Steve Hams

Steve Hams currently is the Organizational Sustainability Officer for the Skoll Foundation in Palo Alto, CA.  As the OSO, Steve plays a leading role in advancing the Foundation’s efforts to build a high-performing, healthy, and sustainable organization. 

Prior to Skoll, Steve spent 5 years as the VP, Human Resouces for Kyphon, Inc., a medical technology company focused on innovative minimally-invasive surgical products to address various spinal conditions.  Kyphon was one of the fastest growing medical device start-ups in history, growing to $500M in revenue in just 7 years from commercialization before being acquired by Medtronic in late 2007.  During Steve’s tenure the company grew from 250 to 1100 employees worldwide, and was selected as the 9th Best Medium-Sized Company to Work for in America by HR Magazine.  Prior to Kyphon, Steve was VP, HR for two other fast-growing high tech start-ups in Silicon Valley.  In addition, he was the founder of the American Basketball League, the first women’s professional basketball league during the 1990’s in the United States, serving as the League’s Chief Operating Officer during its 3 year existence.  Steve started his business career at Hewlett-Packard, where he spent 12 years in various HR management and executive positions. 

Steve earned an undergraduate degree in liberal studies with a mathematics concentration from California State University, Hayward, and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.  In his free time, Steve likes to play golf, run, hike, and spend time with his family.