cindi brazee 

Director of Human Resources

Hiring, retaining, and, most importantly, taking care of great employees is an art, and Cindi is a true master.

Her background in retail human relations is vast. After helping launch a successful baby superstore, Buy Buy Baby, Cindi went to work at The Limited Corporation, where she oversaw all human resources and training for about 250 stores (representing $250 million in revenue) and developed store-level training programs to help each retail outlet function seamlessly.

After four years with The Limited, Cindi joined Aquent, the world's largest marketing staffing firm, working with national accounts--Raytheon, Gillette--as well as 100 other key accounts where she help assess and fulfill companies' staffing needs from top to bottom.

After relocating to California, Cindi teamed up with REI as their Senior Human Resource manager for the northwest region, their largest, and then was lured to Apple. There she worked in Talent Acquisition, hiring and training staff and management for Apple's new retail store business, which, at the time, was opening a store a week.

The opportunity to get in at the start of something completely new and different was what attracted Cindi to Elephant. And since she joined the team in 2005, she's been instrumental in creating a company culture that values integrity, collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit. She's helped grow the staff from 125 to over 300, and create and streamline all processes related to human resources in both the home office and at each retail location. She's also been a change agent for company benefits--her first year at Elephant, she found a way to create packages for all employees that exceed industry standards while reducing costs. She's in charge of the fun stuff at Elephant, too: river rafting trips, office yoga, and the annual Easter Bonnet contest.

Cindi's fun and competitive outside of work as well. In college, she played Division 1 women's basketball and still is an occasional "secret weapon" on teams around the Bay Area. At home, if she's not reading, she's playing with her schnauzer, Brando.