Taking responsibility for how we handle our customers’ data is critical for our ability to help them grow better, and build and maintain trust. In honor of Earth Day, Xiaoxi O’Beirne discusses how, as a Legal Program Manager, she works cross-functionally to deliver sustainable and durable governance practices.
Q&A
Q: Can you share more about your role, and also what customer trust has to do with HubSpot’s ESG efforts?
Hi everyone! I’m part of the Legal Program Management team, a small but mighty unit. I provide program management support on multi-year strategic planning and execution of Legal objectives. My work involves exciting and impactful programs such as AI trust and safety, privacy and data governance, among others.
Through a Customer Trust & ESG initiative back in 2023, I recognised that our goals in Customer Trust and ESG overlap, despite their unique focuses. Customer Trust emphasizes data privacy, security, compliance, sustainability, and good governance. ESG prioritises environmental responsibilities and social impacts, as well as corporate governance (including privacy, security, and risk management). The shared goal is a durable and stable governance culture, which in return fosters customer trust and reinforces employees’ sense of working for a responsible company.
In recent years, customers increasingly value their supplier’s sustainability initiatives and influence. Actions such as making “green” decisions when planning events, selecting vendors, and collaborating with customers benefit HubSpot by creating a lasting, positive impact. I believe HubSpot’s ESG efforts help us earn and maintain customer trust by building a sustainable culture and aligning with our HEART values.
HubSpot’s Customer Trust Center and our new trustworthy AI domain (trust.hubspot.com/ai) provide further information for customers to learn about our security, privacy, and responsible AI practices.
Q: How do you work to build sustainable governance practices across HubSpot?
Transparency, effectiveness, and accountability come up as my top three priorities.
We transparently discuss our governance structure. Our management team communicates the “why” behind company initiatives and are open to individuals’ questions and feedback.
We promote automation and leverage legal tech to increase effectiveness and accuracy. Where multiple regulations apply, we choose the highest standard for compliance.
Our SOC 2 compliance, an external audit, shows customers our strong data security and product reliability. Additionally, our Level 2 EU Cloud Code of Conduct certification, featured in our 2024 Sustainability Report, underscores our commitment to data protection, fulfilling over 80 requirements and demonstrating GDPR compliance. You can find our SOC 2 Type II Report and EU Cloud Code of Conduct certification in our Customer Trust Center.
Q: In the last year, what is something you’ve accomplished that you are most proud of?
Last year, I’m particularly proud that our team not only made significant progress in building ethical and responsible AI but also communicated this effort transparently to the public. We launched AI model cards, AI Trust FAQs, and thought leadership messaging. Legal executives published articles through BSA (Why AI? – HubSpot AI’s impact on customers and AI@Work – HubSpot’s democratizing AI for employees and customers); interviewed on EUCoC’s Across the Cloud to promote privacy, compliance and ethical AI; and made appearances in podcasts and LinkedIn posts to promote HubSpot’s responsible AI usage.
Interested in learning more about this work?
- HubSpot’s approach to responsible AI, which is rooted in trust, transparency, and accountability.
- Review the AI model cards for our commitment to transparency and good governance.
- Read the press release article to learn more about our compliance with the EU Cloud Code of Conduct.
- Visit our HubSpot Trust Center to learn more about the privacy, security and compliance reports about our systems and products.
Happy Earth Month and thank you to Xiaoxi for sharing how her team is thinking about sustainability every day!