Coinstar Inc. has hired Raquel Karls, a human resources and organization development leader, to fill the position of chief people officer.

Karls starts her new role this week reporting to president and chief operating officer Gregg Kaplan.

“We are delighted to have found an individual of Raquel’s caliber and experience to lead this very important role at Coinstar,” said Gregg Kaplan, president and chief operating officer of Coinstar Inc, a provider of automated retail solutions offering convenient services for consumers to drive incremental traffic and revenue for retailers. “With nearly 20 years experience recruiting the right talent to growing organizations, building infrastructure and developing existing talent, she was a great match for Coinstar given our continued growth and focus on people,” he added.

Most recently, Karls served as the vice president of human resources at Expedia Inc., where she led global initiatives in the U.S., Asia and Canada. Prior to that she was the vice president of partner resources at Starbucks Coffee Co. where she led the organizational and people development agenda for key marketing and product groups.

Before joining Starbucks, Karls spent 11 years at the Pepsi Bottling Co. in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility over her tenure, including vice president of human resources for the company’s largest business unit in the U.S. with 5,800 employees.  Other experience includes human resources positions with Ingersoll-Rand Co.

Karls holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in industrial relations from the University of Oregon.

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