working on something that creates meaningful, real-world connections and builds cohesive communities, both internally and externally. At Nextdoor, we’re helping people springboard virtual connections and make every neighborhood feel like home.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?

I’m most optimistic about how people teams are becoming more sophisticated, data-informed, and strategic. We now have the tools and insights to design people systems with the same level of precision and rigor as any other business function—understanding what truly drives performance, engagement, and growth at scale.

Technology and AI are accelerating that trend. They’re automating the mechanical parts of our work and giving us access to data and analysis in real time, which allows us to focus on the higher-leverage, human aspects—judgment, empathy, and strategic design. The combination of human insight and intelligent systems can transform the impact we’re capable of: more proactive, more personalized, and more aligned with how the business actually operates. That’s what excites me most: we’re entering an era where the people function isn’t just enabling the business; it’s actively shaping its future.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?

I’m least optimistic about the potential over-reliance on AI in areas where human connection is essential, particularly in recruiting and onboarding. While screening and early-stage interviews might increasingly use bots or AI, I worry about losing the authentic human assessment that happens when people actually talk to each other. You can tell when someone is giving you a real answer about company culture versus glossing over, and you can’t replicate that trust and empathy through technology alone. At the end of the day, people join teams for the people on the team. They want to know their colleagues are high-caliber, empathetic, and trustworthy, and you simply can’t get there without genuine human interaction. As one side becomes automated, the other side needs humans even more.