Jamie Graceffa

Jamie Graceffa is Vice President, Global Head of Learning, Development & Culture at Quanterix, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, bringing nearly three decades of HR experience across talent management, learning, organization development, and change management. He is also the founder of Kind Cards, a practical tool designed to make kindness part of everyday work, and the author of the book Career Control.

Kindness Is a Skill, Not Just a Personality Trait

Jamie's core belief, shaped by being put in charge of culture and inclusion at his company in 2020, is that how people are treated by those they work for and with is what ultimately defines a workplace, more than perks or benefits ever will. His sharpest line on the subject: "there's too much time and money being spent on programs today and not enough on behavior," and unlike a P&L line item, a culture of kindness doesn't show up on a balance sheet even though it quietly drives business success. That belief led him to create Kind Cards, a simple, practical tool meant to spark genuine connection at work. He argues kindness is a skill that some people are naturally better at than others, but crucially, one that can be taught, and has spoken widely on the difference between empathy and sympathy, common mistakes leaders make when trying to be more empathetic, and empathy's role in effective DEI work.

Topics Jamie speaks on

• Why kindness is a teachable skill, not a fixed personality trait
• The difference between empathy and sympathy in leadership
• Why culture doesn't show up on a P&L, but drives the business anyway
• Common mistakes leaders make when trying to be more empathetic
• Building practical tools that turn culture values into daily habits

Sessions with Achieve

Jamie is a featured presenter on the Achieve webcast "Appreciation@work: Impact Accelerator #2 - Recognition, Reloaded: Keep it human, make it measurable, scale it with AI" (November 12, 2025), alongside Bridgette McCullough of City Block and Rodrigo Ortega of Bucketlist Rewards. The session covers how to keep recognition genuinely human even as organizations bring in AI and automation to measure and scale it.

Connect

• Jamie Graceffa on LinkedIn
• Kind Cards

Want more on what it takes to make kindness a genuine workplace standard, not just a poster on the wall? Learn more about the Achieve Leadership Network.