About

The Human Centered Organization

We believe that what matters most of all to an organization’s success is its ability to develop human capital -

to find great people, attract them in, empower them to solve challenging problems, mitigate their less productive impulses, keep them engaged, and help them grow inside the organization.

While this claim seems reasonable, if you look at how organizations (especially big organizations) actually operate, you can quickly see that people are rarely the focus. In fact, even the most renowned organizations often fail to develop and implement a people strategy that will help them achieve their goals. Instead, silos and matrices develop in growing firms, increasing administration and bureacracy, all while making it harder for valued employees to get actual work done.

Another critical yet often misunderstood aspect is the focus on measurement. Every hot organization today, whether for- or not-for-profit, seems to be obsessed with data, but all too often that obsession is limited to standard operating metrics, such as financial results; rarely is the same passion applied to the people side of the equation. The wrong goals are set, tracked, and rewarded; unsurprisingly, the best people start to leave.

We thus started The Human Centered Organization to help organizations put people at the center of organizational strategy and structure.
We thus started The Human Centered Organization to help organizations put people at the center of organizational strategy and structure.

Above all else, we believe that great people are what makes it all tick — and being a good leader means creating structures that attract and get the most out of the best people.

About agoda

Agoda is one of the world’s fastest growing online travel booking platforms. From its beginnings as an e-commerce start-up based in Singapore in 2005, Agoda has grown to offer a global network of 2 million properties in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. It provides travelers with easy access to a wide choice of luxury and budget hotels, apartments, homes, and villas to suit all budgets and travel occasions. Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 4,000 staff in more than 30 countries. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 38 languages.

Robert Rosenstein

Robert Rosenstein is the Founder and Chairman of online travel giant Agoda Company Pte. Ltd, one of Asia’s first homegrown unicorns. He was behind the conception and launch of Agoda.com in 2005, serving as both President and CEO over …
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Robert Rosenstein

Robert Rosenstein is the Founder and Chairman of online travel giant Agoda Company Pte. Ltd, one of Asia’s first homegrown unicorns. He was behind the conception and launch of Agoda.com in 2005, serving as both President and CEO over a decade. 

Mr. Rosenstein serves as Strategic Advisor to the CEO of Booking Holdings Inc (formerly known as Priceline Group), the world’s largest travel company by market value, and sits on the company’s Global Management Board.  Mr. Rosenstein focuses on Asia-Pacific investment and operating strategies for Booking Holdings Inc., which acquired Agoda in 2007, also owns KAYAK, Priceline.com, Rentalcars.com, Booking.com, RocketMiles, and OpenTable.

Mr. Rosenstein was elected to the Web in Travel Hall of Fame in 2017, and was honored as one of the industry’s “biggest influencers.” He speaks and writes regularly on the topic of entrepreneurial leadership culture at large enterprises. 

Mr. Rosenstein has spent nearly two decades living and traveling in the Asia-Pacific region. He holds a B.A from Hamilton College.

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Peter Lewis Allen

Peter Allen is Agoda’s vice president of external affairs. In this role, he has worked extensively on travel and tourism issues across Asia with senior government and tourism officials and other companies in the industry. He is co-chair of the government and …
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Peter L. Allen


Peter Allen is Agoda’s vice president of external affairs. In this role, he has worked extensively on travel and tourism issues across Asia with senior government and tourism officials and other companies in the industry. He is co-chair of the government and regional affairs committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of Singapore, co-chair of the travel and tourism committee of the US-ASEAN Business Council, and the founder and initial president of the Asia Travel Technology Industry Association. 

Allen holds degrees from Haverford College, the Université de Poitiers, the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), and the Wharton School (M.B.A.). With Agoda co-founder and chairman Robert Rosenstein, Allen is the co-author of At Home around the World: The Short-Term Rentals Handbook for Guests, Hosts, Neighbors, and Governments; they are currently at work on a new book project, The Human Centered Business. 

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