Frank Calderoni, a tech veteran, appointed as the CEO of HR startup Velocity Global amidst the rising trend of remote overseas hiring.

Frank Calderoni, a veteran of the tech industry and former CEO of planning software firm Anaplan, has been named the new CEO of Velocity Global, an HR start-up that primarily operates as an “employer of record” for mid-sized companies that want to hire globally quickly. Velocity Global has been operating under the radar compared to competitors like Deel and operates in a crowded market of payroll and HR tech start-ups. Calderoni’s hiring is expected to mark a new chapter in the maturing of high-flying payroll and employer of record start-ups. Last March, Velocity Global scored a $400m Series B funding round led by Eldridge and Norwest and recently announced it had reached $200m in annual recurring revenue, a 40% increase from the year prior. However, despite the current strong demand for HR tech, Calderoni takes over at the very moment when employers are pulling back on hiring amid an uncertain economy and when the work-from-anywhere ethos appears to be fading at many firms. One risk for start-ups in this space is that bigger traditional players like Workday or SAP could move in on their turf, according to human resources industry analyst Josh Bersin. A Velocity spokesperson says that has not been a concern so far. Calderoni says he sees Velocity Global’s advantage in the market as “compliance, compliance, compliance”—avoiding any legal or regulatory risk customers take when hiring in other markets.