Company News
At Chptr, we are proud to have team members who bring not only deep professional expertise but a genuine philosophy of care to everything they do.
One of them is Jamie Henriod, our Chief Operating Officer, whose career is built on a simple but powerful belief: that people deserve to feel seen, supported, and valued, especially in their most difficult moments.
Before joining Chptr, Jamie spent over 16 years at Zappos, serving as Chief of Staff to legendary CEO Tony Hsieh and becoming a recognized voice in customer experience and company culture around the country.
She helped build one of the most celebrated service cultures in American business history. Now she's bringing that same heart and discipline to the death care industry.
"Behind every family we serve is a moment that matters. Great technology steps back so funeral directors can step forward, with presence, care, and connection."
- Jamie Henriod, Chief Operating Officer
How does technology like Chptr help funeral directors better serve the families in their care?
When families are experiencing some of the hardest moments of their lives, the last thing they should feel is complexity or friction. Technology should quietly support the process, making some part of this often overwhelming experience easier.
Chptr operates in the background allowing families to spread the word of their loss a bit more easily. We handle all of the details with all of our products so funeral directors can focus fully on the family in front of them.
When technology is thoughtfully designed it creates space. Space for empathy and listening. We want to create space for directors to do what they do best and space for families to connect with others who love their person and begin the road to healing.
You spent over 16 years helping build one of the most celebrated service cultures in the world at Zappos. What did that experience teach you that you carry with you today?
Service has to be a mindset, not just a department. The best outcomes happen when everyone in the organization is working towards the same goal. For Zappos, that goal was simple, to live and deliver wow. At Zappos, every single employee went through call center training before starting their role, from engineers to executives. That wasn't a formality. It was a statement about what the company believed. When you've lived that, you can't unsee it, and you bring it with you everywhere.
What has surprised you most since working with funeral directors daily?
What has surprised me most is how many funeral directors describe this profession as a calling. When I ask what led them into this work, I often hear, “I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do.” That sense of purpose is incredibly powerful. It’s not just a job to them, it’s something deeply personal and mission-driven, and that conviction shows up in how they care for families every single day.
What do you admire most about the work that funeral directors do?
I admire their ability to create a calm, supportive experience while managing so many complex moving parts. They are balancing logistics and emotion at the same time, and they do it with a level of empathy and care that creates real trust with families.
Can you share one major insight from your time in this industry so far?
One major insight I’ve gained is that in this industry, the smallest details carry enormous emotional weight. What might feel operational to us, like timing, wording, placement, can mean everything to a family.
That’s changed how I think about systems and service. It’s not just about efficiency or scale. It’s about creating processes that are strong enough to be reliable, but gentle enough to support people during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
That perspective has reshaped how I approach everything we do and deliver.
Final Thoughts
Jamie's path, from shaping one of America's most beloved service cultures to now supporting the people who guide families through grief, is not as unlikely as it might seem. At the core of both is the same conviction: that how you treat people matters, and that great organizations are built around that truth. We are grateful to have her as the Chief Operating Officer at Chptr, and are proud to support the funeral directors she serves every day.
